My Second Fondant Cake. Help.

Decorating By Rylan Updated 29 Apr 2009 , 8:38pm by Rylan

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Rylan Posted 21 Apr 2009 , 5:01pm
post #1 of 16

This is a link for my second fondant cake:




I've had a lot of problems.

1. It was so diffucult for me to roll out a single huge piece of fondant. The bottom tier was 14 inch round and a little but more than 8 inches tall. I have no Idea how to do this.

2. My fondant dries are REALLY fast. Do I need a humidifier? What else can I do?

4. Whenever I add the food coloring get to my fondant, it seems to soften it so much. I use Americolor, is there anything I can do?

5. I'm not sure if I am reffering to the same thing but it seems like I'm getting the "elephant" skin on my cake. It seemed so dry. What can I do to avoid this? I live in a VERY dry climate.

Thanks for having the time to read this.

15 replies
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khkakes Posted 21 Apr 2009 , 5:51pm
post #2 of 16

1st that's an amazing cake and super ambitious for your 2nd fondant cake.

I've never covered a cake as large as your bottom tier. I might think about covering it as 2 seperate tiers, stacking them and then putting a decoration of some type around the seam. I'm sure this is not the best idea and others will tell you some better way.

I'm not sure what kind of fondant your using but from my experience Wilton dries very fast. Satin Ice is a little more forgiving. If your having trouble work some shortening into the fondant and see if that helps.

I made dark blue fondant this weekend and was worried it was too soft also. It didnt' seem to be a problem though. I roll out my fondant on a vinyl mat and it helped keep it from sticking. I did have some stick to my hands when kneading but it didn't end up to be an issue.

I believe the elephant skin is caused by drying. If you rub a bit of crisco very lightly into the fondant when you first see it may help. Don't use much crisco otherwise it will make a shiny spot.'

I'm sure there are others who can help more than I did though.

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kakeladi Posted 21 Apr 2009 , 6:34pm
post #3 of 16

khkakes gave good advice.
Roll it out on a very lightly Crisco greased surface. If you have 'elephant skin' it needs a little Crisco kneaded into it.
If it gets too soft from adding color could you make your colors lighter? OR you need to knead in some powdered sugar but then you're back to elephant skin icon_sad.gif
If the fondant is really dry you need to knead in some egg white.
There is a very fine balance between enough Crisco and egg white. There should be more egg white.

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Rylan Posted 21 Apr 2009 , 10:12pm
post #4 of 16

Thanks khakes and kakeladi. I currently use satin Ice. I tried rolling it in a silicone mat but I always get those seams of two fondant being squished together. I'm not sure if you know what i mean.

When I try to make the blue that was on my picture, It turned out really soft. I was trying to get a particular shade of blue. When I mix my greens too, it also gets really soft. Is it just me and khkakes or do people get the same thing?

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Rylan Posted 22 Apr 2009 , 3:24am
post #5 of 16

anyone else who can give me advice? suggestions?

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Rylan Posted 22 Apr 2009 , 7:22am
post #6 of 16

will a humidifier work?

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khkakes Posted 22 Apr 2009 , 11:24am
post #7 of 16

I got the mat I use at my local cake decorating store. Its just heavy vinyl and its 3 feet bu 3 feet. I believe the owner of the store has her husband make them by taking heavy vinyl and cutting it to size. It is the best $6 I've ever spent. I never have to use crisco, powdered sugar, corn starch or anything. Maybe that's why I don't have issues with the fondant getting soft. I mean it does get soft when I color it very dark but I don't have issues with rolling it out. I got it at the Cake Carousel in Richardson TX and they do ship. I think you could get the vinyl just about anywhere though. Its the kinda of vinyl you find covering tables at some restuarants. It is completely smooth so no lines.

The issue with the fondant getting soft happens to everyone its not just you and me. When I first started decorating I watched a show where a famous cake artist made a skull wedding cake with dozens of dark red roses. I can't remember her name but I've seen her on Food Network Challenges since then. Anyway, there were problems because in achieving the color the fondant got soft. So we are in good company.

I don't know for sure about the humidifier but it couldn't hurt to try it. I wouldn't get the fondant too close to the humidifier because fondant gets sticky when its too humid. In one of my classes everyone was having problems because it was really humid that day!

