Fondant Bulge. Help Please!!
Decorating By CrumblesConfections Updated 5 Nov 2011 , 2:01am by CrumblesConfections
Okay, I know this topic probably has been done to death, but I had my first cake wreck last night. I lazily didn't crumbcoat my cakes until it was time to to lay the fondant. Is this what makes the fondant bulge hideously? I used a very thin crumbcoat the 2nd time around (I had to leave work early to come home and redo the entire cake). And how is it that ganache doesn't bulge (haven't tried it yet under fondant, but probably will now). I see other fondant cakes and they are SO SMOOTH and flawless. How is that achieved? I'm at my wits' end because it starts to look so unprofessional to me if it isn't smooth. Also, I haven't been using a crusting buttercream. I have watched video after video on how to lay fondant and I generally don't have a problem until the fondant is on the cake and then the battle of the bulge begins. Any tips or links to other threads would be appreciated!
The key is to get your buttercream as smooth as possible, and then chill the cake. When you chill it for several hours, it gets nice and firm so you are able to smooth the fondant on without the buttercream shifting underneath.
Good luck!
Kitagrl is absolutely correct.
In addition, I think it helps to allow your cakes to settle at room temp for a while before refrigerating. The weight of the top layer will always cause some of the air to become disbursed, and better to have it settle earlier than later after you've applied your fondant. Once it comes back to room temp after the fondant is applied, any further settling will be almost nil.
As far as ganache, think of it like covering your cake in a candy shell.
Best,
Kat
Yeah, I screwed up because I put my crumbcoated cakes in the freezer too long and then put the fondant on and when it got back to room temp the humidity messed it up. Thanks for the advice.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%