Alright everyone, critique me away! No feelings will be hurt! Tell me all my errors (but tell me how to fix them too!!) I spent last weekend making a couple cakes to practice with fondant and here are my results.
Chocolate w/ flowers:
Ok, I used one recipe of a chocolate cake to bake an 8" and 10" layers. I cut the 8-inch and stacked it to create this. I then covered it with chocolate MMF fondant. I used regular MMF fondant to make the "duff style roses" and then made "ribbon" roses for the smaller ones. It was my first time making fondant flowers so all criticism is welcome!!
Cheese wedge:
I smoothed the IMBC and then covered with MMF fondant. I just used my fingers to smoosh in the holes for the cheese. I forgot about the mice until the day I decorated the cake, so I didn't do them ahead of time to let them dry. They were kind of a rushed job and I know if I did them again they would look a lot better. In the end, I was SO proud of this cake!
Chocolate Moon:
Ugh. I used the 10" cut in half and staked to make this one. This is a great view of how my MMF always turns out. What am I doing wrong?? How do you guys get the fondant so smooth!?!? Maybe I'm rolling out the fondant too thin? I don't know!
Please be mean! Thanks! I love you guys!
All in all I think your cakes look great. I love the cheese cake. I have the same problem with fondant. I found that for me it has to be a bit thicker and the icing underneath has to be smooth. Remember that fondant will show all imperfections in the icing. So I do the viva method just to smooth out any lines bor imperfections in the frosting before I lay down the fondant.
But I think you should be very proud. You did a great job!
the pic is a little dark, but your flowers look really nice! i love the chocolate cake.
No critique for the mouse/cheese cake...it looks awesome to me!
The Duff flowers look really great and so does the cake their on, from what I can see in this pic....as far as getting fondant super smooth, it can be a battle for everyone!
Out of everything I have learned, you MUST start with a perfect canvas...someone here told me that.
Your iced cake underneath must be smooth as heck...and that is what I (and many others) struggle with 
For me, sometimes if I just keep messing with it, the better it looks.
But honestly, all of these look really wonderful!!!
Your ribbon roses look terrific! I love the contrast of the pink & brown!
I agree about more definition for the cheese holes.
The moon, well it looks like maybe your fondant is too thin and/or your icing underneath is not smooth enough. I always got those little pock marks in my MMF even though I sift the sugar. I gave up on MMF and switched to commercial fondant and never had the problem again.
Fondant like anything takes time and practice!! The cheese cake I think needed the holes to be darker and more pushed in.The chocolate half with roses is really good! The half moon is not bad either.It looks as if you are getting air into the fondant and it is causing small dimples.You will benefit from a good solid rolling pin and strong arms.Practice is the best motto for anything!! Great job!!!
I can't help you with fondant because I don't work with it. The mice/cheese are great. I would have made the birthday sign bigger. Yeah, the mouse on the top needs something to do, but I would have wanted something more in proportion to the size of the cake. JMHO. Otherwise, good job
Overall your cakes are great! The cheese cake needs the holes more defined as stated previously; your roses look like they could be thinner and beyond rolling your fondant a little thicker to cover your cakes have you tried chilling them after your buttercream so that the icing is hard prior to applying the fondant. I find you can get much better edges that way.
Thanks everyone so far - keep them coming! I love getting constructive criticism, it's the only way to get better! I love this site for all the support =)
I love your cheese cake. Overall your cakes look pretty good, but I noticed that your fondant looks pitted. I always use Satin Ice fondant, it comes out looking smooth every time. I have made MMF before, but I get much better results with Satin Ice. I purchase Satin Ice at www.intotheoven.com They have the best prices on the fondant and shipping.
I forgot to mention that your roses are perfect. Great Job!!
Good job!!
I agree with the previous critiques on the swiss cheese holes but you're mice are very cute.
The one thing I can say about the moon cake is that on my first glance, it literally looks like a layer of cake cut in half. I think molding the ends out a little and creating a bit of a concave by carving a little of the cake away, would define the moon a bit more.
Your roses are great!
I don't ice the cake perfectly smooth before I put my MMF on and I don't get a surface like the moon cake had (even though when you think of photos of the moon, your surface is really ideal for a moon). I've never kept track of how thick the MMF was when I rolled it out, except that I do it until I can just see the lines on my rolling surface, which happens to be the wilton cake dividing wheel.
Did you pick the fondant up, either over your rolling pin or by putting your hands under it, and drop it onto the cake, or did you flip it onto the cake? I tried flipping it once and ended up with a pitted surface. MMF is tougn enough that you can put your hands under it and then drop it onto the cake...I actually have rolled the fondant in my kitchen, picked it up with my hands and carried it through the dining room to put it on a cake on my table, and it's gone that far without any problem. I'm rolling it with crisco instead of cornstarch if that makes a difference, and I don't flip it at all while I'm rolling it.
The other thing is to make sure you're adding enough water. I usually use around 3 tablespoons of water (I'm mixing it in the KA with the doughhook and I think that takes less water than doing it by hand for the same result).
I love your cheese cake. I may have to borrow your idea for my brother-in-law's birthday cake.
For the roses, you can thin the edges of the circles a little bit with a ball tool on a foam square and then fan them out with a toothpick once it's rolled, if you want a more delicate-looking rose.
I think you've done a really good job on all three. My favorite is the chocolate with roses- I love your roses.
I think that the moon cake would look really neat (though it's super cute as is) with a different board covering. I think maybe covering the board with fondant (decorated) to look more like a night time sky... That would look cool, I think.
This is not really cake related, but I think that having a really plain background in you photos would really put more focus on your cakes. The cheese with mice cake is really great- if the background behind the cake was solid white (solid any color, I guess) the awesome-ness of the cake would be more... noticeable. Do you know what I mean?
You've obviously got loads of talent- you're doing a great job! Good luck!
Well first off, they are great cakes. I agree with iron baker about the moon. Maybe a but of curving would make him better. The cheese cake is SO cute, but maybe use the tool with the big ball on the end and press it in hard to get more definition in the holes. Then you could always brush a bit of color in them as well. Maybe a light brown. The other cake looks great, no suggestions on it.
I think all 3 cakes are really good......definately you shuld be proud of the talent you have.
The cheese/mouse cake is cute I guess I go along w/the others that the holes could be more defined.
The choco/rose cake is very, very nicely finished from what we can see. Your roses look good - *far* better than mine!
Re the moon: well know I know you want help on getting your icing/MMF smoother; looking nicer but..
.......the way it turned out sure makes it look more 'moon-like'
I haven't worked much w/MMF but I'm wondering if maybe you need to knead it more - you know get it smoother before rolling it out. As I remember when I did work w/it some, it doesn't stretch well -- uummm let me phrase that again - it stretches but then pops right back again. Is that what happened?
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