I need to make a motherload of fondant roses by next week. I was told that I should let the center bases dry for 2 days before creating the roses on top of them. However I made the centers last night and left them sitting in front of a fan all night long. Now they seem quite hard. Would it be ok to go ahead and start making the roses today or should I wait?
Thanks!
Beth
Are there any pics of the process using the kisses? I never tried it but would like to. I've only ever made roses with mmf and they turned out fine, never knew to let part of it dry overnight,I just did the whole thing at once 
~ I'm sure your roses will be beautiful!
Eh, I never bother letting the centers dry for more than, oh, an hour tops. Here's what I usually do when I have to make a lot, like for this cake:
--Make a bunch kiss-shaped centers, but no more than perhaps a third of what I need.
--Start making roses and adding the petals to the centers. once I'm satisfied with how many petals I've added, yes, the base is WAY too fat! But that's an easy fix--you just pinch and twist off about half of that bulk. It makes the rose open up a bit, it cements the rose together nicely, and no wonky bottom-heavy roses.
--use the stuff you just pinched off to make a couple more rose centers.
If your roses are drooping, either your fondant isn't quite stiff enough, or you're making the petals too thin. If you want super thin and realistic roses, you need to be working with gumpaste. Fondant roses can get pretty thin and realistic, but you've got to understand the limitations of the medium you've chosen.
When I make gumpaste roses, I do let the centers dry on a wire overnight. But they're always ready to go by the next day, no need to wait two days.
I'm so new to fondant, I'm a bit embarrassed 
but am dying to ask... How do you cut a cake covered in fondant roses?
Also, gumpaste flowers... do you just remove them before cutting the cake?
Thanks!
Cheryl
Crazy Cakes
Heh. I have no clue how you cut it. I made the cake for a friend of a freind as a favor. I was just happy to have an excuse to make that cake. Cutting it was their problem. 
But my friend reported that it actually cut quite easily, more easily than expected. Just take a sharp knife and dig in, I guess!
I let my centers dry overnight...never 2 days unless I just have a few to do and not pressed for time (in which it seems I always am HA HA HA HA). When I use fondant, do make my petals thin, really thin but you have to let them dry upside down and at least a day for sure because it is fondant and it doesn't dry like gumpaste. Fondant is a different medium than gumpaste but you can achieve realistic flowers from fondant. I do prefer gumpaste over fondant at times but if you are going to cut into a cake (say for instance the one shown) I would definitely go with fondant. Sharp knife and dig in.
I also twist and pull off the bottom of my fondant roses like modthyrth (I thought that was my very own trick!!) however I do let the centers dry overnight so most of what I am pulling off is the bottom of the petals which you will see builds up quickly. I do believe that the purpose of drying the base overnight is so that the base is cemented well to the toothpick or whatever substrate you are using. I find that if the base is not dry enough it falls of of the toothpick while I am working or when I finally hang the rose upside down to dry there it is on the floor. Also, the twisting and pulling off of the bottom does make the rose look much better and set on the cake well.
I pull all the fondant roses off of the cake before serving because I do not like the texture/taste of the dried fondant rose. I guess it is whatever you prefer. Best of luck to you and have fun!!
I think Lenore has hit upon the important element. If you are mounting the rose on something--a toothpick, a wire, whatever--the center needs to dry overnight. If you're just putting the roses directly on the cake --adhering with icing, no spikes going into the cake of any sort--there's no need to pre-dry the centers.
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