I know how to make all the parts of the fondant animals, but how do you get them to stand up???? I'm making a jungle cake and I would like to have some of the animals standing, but the fondant body is too heavy and the legs keep colapsing. Should I add something to the fondant to make it stronger and if so, can I add it after the fondant has been made. Please help...I really want to make this cake for a family reunion. None of my family has ever seen one of my cakes because I live in a different state and I want it to be special.

Thanks,
Becky

Lot of forums being posted, thought I might need a bump to the front page.

Tx,
Becky

bumping again...please help

tx,
Becky

Just a thought, but couldn't you use something like toothpicks?? I would imagine you can cut them down to the size you want and place them in the body, with the legs formed around the bottom of the pics. Or floral wire?

Could you use gum tex or something similar to make the fondant harder? As well, maybe you could run tooth picks through the animals' limbs to make them stronger. Just make sure that you notify anyone that might wants to eat the animals that they have tooth picks inside.

ahh!!! Sorry, didn't see the reply above mine.

You can also mix gumpaste and fondant 50/50 to make it dry harder. I know, I have had similar problems with heavy bodies....I just figured I need to try to make things smaller. I have used sandwich pics (which are heavier than the normal toothpic) and they seemed to hold up better. Hope this is helpful. Good luck!

I add a little Gum-Tex powder to mine to help stabilize it. I think it's about 2 teaspoons to every 24 oz. of fondant. You also might lay them on their sides and let them dry for about 15 minutes or so... maybe even in a low temp. oven... 120 degrees or so.
HTH

try to "glue" with royal icing. figure must be supported until the royal dries.

Thanks everybody...I'll give these suggestions a try and let you know how they work.

Becky

maybe try attaching the legs to the body and letting them dry on their backs, then turn over and attach head and tail. good luck (i'm in the middle of making my first fondant figures now!!)

I second the toothpick motion but what I did for my little fondant zoo animals was that I also let the legs all dry separately from the bodies. I put the toothpicks in before drying and attached the legs for a moment just so that there would be a "groove" for the toothpick once dry (I was afraid of the fondant cracking if I tried to cram toothpicks in after it hardened; I don't know if that would be a problem but I didn't want to risk it.) Then I took the legs back off but left the toothpicks in them, let everything dry. Used a little dab of fresh fondant w/water (you could use royal icing) to properly "glue" the pieces together once all were dry. Worked like a charm. I also used spaghetti on a couple where I thought the toothpick might be too thick (plus it's edible so no warnings needed).

ceshell...thanks for the tips. Your zoo animals look great.

just_for_luck...good luck with your fondant figures, too.


Becky