Ever Heard Of Using A "clothes Steamer" For Fondan
Decorating By jleigh982 Updated 25 Jan 2010 , 4:27am by SecretAgentCakeBaker
sooo i like watching cake boss from time to time to pick up new tips on "other" ways of doing stuff. that and because there kitchen drama is alot more exciting then mine lol
anywho tonight as i was watching (its the episode where he's making his sisters birthday cake) and i noticed that after they put the fondant on the cake and stacked it, they showed a glimps and he had one of those hand held "clothes steamers" similar to a "jiffy steamer" up to the cake... anybody ever heard of this or know what its used for? i tried to figure it out on my own but im baffled...
I too love that show, but have to admit, I wouldn't last one day in there with all the screaming. LOL Yes it's a clothes steamer, I haven't used one but I am interested in trying it too.
the theory i've thought of was that its either to "dry" everything holding the pieces together, so nothing falls off...or to add a shine to the cake, i say this only because his cakes always look better after he does it lol... personally i've always used the lusterdust/vodka method but oh well maybe someone can enlighten me lol
He actually has explained this on one of the episodes I think- he also used it on Food Network Challenge!
He uses it to give the fondant a nice shine.
ohhh thats a great idea! I've just been going over it with a vodka/color mixture. a steamer seems like such a better idea. im gonna try it. thanx.
I use a "clothes buddy" steamer I got at Walgreens for about $10
I have a small steamer I have used exclusively for caking for years. Make sure not to get too close to the cake as it can "spit" and leave water droplets that are a bear to deal with. It is also great for setting petal dust on gumpaste flowers. I'm not a fan of the super-shiny cake that Buddy finishes with, so I just lightly run the steamer over the cake so that it erases any cornstarch or powdered sugar --gives it a sheen but not a high gloss.
You can even use a clothes iron, just hold it far away from the cake. Tip I picked up here on CC.
Iron is better for flowers than a whole cake because you have to tip it to get proper angles for fullest coverage... spitting occurs much more often with a clothes iron vs. a clothes steamer. 
Yep, I have a small conair steamer (i think that's the brand) that I now use on all of my cakes. You can see the nice shine it gives to black fondant....
This one doesn't seem to "spit" hardly at all. Especially if you don't shake it back and forth. Just hold it steady & spin the cake around to get an even shine. The process is actually melting the fondant just a bit, so I always put my cakes back in the fridge after steaming. HTH...
There's a video of Buddy using the steamer at the below link. (You have to look on the left and click the one for Buddy.)
http://www.satinfinefoods.com/how.htm
I got one recently and I love it! Works quickly and leaves a nice shine.
This is great info! I wondered about it making the fondant sweat, since that is a problem I have read about when people put it in their refrigerator! So I wondered how it didn't ruin the fondant!!
Bon Ton has their clothing steamers on sale this week. They start at $4 and go up.
http://www.bonton.com/category/home/kitchen/small+appliances/garment+steamers.do?sortby=ourPicks
Also, until Tuesday, there is an additional 10% off coupon; it's on their homepage of the website, but here is a direct link to it.
http://www.bonton.com/text/ancillary/couponsandrebates/1.24-1.26_syw.pdf
Lastly, Kitchenaids and attachments are also on sale.
http://www.bonton.com/category/home/kitchen/small+appliances/mixers+%26+attachments.do?sortby=ourPicks
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