Ok I need to find out how you guys get such perfect fondant. Anytime I do mine, I have to steam it, so I can get the CS off of it. So my cakes are shiny. I would love to make one that looks just as nice, but I don't have to shine it.

Also how do you get it pliable enough to make pleats etc... everytime I go to do something where a dress has to hang or ripple, I get cracks.

I really HATE fondant lol

I tried using crisco with the MMF, it was ok, but, still would crease and start to crack when I rolled it up to put it on cake. So I tried a little more, then it was too sticky, so I tried using CS, in small amounts I might add. But then it crumbled, ugh. Even when I colored it, I did black and it just crumbled on me. I don't know what to do anymore any help or tutorials would be awesome. thanks

I don't know what kind of fondant that you use but I use MFF (not MMF) and I also steam my cakes but after an hour or two the "shine" is gone.

If you don't want to steam your cakes a pastry brush with a little shortening works very well to remove cornstarch or powdered sugar from your fondant.

Fondant is not an easy medium...it takes a lot of work and practice and unless you have accidently hit upon the right consistancy it can be very frustrating to work with and not have work for you.

I can only give you what I have found. I started out with Wilton fondant so I had that stiff stuff that really didn't have any give but it did have the right "feel" to it...smooth, satiny...then I bought some fondarific and it had the right stretch to it but cost a fortune. Finally I tried the MMF recipe here and since I already knew the consistancy I wanted it wasn't as hard to work with for me. Basically, if you bake, then you want a soft bread dough or pizza dough consistancy. I think it's more like pizza dough myself since pizza dough can get sticky just looking at it and MMF is like that too. Basically I learned that sticky means add more PS and cracking means knead in more crisco...and the more kneading the better to make it soft and silky. Also, dark colors are just death for MMF...the more dark dye you add the drier it gets...better to buy, not make. Oh, and to help with the PS all over the fondant...when you finish rolling it out on PS (and I only roll out white or ivory on PS...colors are on crisco) you sweep your hand over the flat top of the fondant to distribute the sugar smoothly so there are no pockets of sugar anywhere then put it on the cake..then use your smoother to make the fondant smooth and then take one last very gentle sweep with your hand to remove any lingering sugar.

Now, does it always work for me, no. I have bad days where I wonder if just scraping it all off and trying to do it in buttercream wouldn't be a better idea. Humidity is a killer for MMF. It's SO hard to work with on rainy days. I just get panicky when I see its a rainy day when I have a cake due. It takes a lot of patience too and sometimes I just don't have it but, as with any business, I don't really have the option to wait till my patience level is better and have to deal with it anyway.

I feel for you (((HUGS)))

Cat

I know I've said this many times but I have to rave over Fondarifc fondant. It's the best I have found-also, you can roll it thinner than most too.
http://www.fondarific.com/

Thanks guys and thanks Cat for that in depth explaination. I can get the PS out of the flat areas of the fondant, its mainly when I do decorations. If I can add a pic of the cake I just did, you will see what I mean. You can't see the PS, cause I steamed the cake, however the decoration part is what I am talking about. I didn't have much a problem with it with the acception of the dark colors (black, grey, brown) I tried kneading more and more crisco in, but it didn't seem to matter. I managed to get the cake done anyway, but I wasn't pleased with some of it. Though the client LOVED it, specially the 2 yr old boy it was for. I don't like buying fondant, it costs too much, specially if you are making a bigger cake and need as much as I did for this one. I made 3 batches of MMF for this cake and was hoping to have leftover for another one for Wednesday, but I barely have any left, so I have to make more. The cake was a 14" round and a 10" round.

What is MFF??

Ahhhh...I see now...and btw, great cake! When you roll out dark colors just roll it out onto a thin layer of crisco instead of PS. No problem with getting it to roll out well and you don't have PS on it. I only use PS for light colors.

Cat

Once you get the consistency of the fondant right, use cornstarch rather than more PS. PS gets absorbed and makes it dryer. The cornstarch does not. And it should brush right off. You can also use a little baby nasal aspirator to blow it off. When I make my MMF, I get it to a very stretchy stage, where it still needs PS added, and I let it rest for a little while. Then I add the coloring and more PS slowly to get it to the stage needed. That helps when colors affect your consistency. I usually throw it away when it gets to the cracking stage, people say to add Crisco but I never have been able to salvage it.

Have you tried rolling your MMF on parchment paper sheets? I almost never have to add powdered sugar or corn starch when I use parchment paper, it just naturally resists sticking and it's great to flip the fondant onto the cake.

Don't forget to microwave the MMF here and there for a few seconds. I little crisco and a trip to the microwave helps me when I'm working on decorations.

I roll out on a 50/50 mix of CS & PS. Light or dark, it brushes right off for me. I use a soft paint brush. A 1" wide one for larger surfaces, and smaller artist brushes for detailed areas. If I have a spot that doesn't want to cooperate, I dip the brush lightly in vodka and use that. If the vodka leaves a shiny spot (doesn't usually, but depends on the fondant) once it dries, I dip the brush in cornstarch and brush away the shine.

I use to have the problem all the time, but I recently found a set of silicone baking pans someone had given me years ago as a gift. I never liked baking with them(not enough stability for me), so I took an exacto and cut the bottoms out and started using them to make my fondant accents. They are perfect because they never stick(I put a really, really light layer of crisco on them) and they are just the right size I haven't used ps on them since.

Oh, and I also had the crumbly black fondant you were talking about. I just kept adding crisco and eventually it smoothed out. I was afraid it might get a greasy shine to it, but it turned out just fine.

thanks greatly all, I will try those tricks with my next cake, tomorrow. I need lots of black fondant I hate the black lol.

I have blue leftover from previous cake, do you think I can add the black and it will turn black or will it still look bluish?