Has anyone ever had this problem? I make my own buttercream icing, I use country crock margarine and shortening with the transfat in it, from Wal-Mart. I ice my cakes and put the fondant on them, they are fine for a little while, then, it will start leaking around the bottom of the cake. It looks like the icing is melting. It's not a lot, but I can put a paper towel up against it and it will soak it up. Is there anything I can do? It is not hot in my house, actually we keep it pretty cool. It seems to cause bubbles also. If anyone can help, please do!!! Thanks in advance!!

Margarine is LOADED with water. I'm guessing that's the problem--the water is releasing from the emulsion and is melting the fondant from the back side. I strongly suggest switching to real butter. Much less water in butter than in margarine.

HTH
Rae

make a butter cream without butter.. like wilton. it uses crisco, water and powder sugar, and merigune powder. Also, it wouldnt need to be in the fridge.

Butter melts. If you use butter in something you are not baking, its going to melt. you might have better luck with it in the winter. Butter melting is just the way of the world )

I make a buttercream with half butter and half hi ratio shortening. It doesn't need refrigeration and it doesn't "melt" unless the temps go above 85 degrees--and an all shortening buttercream will melt at about the same temp, anyway.

Many people here use an all butter meringue buttercream--IMBC, SMBC, etc.--and although it will melt at a lower temp than an all shortening BC, it won't separate and cause the problem the OP has described.

The OP's issue is with water turning the back of the fondant to a sugar syrup, not with melting due to temp.

Rae

Thank you all for the help! If I use real butter, won't that change the taste of the icing? That is my biggest selling point, the taste of my icing. But, if it will help, I am willing to try anything!!!

Given that the goal of margarine is to imitate butter, I can't see it being a big change.

Make sure that you use UNSALTED butter. It's pretty bland, just like Country Crock.

Your icing will be stiffer, so you may have to adjust the liquid you add to the recipe.

Rae

I 1,000 percent agree with everything balks cakes said. It is not an issue of butter melting, but the reaction of using margarine and the other stuff.

BTW, even butter has flavoring in it. So no matter what you use you will get that butter flavor. It just depends on how close the flavor is from brand to brand . Even Land O Lakes has "natural" flavoring added to it.

It is most definitely the margarine.I use half butter and half shortening in the cooler months and all shortening in the hotter temps. Though in a pinch I must admit I have used margarine in place of butter, but that cake was for my family and I would never have put fondant on top of it as it was stable enough for a very short time but would have never made it with fondant. IMO though real butter tastes so much better, give it a try! HTH