Today I made my mom her Bday cake (it was late) I've been looking on you tube and it looks very easy but I see that it is not. I made a 3 layer cake. I should of made a two layer cake it was red velvet tasted pretty good but looked horrible. I notice when the cake began to rise it had crackes in it, is it because I didnt beat it until it was smooth? then came the fondant I had used Wilton ready to use Fondant omg where do I start the first fondant that I had rolled out I didnt microwave it, I did put corn starch down so it wouldnt stick then I didnt have a rolling pin and I think that was the biggest mistake of all it didnt cover the bottom of the cake also I did put the cake in the freezer to chill so I can put the butter cream frosting on Once I had took the cake out the freezer I started putting the butter cream and the surface started to lift up then the other 2 cakes came out ok one of the was smoother than the other so it was much easy to put the butter cream on but I ran into the same problem again the FONDANT I didnt have enough and I didnt have the smoother is there anyone that can help me wih this situation I really want to learn how to make these speciality cakes with the fondant

Hi there...I'm hoping I can help.

Now that you have tried the Wilton fondant and you know the consistancy you may be open to trying to make MMF. You can find the recipe here on CC and it's pretty easy to make. Like with anything in cake making it may take you a bit to learn all the tricks but we are all here to help so don't be afraid to ask...in fact, feel free to PM me anytime.

When you bake your cakes you are bound to get some cracks during the baking process on top...that's ok..because you will want to trim off the top to make a nice level surface when your cake is cooled. Now either you can do two two inch cake layers or cut each of those into 1 inch layers and fill in between to make a four layer cake. Honestly most people I run into say they'd rather have more cake inside and less filling so I usually make 2 2 inch cakes and just level those instead of cutting them (torting) them again to make 4 layers. Two 2 inch layers filled will make a standard 4 inch high cake that you'd see at most parties or weddings. Once you have a cool cake that you have leveled (I use a 12 inch bread knife to level mine but there are lots of levelers out there that you can buy) then you can wrap them (remember this is what I do) and freeze them. I freeze at least overnight up to a few days till I can finish the cake.

After freezing take them out of the freezer, unwrap and then pipe a stiff buttercream dam round the layer you are going to fill..this helps to hold in the filling. Make the filling about 1/4 inch high inside this dam then stack the other one on top (sorry if I'm being too simplistic, just don't want to miss a step for you). With icing thinner than the dam, you want to crumbcoat a thin coat all around and on top of your cake. Then let it rest for at least 3 hours. This allows your cake to come up to room temperature and for it to settle. When the time is up check your cake for any splooshing of the filling..if so then smooth it out. You never want to put a final coating of buttercream or fondant on a cold cake...room temp always.

If you have followed all the steps for MMF then you will be taking it out of the fridge now and putting itnto the microwave for about 30 seconds to one minute to soften it up. Knead it for about 10 minutes to get it as smooth as possible on a powdered sugar matt or board (I use a silicon matt). When it seems smooth like soft pizza dough then you can roll it out, and yes, use a rolling pin, and remember to roll it out to a circle/square big enough to cover the size of the cake..say it's an 8 inch square..so you need 8 inches plus 4 inches for each side...sowhat you really need is a square that's 8+4+4 or 16 inches square to cover your cake. Roll it to about the thickness of a nickle. As you roll you need to watch the powedered sugar under the fondant. How to do this easily is to roll, turn your fondant (checking under to see if you need more PS) then roll, turn a quarter turn and check the PS under again...till you reach your final size. When you do lightly sprnkle the top of your fondant with PS and then, just lieka pie crust, fold it in half and carry to your cake...lay the fold in the center of the cake and then fold out the fondant. Now this next part will be easier if you elevate y our cake onto a 2-4 inch high surface that is msall ther than the cake...I usually use a turned over cake pan that is one size smaller than my cake. You can usually trim your extra fondant away at this point. As you smooth your fondant down the sides of your cake it will start to ruffle a bit, simply pull the ruffle away from the cake gently , smooth it down from above and move over to the next inch and smooth again. Once you have it all smoothed down you can use a fondant smoother to make sure your sides and top are smooth.

As always there are tons of videos on YouTube that will show you how to do all of this. I highly recommend the buttercream recipe here for IndyDebi's buttercream.

If there is anything else I can help with just ask!

Cat

We use Fondarific Fondant. They're flavored and very forgiving. If you get a crack or mess up, it heals really well.

Paul

I LOVE Fondarific but really can't splurge on it too often I don't sell cakes so can't recoup the cost and can't get it locally. It is soooo smooth, soft and tasty. Have gotten some of the new Duff fondant from Michaels (which is made by Fondarific) but that's expensive too altho Michaels often has 40% or 50% off coupons which really helps.
For my regular cake work - I've been making Michele Foster Fondant (MFF) - the recipe is on this site. I like it better than marshmallow fondant and it isn't much tougher to make - but you do need to make it at least a day ahead. It's too sticky fresh out of the bowl and really does need to sit overnight. I also like this because you can flavor it the way you want - I use the same flavor mix I use in my buttercream so it tastes good too.