I have been decorating cakes for 12 years now and have never used fondant. I did make a purse handle out of fondant one time, I put it in refrgerator and it "flopped" Do you leave fondant cakes set out and fondant figures? Are there any tips that can help me with making fondant into different things? I would love it if anyone can help me with these questions, thanks so much in advance

To make a purse handle, you are best off adding some Tylose powder to your fondant, using a 50/50 mix of fondant & gum paste or using straight gum paste. I prefer Wilton fondant for figure and shapes, it is stiffer and holds up better than other brands (its also cheaper and generally people won't eat figures or shapes that are dried anyway so the taste isn't a factor). Let it dry before putting it in the fridge and make sure the cake is not in an airtight container (cardboard box or just set on the platter is best). If you have a very humid fridge, do not put fondant in your fridge. You can test with a piece of fondant on a cupcake to see how your fridge handles it. Also, search through the forums on here, there is a lot of wonderful information.

Thanks so much for the info! It's sad to say I haven't really used fondant and have been decorating for a while now. I've only been doing cakes at grocery stores and I am very limited to what I can do there. I want to do bigger and better things basically. I have been wanting to have my own business on the side at home. I have a big baby shower coming up I have a wonderful idea as to what I want the cake to look like. The hard part is since I haven't used fondant I am not sure how the turn out will be. Basically, I need to make a 3d monkey sitting on top of a cake, and I have a teddy bear cake pan that I was thinking about using for the monkey and then using fondant to make the arms legs and tail etc. I actually have a wilton cake decorating book with a smaller monkey in it and it does have instructions, but not exact instructions on how to make the fondant legs and tail. Do you have any ideas that can help me with this?

If you've never worked with fondant before, you should definitely practice. I started out by taking the Wilton classes and found it was an excellent foundation (I was lucky to have a wonderful teacher). If you have the chance to take the classes, you should. I find hands on is the best way for me to learn, then I was able to take that foundation and use the internet (mostly this site) to learn a whole lot more, and of course, practice, practice, practice and more practice. Trial and error does account for a lot. I know AC Moore is only $20 for the 4 week courses, you may be able to contact the instructor and see if they feel like you would benefit from basics or if you have enough skills to go directly to the fondant class - that would really depend on what you are already proficient at.

Yes. I am definetly going to need practice. I tell everyone who asks me how I learned the same thing... As for classes I would love to take one it's just trying to find time to do it since I work at a grocery store it's hard to have a set schedule. I did take a wedding cake course 8 years ago and I actually already knew everything they did ... But I think I would benefit better in a class since I learn from watching and hands on. This is a great helpful site, I just became a memeber and already I am learning. I know the michaels by my house has fondant classes i forget how much, but for 20 dollars at acmoore I think would be great. Thanks again

Fondant is sugar paste and when exposed to humidity it will melt...or 'flop'. Don't put fondant figures in the fridge if you can avoid it. They won't dry there. Use gum paste for items that need to be hard and dry faster. Wilton's makes a pre-made gum paste that works great. You can get it very thin...unlike fondant...and it will hold it's shape. I hate putting Tylose in fondant. It just makes it dry and hard to work with to me.

If you can get (or make) modeling chocolate, those are best for figures IMO. It's very soft and easier to smooth...but it never completely dries.

Use fondant for your decor like you would play dough! Cut circles, shapes, flowers...there's really nothing you can't do with it.

If you have a cake in mind that you want to copy, just look at it and ask yourself (or anyone here) how do I get there? What is it I need in order to make this happen? Use Google search and find tutorials...especially on YouTube. You don't need to take classes to learn how to use fondant to decorate. COVERING a cake is another story! I still don't know how to do that! Good luck and have fun with it!

I really don't know why I put it in the fridge but when I took it out and it was hard I figured oh ok it's going to stay, little did I know when I put it on the cake it got soft again but sinc I have no experience I didn't know any better but now I willl know for next time. I'm actually a bit behind in technology I just got the internet again and I'm so glad I found this site to get help with the thing I love most. So modeling chocolate is for figures, would I use that for a monkey tail legs and arms?