Mmf/gumpaste Not Hard After 4 Days, Can I Put In The Oven???
Decorating By JCE62108 Updated 3 Apr 2009 , 12:21am by tonedna
Ok, well, anyone who has the Wilton 2008 yearbook, Im trying to make those palmtrees on that wedding cake in there. The leaves are made with 50/50 gumpaste and fondant.
I used MMF and a Wilton gumpaste mix in a can. Its been 4 days and the leaves are hard on the outside, and they hold their shape, but when I tried attaching the leaves with royal icing to the base I had some trouble.
The royal icing is doing its job holding the leaves together, however the leaves are breaking where they are attached and I can see that the inside still looks soft. I bit one and its still chewable. Will it ever harden completly?
In the book it says I need to stand the palm trees upside-down to attach the tree trunks and let it dry. There is no way I can do this, all the leaves will crumble.
Ok..so..can I put these things in the oven on low to dry them out? I dont want to start over again! This is my second time already. lol.
I dont know why you would use 50/50 anyways. Why not just gumpaste? Oh well. The more I try the more experienced I get. I cant complain too much. 
So can this project be saved or should I start over AGAIN with just gumpaste for the leaves???
4 days.........they should be dry by now unless you live in a very humid environment.
I always use 50/50 MMF/gumpaste (recipe from here for gumpaste) and my stuff dries usually within 3 days depending on the size.
Your leaves look great and they don't look too thick, so I don't understand why they aren't drying completely.
I've never put my stuff in the oven but some have. What I do to speed up the drying process is to put a small fan blowing on the pieces.
You're not putting them inside a plastic container or anything are you? This would keep them from drying completely.
Try the fan if you have one, hopefully someone else will have some ideas.
Good luck with them!
LOL well I live in FL, that's about as humid as it gets! Maybe that has something to do with it. Its been rainy the last few days too. Ive had the pieces sitting in the guest room, uncovered. They are in the kitchen now with only napkins covering them, still drying. I will wait a few more days. Im in no hurry. If they dont seem to get better I will try the oven. I already broke 3 trees so I was getting a little worried. Thanks for your response.
i alway use wilton premade g/p and wilton fondant , when i make little animals, little people, etc... let fan blow right on them.. i like the premade wilton g/p over the can that you make.. don,t cover your leaves with anything and let a fan blow right on them. haven,t used mmf for anything like this.. i live in n.c. and its been rainy and humid her also.. hope yours works out good for you..
I live in humid h*ll down in south Louisiana!
When my MMF + tylose powder refuse to dry, I put it in the oven with the oven light on. That seems to do the trick most of the time!
I tried picking up the pieces to put in the oven today and I broke about 6 of them as I picked them up. The leaves just broke where they were attached to the RI. I think I still have like, 8 of them in tact. They are in the oven right now. We will see. I think Im going to start over and just make them all with gumpaste. I feel like Ive wasted so much time and money. Frustrating. 
I know people use 50/50 to give them some more time to work and mold the MMF before it hardens. If you don't need time, try just gumpaste.
I am new to using fondant but here is an idea: could you make the leaves and let them dry completely then attach them to the base? Maybe they would dry faster/sturdier this way. You can attach with RI or add a few drops of water to MMF to make a sticky glue.
HTH!
I live in Southeast Texas! Humidity is a pain, but I use a good amount of Tylose in my MMF and it works great. I also try and make stuff at least a week in advance.
could you make the leaves and let them dry completely then attach them to the base? Maybe they would dry faster/sturdier this way.
HTH!
I let them dry for 4 days before I tried attaching them to the base. I thought they were sturdy enough until they started breaking after they were attached. Like I said, the RI did its job beautifully, its just that the leaves were still soft in the middle. I thought they were ok because the outside was dry feeling and it held its shape. Oh well.
I use a good amount of Tylose in my MMF and it works great.
You know, a co-worker of mine was going to bring me some of that powder. She had some extra, and its like nearly a 2 hour drive for me to get to a store that carries it. Ill call the store right now and see if she brought it for me last night. If not, I think Ill go ahead and try it with the rest of the gumpaste I have left.
Thanks for all your advice, everyone.
Hi JCE62108
Im in Fl too - and like you, Ive been trying since Sat to get some pieces dry - my pieces are quite a bit thicker than yours - but today they seem better than even last night (I was really worrying) - Like you said, with all this humid rain we're having, I think we just need to be patient!!! They will dry eventually - hopefully b4 you NEED them to be ... I dont need mine till next Wed so here's to crossing our fingers!!!
I'll say a little sugarhardening prayer for you if you do the same for me!! 
Just wanted to say Good Luck!
LOL thanks! But Im down to 4 palm trees now, started with 13. I think all hope is lost for this batch, but I hope yours works alright!
Im just a little over-anxious. Im so excited about my son's first birthday...but thats the end of June! So I have a while to figure this mess out. lol.
The MMF tends to stay softer than the Wilton fondant. We use Regalice to cover our cakes, but I like the Wilton fondant for making flowers, etc. Definitely add Tylose powder to it...or you can add some Gumtex. For something that needs to be able to stand out...like the leaves on the palm trees, I would use straight gumpaste or pastillage. It just holds up better up in humid conditions...like we have here in Florida
I just went into town to talk with a fellow cake decorator and get her advice. She gave me some tylose powder and said to not glue the leaves to the base using royal icing.
Her suggestion was to make a base out of a ball of fondant/gumpaste, then push the dried leaves into it and allow it to dry. She said it would also be helpful to make a "glue" using a bit of the fondant (with tylose added) and adding a small amount to some hot water and letting it dissolve. She said this makes a great glue for fondant but is not sure if it works with MMF.
Does anyone know for sure if that will work before I get started again? Im not trying this a 4th time. If this doesnt work Im gonna buy some plastic palm tree picks! lol.
Something is not right...In 4 days should be plenty dry. I live in FL. and It's been raining here and humid, I did some orchids, they are dried already and I did them last night. Then again I dont trust the gumpaste in the can from Wilton and dont trust very much MMF. I prefer to use the premade gumpaste from wilton than the can. That one dries very fast.
But I usually make my own gumpaste.
I am not sure, it sounds to me that you have more hazzle by waiting to see if they dry than to make new ones..
Edna
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