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Rylan Posted 22 Apr 2009 , 11:31am
post #8 of 16

thanks khkakes for the reply. I thought no one cared about me. I think i still need to practice DO rolling out fondant since I can't get a perfect circle. I usually get one side with a huge flap.

THANKS!

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khkakes Posted 22 Apr 2009 , 5:17pm
post #9 of 16

If you figure out how to roll out a perfect circle let me know. At the last class I took, the instructor said to make sure you start with a circle and make sure you keep giving the fondant a quarter turn to help keep the shape. It helped alot but I'm still not perfect with it. It worked like a charm for the girl next to me though. I will say that my handy vinyl sheet helped alot with turning the fondant once it got to big.

Since you live in Vegas are you going to Cake Camp? My husband just laughs when I tell him we need a Sept. Vegas trip so I can learn to decorate better!

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Rylan Posted 23 Apr 2009 , 8:15am
post #10 of 16
Quote:
Originally Posted by khkakes

If you figure out how to roll out a perfect circle let me know. At the last class I took, the instructor said to make sure you start with a circle and make sure you keep giving the fondant a quarter turn to help keep the shape. It helped alot but I'm still not perfect with it. It worked like a charm for the girl next to me though. I will say that my handy vinyl sheet helped alot with turning the fondant once it got to big.

Since you live in Vegas are you going to Cake Camp? My husband just laughs when I tell him we need a Sept. Vegas trip so I can learn to decorate better!


THats a good tip. I should try that one.

Actually, I am still deciding whether I should go or not since I am financially unstable at the moment. Are you coming?

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Texas_Rose Posted 23 Apr 2009 , 8:38am
post #11 of 16

You can buy the heavy vinyl at Walmart, if your Walmart still has a fabric department. Sometimes having a heavy rolling pin will help with rolling a good circle. I don't have much problem rolling a circle but I think that's because I've been making tortillas for years and it's pretty similar, just bigger. I use the same rolling pin and mats for tortillas and fondant.

I use marshmallow fondant, so I'm not sure how differently it behaves from the good stuff, but having a high level of humidity in the house makes fondant a lot harder to work with. I moved into a place that didn't have a good AC unit and I had to buy a dehumidifier because my fondant was always soft and sticky and falling off the cake. If you want to see if humidity will help your fondant, you could try setting a pan of water to boil on the stove while you're working.

When you're trying to get a certain shade of fondant, you can always paint onto it once it's on the cake to get a really vibrant color. It usually gives it a nice surface too.

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khkakes Posted 23 Apr 2009 , 10:31am
post #12 of 16

I'm not sure if were coming to Vegas in Sept. or not. I don't think my husband thinks I'm serious. The cake thing is still a mystery to him. The finance thing is also a consideration. Hopefully, it will work out and both of us will be there!

Texas_Rose: What type of rolling pin do you have. I just got the large Wilton with a 50% off coupon at Michaels and it made it easier rolling the circles just because its longer. Maybe I should practice with tortillas!

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Texas_Rose Posted 23 Apr 2009 , 10:51am
post #13 of 16

I have a Sil-pin. It's heavy and has ball bearings in it. http://www.centralchef.com/storefrontprofiles/processfeed.aspx?sfid=123094&i=185256846&mpid=7714&dfid=1 I found it a lot cheaper at Ross, but I've never seen one there again.

I've been thinking of getting that big Wilton one...Hobby Lobby has a coupon on their website for 40% off the Wilton stuff this week and I've been trying to think of something I actually need so I'd have an excuse to go.

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Rylan Posted 24 Apr 2009 , 11:58am
post #14 of 16

Texas_Rose: Thanks for the advice. I think we should trade rolling pins. I have the wilton one and believe me, it seemed so much harder. I've heard reviews that the aluminum one works easier.

How do you get to paint on the cake without streaking? I've been having problems with that.

Khkakes: I hope so too! I will definitely wish you can go. I'll take you everywhere in Vegas.

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khkakes Posted 28 Apr 2009 , 11:09am
post #15 of 16

Just wanted to let you know that I was looking at Lindy Smith's book Celebrate with a Cake (I thnk) at Hobby Lobby yesterday and she did a really tall skinny cake - I think it was 9 " tall. She rolled out a single sheet of fondant and rolled the cake up in it! She didn't need the top smooth so I don't know if this method would have worked with your cake but it was different!

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Rylan Posted 29 Apr 2009 , 8:38pm
post #16 of 16

Thanks. I should check that book out.

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