Ok , So What's Up With This F#*@!g Fondant!?

Decorating By sweetisome Updated 23 Oct 2008 , 9:38pm by Bunsen

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sweetisome Posted 5 Oct 2008 , 9:23pm
post #1 of 24

So I have this BIG cake to do for a friend. ( Well it's big for me...90 pp) And I decide I'm going to order the Satin ice fondant rather than use the nasty ol' wiltons. Well I roll it out and within minutes of begining to cut it, it forms this odd "skin" on it. I mean it gets all wrinkly wen you flex it and everything, whatever...I move on. Now I'm trying to replicate a boyscout sash with all of the badges. I ve got 40 little circles and edible images all ready to go. I roll out a nice long sheet, glue every thing on and move on for a moment to let things set up a little. when I go to move it the fondant is brittle and literally crumbles! OK so maybe I left it a little too long, so I peeeeeel of the little circles with the edible images on them...(thank god their OK), I roll out another sash,put the circles back on it and put it onto the cake imediately. This one starts to crack right away and by the time I get to the venue it's pulled apart completely, and thers nothing I can do to fix it! AHHHHHH! I attatched a picture that shows where it started to crack, by the time I got there, it was crumbles on the botom layer...I tried to cover it with a banner. Has any one elase had this problem? How do I avoid this in the future?
LL

23 replies
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moxey2000 Posted 5 Oct 2008 , 9:31pm
post #2 of 24

Is there an expiration date on the tub of fondant? That's the only thing I can think of that would cause that. It's a real shame this happened to you icon_sad.gif , your cake is really awesome considering what you had to go thru thumbs_up.gif .

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sweetisome Posted 5 Oct 2008 , 9:33pm
post #3 of 24

here is a shot of the "repair job" icon_sad.gif
LL

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sweetisome Posted 5 Oct 2008 , 9:37pm
post #4 of 24

Thanks Moxie. I tell you I'm still seething over this. It was for her father-in-law's 80th and I really wanted to do a good job on this cake. BTW, no exp date on the fondant tub.

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bettinashoe Posted 5 Oct 2008 , 9:39pm
post #5 of 24

The cake turned out great, sweetisome. It's too bad you had an issue with the fondant, but you covered it really well. Sometimes weather (humidity or lack of) can cause problems with fondant. I've never used the Satin Ice (I make my own fondant) but friends have used it and rave about it.

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HipnotiqGlamour Posted 5 Oct 2008 , 9:47pm
post #6 of 24

Hey hun, well first crack or no crack in the fondant its a wonderful cake. I myself have had that experience with Satin ice and I just took it back to the store and got a new bucket.

I think maybe it was sitting on the shelf to long or something thats why it turned out the way it did.

Sorry to hear about your issues, cake problems are no fun icon_cry.gif

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sweetisome Posted 5 Oct 2008 , 9:52pm
post #7 of 24

I ordered it online...will they really take it back?

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tonedna Posted 5 Oct 2008 , 10:18pm
post #8 of 24

I use Satin Ice all the time and I never have issues with it. But I did a cake with the same color fondant you use for that sash and it was hell to put on. I am wondering if the colors do make a difference, It was the first time I had so many troubles with it!
Edna

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sweetisome Posted 5 Oct 2008 , 10:28pm
post #9 of 24

tonedna, did you mix the color or buy it? I mixed mine and now that you mention it I did cover the book in white Satin ice, and it didn't give me any trouble at all. Do you have trouble with other colors?

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tonedna Posted 5 Oct 2008 , 10:30pm
post #10 of 24

I added the color..I only happens to me with certain colors...That one in specific and a certain shade of blue are the worst ones!
Edna

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DebBTX Posted 5 Oct 2008 , 10:35pm
post #11 of 24

I have used the Ivory and Black Satin Ice in the past. If it felt too dry, I would add a touch of Crisco to the palms of my hands, then rub them together. Then as I would knead the fondant it seemed to soften. It helped me smooth it without a dry skin.
I have been learning to make my own for white, ivory and the lighter colors, but I still keep Satin Ice for the red, black and brighter colors.

Your cake looks wonderful. I'm sorry that it gave you so much trouble. You did an amazing amount of detail work.

-Debbie B.

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JenniferMI Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 11:59pm
post #12 of 24

The cake is AMAZING!!! Sorry you had issues. I am a true believer of choc. fondant. I get NO elephant skin ever.... much longer work time.

Jen icon_smile.gif

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lilmansmum Posted 11 Oct 2008 , 12:10am
post #13 of 24

I bought red Satin Ice once and had the same problem....TOO DRY. It cracked, had elephant skin, and was AWFUL to work with. I hated it. I now use only FondX and I LOVE it. No problems with it at all. Maybe it was just the one bucket that I got....I don't know....lots of other people seemt to like it, but it sure didn't work for me.

