Please someone help me! I attempted my first ever fondant covered cake today and it was a disaster! I had previously asked for advice on CC as to how to prepare the cake before laying on the fondant and received some really valuable advice. The big problem i think i'm facing is probably arising cos of the weather i'm having here. Can anyone help me to see how i can fix this problem?

I had baked and torted the cake, and as advised, crumb coated the cake and flash freezed it in the freezer to set the crumb coat. I then took out the cake, added a 2nd thicker layer of buttercream (in case people wanted to tear off the fondant, they would still have frosting with their cake), and again popped it back into the freezer for the buttercream to set. I rolled out my fondant, removed the cake from the freezer and quickly placed the fondant over the cake and started to mold it over the cake. However, i realised very quickly that due to the heat and humidity in my country, the fondant started getting wet and sticky plus little bubbles started forming below the fondant. I suspect that again due to the heat, the previously set buttercream frosting under the fondant, had started to shift as i was molding the fondant on the top causing little air bubbles to be formed. In addition, the fondant started getting wet as the buttercream was cold and weather was hot causing condensation to form on the fondant.

I'm wondering if anyone has encountered the same problem as me before and how they managed to solve it. Oh... i followed the crusting buttercream recipe (Viva method) here on CC for my buttercream recipe.. but couldn't get it to crust until i placed it in the fridge. Did i do something wrong? Please help!! This was only a practice cake but i'm supposed to do an actual cake in a couple of days so i really really need help!!! Anyone??!!! I'm desperate!!!

All I know is tgat when I take a COLD cake and put fondant over it, the fondant becomes wet. So it is not because of the humidity but because of the cold cake....

Hi Sofide... thanks for the quick response.. so if that is the case.. should i not have placed the cake in the freezer?? But if i don't then how do you get the buttercream frosting firm enough to place the fondant over the cake? Or must i do away with the additional layer of buttercream frosting that i have but hope to keep???

I'm not relly an expert but here's what I do;
I make all butter buttercream (in the netherlands we don't have shortening readily available) put a crumb coat on the cake and put it in the fridge to set and crust. I then take it out before I start rolling my fondant. By the time I put my fondant on, the cake is less cold (still not room temp, but not freezing).
Sometimes I forget and when I put my fondant on it will start to get wet, but before that I will have enough time to get rid of bubbles...
This is all I know and how I do it, but maybe someone else can give you some more info....

Hi Sofide.. thanks for the tips.. but could i ask how you solve the problem of the fondant being wet after you complete the laying of the fondant? We aren't suppose to put the cake back in the fridge right? So do you just let it air dry till the fondant is dry again?
As for getting rid of the bubbles.. i tried to poke my bubbles.. but the fondant by that time was too wet for me to try smoothing over the holes that were created plus.. the more i tried to smooth the fondant out.. the more bubbles i got! Ack!! Does this meant that the frosting was too soft already by that time and i should have left it alone?

Hi serenelui
I did a fonadant cake last week with SMBC instead of my usual buttercream (mixture of butter, icing sugar and vanilla flavour) and it was much more difficult to manage - probably due to the smooth texture of the SMBC. I too placed it in the freezer but literally for no more than 5 mins as i was using blue fondant for a thomas the tank engine cake and didn't want the colour to bleed when i put the fondant on top. This very short time was long enough to set the SMBC but did not result in any condensation - i think coz the cake wasn't in the freezer long enough to get chilled. With my old buttercream recipe i never had any issues with the buttercream melting and i never had to chill it to make it manageable, but it was nowhere near as tasty as the SMBC. I know this is not any help to you, just wanted you to know that this is kinda tricky. I'm sure some of the experts on here will share their knowledge - at least i hope they will anyway

AnneMarie

I've only had wet fondan twice so far. Last sunday was the last time, but for me it was no problem because it made my cakes look nicer and I didn't really have tot do anything else with them so I left it that way.
The other time I had it was when I made a cake for myself, for practice so I do not know how to solve this problem either, all I know is that I shouldnt keep my cakes too cold before putting on fondant...
I'm sorry I don't really know the answer to this.....

Thanks AnnMarie and Sofide... AnnMarie.. could i ask what buttercream recipe you used? Hmmm.. from what you guys both said.. i'm now wondering whether i left it in the freezer for too long... i left the cake in the freezer for 6-7 min. for the crumb coat, but the buttercream was still a little tacky to the touch when i took it out. The 2nd time i left it in the freezer for 10 min to make sure the buttercream was no longer tacky to the touch.. did i leave it in too long.. oh the cake is a 6" diameter cake only.. does that matter?

serenelui
I'll pm you coz it is from a book and i'm not sure if i am allowed to post it due to copyright etc - don't want to get in to trouble
AnneMarie

Thanks AnnMarie!!! Btw.. is the recipe a crusting or non-crusting bc? :p

I don't refrigerate my non-SMBC cakes before putting fondant on it. There really is no reason to.

thanks aswartzw... could i ask if you use a crusting recipe if that is the case? As i understand its easier to put the fondant on the cake when the frosting is firm...

I don't put my cakes in the freezer because it doesn't take too long for it to crust, usually not more that 10 or 15 minutes. I don't add a second layer of buttercream either. I found that if the buttercream was too thick, or when I used SMBC, as I was trying to smooth out the fondant, the weight of the fondant pushed the buttercream out the bottom, even though it was crusted.

Regarding the bubbles, make sure to start smoothing from the center of the top of the cake and out and then from the top of the sides and then down. You can press out any air that way. When you knead your fondant, take care not to knead air into. You will see bubbles when you start rolling it out that will only get worse. Sounds like the voice of experience, huh?

oh wow!! thanks so much tracycakes for all those fabulous tips hmm.. my fondant had no bubbles when i was rolling it out so suspect it was probably the way i smoothed the fondant over the cake :p Will try again. thanks!

I have not read all of the responses, but frm what you are describing it sounds like your cake was in the freezer too long. You had too much condensation coming out thru the cake. That will cause the wetness and the bubbles. How long did u freeze it for each time? and what was the temp of the room you were working in?

I have not read all of the responses, but frm what you are describing it sounds like your cake was in the freezer too long. You had too much condensation coming out thru the cake. That will cause the wetness and the bubbles. How long did u freeze it for each time? and what was the temp of the room you were working in?

Thanks sugarshack.. i suspected that it was the condensation as well that caused the problems with the fondant.. plus the fact that i put on a thicker layer of buttercream which caused some slipping and sliding i could feel under the fondant while i was smoothing it out... however its good to get it confirmed by someone else I will definitely not be putting my cakes in the fridge/ freezer anymore as i think the change in temperature between the freezer and the hot weather is too great..
Thanks so much for the advice!! It really helped me a lot. Now i'll just have to experiment and hope it works