I normally have my husband do the character sculptures on most of my cakes (he's just better at it than I am ). However, I just always use marshmallow fondant. We sometimes have an issue working with it for sculpted critters and people as it settles quite a bit, etc.

My question is, is there a better fondant to use for this purpose? One that will stand better and be easier to work with for a more stable sculpture? We've got another wedding cake coming up soon and they'd like an edible topper but the marshmallow fondant people just don't seem to stand very well.

Any ideas?

Thanks so much for any help!!!

I mix half fondant with half gumpaste, or add tylose to my fondant. Either one of these solutions makes your fondant much more sturdy. I also have found that wilton fondant works well for figures (also with some tylose added in).

You shouldn't use fondant for figurines. Since your fondant may be precolored which is much easier, mix your fondant with tylose powder. That will make it much stronger and firmer to work with.

Also, if your figurines are settling or squishing, you may be making them to large to do without an armature. A few dowels can make a world of difference. Most figurines need an armature of some kind.

I also use a 50/50 mix of gumpaste and fondant. You can use pure gumpaste (and it dries very hard) but it starts to dry very quicky. If you have to bend a figure it creates "elephant skin" or wrinkling. Adding the fondant makes it more elastic and will still dry very firm.