Thank you for taking the time to read my questions, I am fairly new to cake decorating..well at least to wedding cakes. I have been doing kids birthday cakes etc. for the past year or so but now have a wedding cake to make, in fact 3 this year to make.
My concerns are this: I use box cake mixes for the most part but find that the fondant seems to weigh it down a bit, am I not cooling the cake enough before...should it cool in the fridge even till the next day? Or should i be looking at a different cake recipe to make, are the box mixes too moist? And especially too moist to be stacking on top of one another?
Last question: Is the Wilton fondant really pure white or is there another way to make it wedding cake white, and also how do you make it a dark chocolate brown?
Thanks again & happy decorating!!
Shanadg
Wilton is pure white! However.....no matter how pretty your cake is, everyone will remember how nasty the fondant was! I love wilton for dummies, and for accents that will not be eaten.
Cake mix is pretty moist, but since cakes do not support tiers above it, shouldn't matter. Your support structure is what supports it. Someone made reference to being able to stack a "cake" made out of Jello once, in theory it could be done, as there should be no weight at all on any of the tiers...but that's another story.
I would make a sturdier recipe, nothing with pudding.
After you fill your layers, let them sit a while, and then chill after the crumbcoat and apply fondant onto the chilled cake. This should avoid the smooshing effect.
box mixes are sometimes not the most sturdy of things, and fondant is quite heavy, so you might be better with a different recipie, WASC uses box mixes, but comes out sturdier.
try not to keep your uncovered cakes in the fridge too much, it speeds up them going stale.
if you buy white fondant it will be a pure white, but wilton is so unpopular, youd be better buying another brand, or look at the recipes here. you can buy fondant in brown too, which makes your life easier, or make a chocolate version.
xx
If you can fit in into your budget (or just figure them into your pricing), I would use Satin Ice fondant, and it comes in a variety of colors including pure white, ivory and brown.
For a really tasty brown fondant, you could try Choco-Pan.
There are a variety of sites to purchase them, I've used Global Sugar Art as well as Into the Oven.
Thanks for all the tips, I haven't been able to find any other brand of fondant around town here. I have heard about Satin Ice but I would have to order it in.
As far as recipes go would a sponge cake be a better route for wedding cakes and if so can you make a chocolate one?
Thanks again.
PLEASE don't use wilton fondant! It's worst tasting there is (chemical taste). Use satin ice, chocopan or make Michelle Foster's recipe found on this site. Any cake needs to "settle" after being filled before the final coat of BC and again before the fondant is added. If you have time I highly recommend sugarshack's DVDs "Flawless Fondant", "Perfecting the Art of Buttercream", and "Successful Stacking". You'll be amazed how much you will learn and the difference it will make in your cake construction.
As long as you dowel it well you shouldnt have any problems with a box mix - I do it all the time. Just crumbcoat well and I usually put the crumbcoated cake in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before applying the fondant to keep it from drooping or pushing your buttercream down.
Forget the Wilton fondant though - I use FondX mostly but Satin Ice is good too and a little easier to get. Wilton is nasty.
Clovely to answer your question michelle foster's fondant is not white. It is off white, howefer you can add white coloring in it's liquid state to make it white. I tried it but it took way too much, that is just my opinion. If you are talking about marshmallow fondant it is white.HTH
If you can fit in into your budget (or just figure them into your pricing), I would use fondant, and it comes in a variety of colors including pure white, ivory and brown.
For a really tasty brown fondant, you could try Choco-Pan.
There are a variety of sites to purchase them, I've used as well as Into the Oven.
I find Satin Ice to be less expensive than Wiltons and a million times better. Wiltons is nasty stuff. I just ordered a 20lb bucket for $46 + about $30 (I ordered other stuff too) for shipping from Global Sugar Art. That comes out to about $3.80 a pound. Ground shipping only took 5 bus. days. I think Wiltons is similarly priced or even more, I think it's like $5-7 a pound. It's all about the tools. I also bake from scratch, makes for a sturdier cake when using fondant. Satin Ice, like most prof. fondant, comes in pure white, ivory, black....and many other colors. IT will last in their tightly sealed bucket for a long, long time at least 6+ months, Wilton goes bad on the trip home from the store.
wilton fondant is gross, I agree. I buy satin ice from global sugar art, it seems to be the cheapest I have found with the best shipping prices too! After spending many years searching for the perfect yellow cake recipe and never finding one that wasn't dry the next day, I recently started taking the CIA yellow butter cake recipe and combining it with 1 box of yellow duncan hines, it keeps it moist but it sturdier, not crumbly like just a cake mix recipe would be, and it's good for carving too. I guess it has the best of both worlds. I prefer to bake from scratch but I'm tired of having dry yellow cake and all my other recipes are great. Although I'm going to have to change my web site and take down the everything baked from scratch part due to this one yellow cake. I definitely think combining scratch and box can work great though or modifying a mix as some do. You should buy that book called ThE Cake Doctor, it' a recipe book on modified cake mixes...
I always use cake mixes when I make wedding cakes. It helps me keep the cost down since I don't do enough to buy in bulk. I also only use MMF. I make my own in my Kitchen Aid mixer. It's very easy. If you decide to make your own fondant, make sure you use clear flavorings. The brown vanilla, for instance, will cause your fondant to turn ivory instead of true white.
tinygoose is right - Wilton is actually more expensive than Satin Ice.
Here is good recipe based on a doctored mix from CC:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-1972-Durable-Cake-for-3D-and-Wedding-Cakes.html
It should not matter what type of cake you use. Your cake should not be supporting your tiers. I use box mix all the time...doctored mixes to be exact...and I add in my pudding and an extra egg and the cake comes out wonderfully moist and sturdy!
I have never had a problem with covering my cake in fondant with the box mixes. The best thing to do, always, is to let your cake fully cool and then wrap them good and put them in the fridge over night. OR if you don't have much time....let your cakes fully cool, fill them, wrap them, and then let your cakes settle in the fridge over night. That will allow your cakes to settle with the frosting in them and when you take them out the next day let them warm up a bit and fix any frosting bulging and crumb coat your cake and go from there!
I swear by Satin Ice now days. Yes, you have to order it online...but it is well worth it. (and wilton fondant only for little accessories and bows)
good luck!
For Fondant I use Jennifer Dontz's Chocolate Fondant! It is a beautiful white-white and is SOOO easy to work with!! The taste is out of this world, I have not had one person who doesn't just love the taste!! It starts with Pettince Fondant. White Chocolate is then added. Flavoring vcan be added also!
I have been using the WASC recipe with a Betty Crocker white cake base and have had no troubles with it!!
I am also new to wedding cakes, or just several stacked cakes in general and find these two things very simple and full proof recipies.
Good Luck!!
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