Yesterday I had to cover a 12" round with fondant. I used Satin Ice brand for the first time. I usually use the old Wilton brand (I know), but I decided to step it up. Boy, I didn't expect the smoothness of the SI brand. It rolled great, until I got it thin enough. Then it was all down hill from there. Cracked, torn, you name it. I had to color it aqua, and that took about 10 minutes total, from opening the bucket to getting the color mixed. It rested in plastic wrap for about 10 more minutes, then I rolled it out. Did I do something wrong? Needless to say, I had to take it off the cake and use the Wilton.

Please advise. . . Thanks!!!

In "my" opinion, Wilton has a better consistency than Satin Ice. I sometimes find Satin Ice too soft, you will just have to work your way through it.

Are you rolling it too thin? Did you knead it very well? Also adding gel color to a soft fondant will have a change in consistency--making it a lot more difficult to handle.

I used satin ice black for the first leather jacket I made and it cracked for me.the color was real black but the next jacket I made my own and it was better.

I used gel color. It was my usual thickness, don't think too thin. I kneeded it for a bit, so it was nice and workable.

Can you all advise on a brand to buy that tastes good and is user friendly, other than Wilton? I have 2 six-month olds and a two year old, so if I can cut out a step by buying ready made that would help save time.

Thanks for all the advise!

I've used Satin Ice and Fondx and they perform well. The first time I used Satin Ice, I had TONS of problems but once you get used to it, it will be better.

Taste wise, I prefer Chocopan and then Fondx and Satin Ice being the last. My number one suggestion is Jennifer Dontz's semi homemade recipe--it doesn't take a lot of time to make and it is basically mess free.

I had mine crack once, I dont know why..it was just strange.
Edna

I just used black Satin Ice for the first time last weekend, and I did not really like it. It smelled funny and was sooo soft and kept sticking to everything. It did crack a bit on the corners too.

rylan if one wishes to color fondant; instead of gel colorants; what should we use? a powder color or something like americolor? (both i have not used so i can't give my own experience)

For darker colors, many people suggest to use powdered food color (never tried it) or better to just airbrush it.

If the color is light, I doesn't really hurt to use gel food coloring.

i have to say it has been a while since i did a fondant cake, i just opened new red and black satin ice this weekend. And it was very soft, much softer then the last time i used it. I wonder if they have changed something in their recipe.

I use homemade MFF for everything but black, and I have only used Satin Ice black. Hate it. It dries wrinkly and leathery (great if that's the look you want! Once I actually did want it!) and generally looks awful.

I was wondering if there is another brand precolored black?

I believe Chocopan has precolored black as well as the one that Cal Java sells.

I just take chocolate fondant and add a little black. It works great.

I just posted last week on this very subject. I had a horrible weekend with Satin Ice. I have used it many times and never had this many issues. Bubbling, rippling and it was horrible. I have had cracks in the past and dealt with those, but not much you can do when you have bubbles all over and ripples, it was awful, just about made me give up caking!!!!

I used Pettinice brand. It's easy to work with.

I finally gave up on SI for the same reason and switched to Fondarific. I've been using it for about 8 months now and I LOVE it! It's definitely more expensive though. It comes in black. They will send you samples of your choice.

Hi RYLAN...i want to take this oppoetunity to thank you for all the tutorials you shared with us. It's a great help for us being a newbie in cake decorating....many thanks.

I used satin ice black for my dragster and did not have a problem. When I did the indiana jones with the chocolate s.i. I had to roll it thicker for some reason, maybe because it was applied vertical? The ivory for the face was way too soft, but the white was perfect. Could it be it depends on the thickness rolled and how soon after the satin ice was made when purchased? For the black I think it was older fondant because it was firmer than the others. IDK, just my two cents.

I heard somewhere that Satin Ice has changed their formula some and people are having problems with it since then. Why do they change things that work????

I used to have issues with Satin Ice cracking on the edges until I changed my method of rolling it out (I used to roll it out on corn starch, then roll onto a rolling pan and unroll onto cake).

I normally coat my hands pretty well with shortening and then knead the fondant, it seems to help to add just a tad of shortening to it to make it more pliable. I then roll it onto a silicon mat that has a very thin layer of shortening on it. Once it is rolled out, I then lift the mat up and lay it over the cake and peel the mat off. This has worked miracles, I no longer get the cracking on the edges, and my air bubbles are minimized. Sharon Zamb ito uses this same method in her Fondant video.

For black, Fondarific is excellent. I'm having issues with SI too.

In fact, if I can find a way to make Wilton's taste better, I'm going to use it. It's actually got a wonderful consistency, texture, everything except the smell and taste (that's kinda important, huh? )