hey everyone

so i'm in the middle of making a pirate ship cake for a birthday party. i decided to use michele foster's fondant recipe because i hear great things about it. everything was going perfect until i started adding icing sugar cup by cup to the mixing bowl with my mixer & dough hook. i read in the instructions to add icing sugar until the fondant stuck to the dough hook.. unfortunately, this never happened & my mixer suddenly stopped, made a funny noise, and then started smoking.. and it STINKS! my bowl stuck to the mixer and i had to use all my strength to get it unstuck. i took the fondant out of the bowl and decided to knead the rest by hand (i used about 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 bags of icing sugar, which should be about 3 1/2 cups or a little more. but now my fondant seems crumbly and dry.

i need help as soon as possible!!!!!! thanks for any help!

I'm so sorry - I hope your mixer is okay. I can't answer your question, but I've been wondering about doing MFF by hand so I thought I would jump in here and see what we find out. I know that Michele has suggested kneading in some additional glycerin if your fondant seems too dry. I would like to find out if I can do the whole thing by hand because I'm scared of burning up my mixer.

I can't answer your question either about Michelle Fosters fondant, because I've never made it. But you might could add crisco or a little water. I only use MMF and i do mine by hand and always have. I picked up alot of paint sticks at lowes and when I do the mmf, I dip the stick in crisco and coat it and stir the MMF once it's out of the microwave w/ps, then pour it put on a counter covered in PS. I knead like bread, it's relaxing and fun. Can't imagine putting that stuff in my mixer.

I do my MMF by hand too and I enjoy it. I've started doing the whole thing in a big Corningware baking dish. I don't even turn it out on the counter to knead. There is almost NO mess!

I've made Michele's & love it. Can't compliment it enough. If you used 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 bags you used more than 3 1/2 cups. One 1 lb bag is about 4 cups. So, you've put in 6-7 cups ps if you had a 1 lb bag. If you had a 2 lb bag then you've put way more than 3 1/2 cups.

It will be like soft pliable clay or dough. You want it to stay on the dough hook, not slide off when you lower the bowl. That's when I take it out. Another way is to pinch it between 2 fingers, you don't want it sticking to your fingers before you take it out & knead it.

thanks for all of your input! but yeah sorry i re-read what i wrote and i meant 3 1/2 lb. it wasnt sticking to my dough hook, but it also wasnt sticking to my fingers when i pinched it. for the last hour i spent adding glycerine to the fondant and it has a smooth look and texture except there are some cracks in it and when i push it, it separates... i added the rest of the glycerine i had to get it to a manageable state.. i am just gonna wrap it in the plastic wrap with cooking oil and let it sit for 6 hrs n hope it gets better =( any other ideas?

Crisco! I've never used oil. Crisco has helped me in the past, as well as glycerin. Do small amounts, not the entire batch at once, then combine them all.

For the future (& please give it another try b/c it is AWESOME) the fondant will stick to the dough hook, but it won't collapse. It's like it will hold it's shape. Think of it as w/ egg whites & their peaks---soft peak doesn't hold it's shape medium does & so does stiff. You want it medium & then start kneading sugar in by hand. Make sense?

so i wasn't suppose to add the extra cups of icing sugar while it was in the mixer??

i always use crisco as well, but the instructions said to wrap it in plastic wrap with cooking oil to sit for 6 hrs so thats what i did.... is that wrong?

i will definitely try it again because the taste is amazing!!!

so i wasn't suppose to add the extra cups of icing sugar while it was in the mixer??

i always use crisco as well, but the instructions said to wrap it in plastic wrap with cooking oil to sit for 6 hrs so thats what i did.... is that wrong?

i will definitely try it again because the taste is amazing!!!

so i wasn't suppose to add the extra cups of icing sugar while it was in the mixer??

i always use crisco as well, but the instructions said to wrap it in plastic wrap with cooking oil to sit for 6 hrs so thats what i did.... is that wrong?

i will definitely try it again because the taste is amazing!!!

somewhat off subject, but I have tried MFF twice now, and I have no stretch in it at all. I don't know what I am doing wrong, I use glycerin, and gelatin. When I roll it out, the edges are not smooth, but cracked. I keep reading about how wonderful it is, but not for me, I am doing something wrong. The question is what. Sure would appreciate some imput on this.

I rarely add all of the ps when I make MMF or MFF. I get it to the stage where it is just a bit sticky but firm. I lightly cover it with crisco and then wrap it really well and place in a plastic bag to rest. Several hours later or the next day I take it out. It has usually firmed up by then. If it is still really sticky I add small amounts of the ps until I like the texture. Sometime all you have to do is lightly cover it with crisco be for kneading it the next day.

It does firm up after resting. I've told people in the past to add enough to where it is soft, but not to working consistency unless you are using it right away. Katie, add more glycerin next time you make it. I used 5 T (after pming Michele a few months ago) and it will be the sweetest thing you've ever worked with. If you want you can start out w/ 3 or 4 T when cooking & add the rest after it rests, just knead it in. It will be sticky but keep kneading.

Katie, I am having the exact same issue. it rolls out pretty smooth but the edges are cracked and there is no elasticity. if i were to put it on a cake and use a fondant smoother, it will crack & tear. i dont want to throw it away, and i've added 2 additional tablespoons of glycerine on top of the 2 that the recipe already called for.. and it was all i had in the bottle anyways =( anything else i can do to try to salvage it? i have to cover my ship tomorrow =(


Thanks for everyone's input though! i think i would definitely try it again in the future.. live & learn =)

Keep kneading Crisco into it. Do small separate pieces then knead them all together.