Hi, I am fairly new to cake decorating and have been experiencing a very frustrating problem. Most cakes that I decorate and cover with foundant end up sweating. The fondant gets very shiny and sticky. Luckily, so far, it has not been a problem, but any tips to put a stop to this would be greatly appreciated. I use a homemade MMF. Also, I live in FL so I know the humidity has a huge role in this.

Thank you for all your input in advance!

Are you refrigerating your cakes? I don't use perishable fillings because I NEVER refrigerate my cakes. It's really hot and humid here as well and refrigerating cakes doesn't work for me.

If it's winter here, I can put my cakes in the fridge because when I pull them out, it's still fairly cool in the house and I don't have the sweating problem. But since it's been warming up, my cakes will sweat if I have them in the fridge. It has something to do with going from cold to hot. I've found that if they do start to sweat, and they're left out for a while, the condensation will eventually evapotate. But I have just stopped putting them in the fridge once they're covered in fondant. But I can see a future problem... ants... that's my next hurdle to tackle : )

I always keep my cakes in the fridge and have never had any problems. I think a chilled cake is more stable for delivery. I think it might have something to do with the humidity after you remove your cake from the cold. It usually disappears after you let the cake sit out on the counter for a while. I live in CA so we have a dry climate with low humidity.

What about trying a mini fan set up close to your work area? That would help speed the drying process? Just a suggestion. I have done that before when it is really humid out.

I have actually tried to not refridgerate my cakes, also thinking that might be the issue, but I still seem to have problems with sweating. I often freeze my cakes before I decorate them so they are more stable. Do you think this could be causing a problem? So far the wet/sticky apprearance never seems to go away. My cakes end up looking like they are meant to be leather.

Are they completely thawed before you start to ice them?

No usually they are still kind of stiff when I start icing them. Do you think the defrosting cake is the problem?

The cakes can still be quite cold when you start working with them. Not completely frozen, of course, but cold, yes. All of my cakes are cold, start to finish, and I have no issues with sweating.

What brand of fondant do you use? Perhaps the issue lies with that.

I make my own MMF.

I never had great luck with MMF, though I know some do. One of the reasons I didn't like it is that it didn't do well with the fridge. If you like making your own, I know for sure that Michelle Foster's recipe holds up in the fridge and with cold cakes... I've used it several times. I mostly use Satin Ice now, which does fabulous with cold cakes.

Thank you so much. I will have to try this out. Does the Satin Ice have a good flavor. I get so many compliments on the homemade that I am afraid to try anything else.

Taylor Made Treats...DEFINITELY the freezer is the issue. I have only done the freezer-to-fondant thing once....SWEAT like crazy. Does not happen with refridgeration though....room temp is so much easier, I wish there was a hard and fast rule about that and safety (

But all those things are the yummiest! I only use those things, so I always refrigerate, there's no choice there.

I live in a moist climate too and have had all sorts of trouble with this. Regardless of the type of fondant. It does help me to keep the cakes out of the fridge after fondant goes on. Also I am not afraid of powdered sugar. It is in the fondant anyway (I use MMF too). It helps me to put powdered sugar on my hands and rub it gently on the problem spots. If my hands start to stick, I add some more. After my cake is dry I just brush off any excess ps with a soft brush. I know Florida is a bathtub, even compared to where I live, so I would experiment with some small cakes and try leaving them out for several hours after covering with fondant (this will limit you to non-perishable fillings) possibly even overnight. If after this they are still sticky, try the ps and see if it helps. Best wishes, and my sincere sympathies. It is an aggrivating problem.

Do you have central air?

Once you remove the cake from the freezer/fridge remove any plastic wrap and enclose the cake in a thick cardboard box in a cool room as the cake comes to room temperature and begins to sweat the cardboard will absorb MOST of the moisture and keep your cake from sweating too much and will help it "dry" more quickly.I find this is the best way to eliminate the "cake sweats"HTH

[quote="eccl1-12"]I know Florida is a bathtub, even compared to where I live,

Edna (tonedna) also lives in Florida and I've seen her post saying that she never refrigerates a cake after it's been filled.

Humidity is really an issue for me here in Arkansas as well. I'm very lucky as no one around here wants pudding or custard in their cakes. The most used "filling" is buttercream or ganache.

I think the term "sweat" is misleading here. The moisture is not coming from the cake. The moisture is coming from the humidity in the warm air in the room outside the refrigerator condensing on the cold cake. The coldness turns the moisture in the air from a gas (humidity) to a liquid (droplets on your left out milk bottle or cake) Notice that the droplets on a left out milk bottle are water, not milk "sweating" out of the bottle.

So the reason for covering a cake when you take it out of the fridge is not so the covering can absorb the moisture that the cake sweats. It's to protect the moisture in the air from being able to reach the cake. Humidity in the room will condense on the outside of the cold box and never even reach the cake. That way the cake can come to room temp while remaining dry the whole time.

I have also heard others who have some sweating issues say that if they leave the cake alone and don't touch it, it will dry again after 3 hours or so. Don't know, since mine don't sweat, but I have heard that quite a bit here.

I mostly keep my fondant covered cakes in the fridge, I have had the sweating problems a few times and I realized that then I had the refrigerator set on super cold settings, so now I keep it on a medium setting, that way there is not a lot of temperature difference between the outside and inside.
And If I do get some sweating I use the powder sugar too.
HTH

[quote="artscallion"]I think the term "sweat" is misleading here. The moisture is not coming from the cake. The moisture is coming from the humidity in the warm air in the room outside the refrigerator condensing on the cold cake.


Agree 100%