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DaisyLisa17 Posted 11 Oct 2008 , 12:22am
post #14 of 24

I looove Satin Ice more than any other brand I've tried. It has always been so easy to work with whether I get the white or pre-colored. I usually only use Satin Ice when I need to cover a cake. If I am doing deco that wont be eaten I use the Wilton. One because its cheaper, and it is fairly easy to work with.

I hate that happened to you. It definitely sounds like it was a bad batch. Your cake is amazing though! So much wonderful detail. I know the birthday boy loved it.

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toodlesjupiter Posted 11 Oct 2008 , 12:25am
post #15 of 24

I personally like FondX better than Satin Ice. To me it's easier to work with, and I like the flavor much better. Maybe see if you can exchange the Satin Ice for FondX and see how you like that. Just a thought.

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Teknosugar Posted 11 Oct 2008 , 12:35am
post #16 of 24

I don't know what part of the country you're from, but if you have low humidity or your at a higher altitude, its really going to have that effect on any fondant or gum paste. All you can do it try and keep it as moist as you can! Crisco does work, so does a little butter. I'm in NM (originally from UK) and its been crazy trying to work with fondant since i moved out here. I opened a pack of gum paste the other day and it was dried out from the sealed packet.

Hope that may help!

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jeking Posted 20 Oct 2008 , 7:06pm
post #17 of 24

If the humidity is low, you'll have to cover the fondant unless you are immediately putting it on the cake. That's true for all fondant brands, IMO. I've used about every brand and Satin Ice is my favorite. It's VERY important that you knead it a BUNCH before rolling it out. This helps with elasticity and prevents cracking, etc.

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jodei Posted 23 Oct 2008 , 3:25am
post #18 of 24

i have to agree with pp. i only buy the white satin ice and color it. i have made every shade under the sun and have had no problems other than red. but i believe that is due to having to add so much color and it sat for awhile and it got really gummy. the last tub of satin ice was in june and i have no problems with it at all. i always grease my hands good with crisco as i am kneading it. i love satin ice and will never use any other product no matter what i am making it for. hth.

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sweetisome Posted 23 Oct 2008 , 2:41pm
post #19 of 24

Thanks for all the replies. I'm still watching this thread partly because I'm still having a little trouble with the fondant, althought not as bad. I do ahe to say that as a seasoned cookie baker, I've been using cornstarch and/or conf. sugar to prevent the sticking....is that bad? I hear a lot of people using shortening. Doesn't that leave a "sheen" on the product?

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summernoelle Posted 23 Oct 2008 , 5:18pm
post #20 of 24

I had this exact problem with Satin Ice fondant early this year. Every time I draped a cake, it would rip and fall off. Drove me nuts. If you have the batch number (If it was SI) I can tell you if it was the same as mine. I've bought tons of that stuff before and since, neven had any other issues. I think I got a bad batch.
I had bought mine at Into The Oven, and they replaced it. I had also contacted Satin Ice, and they offered a refund, too (didn't take it since Into The Oven already gave me one).

BTW, amazing cake!!!

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sweetisome Posted 23 Oct 2008 , 8:13pm
post #21 of 24

Batch # is 806181. Used it again, with similar....but now where near as bad...trouble. Cracking on the corner of the cakes and such. Maybe it's me...what am I doing wrong? I knead/wedge the crap out of it. could it be I should be adding the shortening? I have another fondant covered cake for next week and I really don't want the hassles.

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summernoelle Posted 23 Oct 2008 , 9:20pm
post #22 of 24

Mine was 712175. You can try adding a little more Crisco, just make sure it isn't the 0 trans fat stuff, because that could make the problem worse.
My problem was so similar. I kneaded forever, added Crisco, etc etc. And it just never would work for me.
If you can, I would consider buying a new batch...

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mcook1670 Posted 23 Oct 2008 , 9:29pm
post #23 of 24

next time you might try putting a small amout in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds to kinda loosen it up some. I make my own fondant and that's what i do when it start to get kinda tough, not ideal, but you have to do what you gots to do to make things look good

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Bunsen Posted 23 Oct 2008 , 9:38pm
post #24 of 24

Hi Sweetisome,
I agree it does sound like a bad batch icon_sad.gif however the cornstarch will dry out the icing too, try to use as little as possible when rolling out and only use underneath - if your rolling pin is sticking rub in the tiniest amount of cornstarch. Cornstarch is much more drying than conf sugar but also much easier to work with, a lot of people use a mixture of the two. I'm not a fan of using shortening unless you are working with dark colours which show up the cornstarch. Over working the fondant can also cause cracking - knead only as much as you need to to get the colour in and soften up the fondant. Hope this helps!

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