Hi new member here and a newbie in decorating cakes with fondant. So last wednesday i decided to get out of my comfort zone and try working with fondant, I decided that making MMF would be best since it's my first time and i don't want to waste store bought fondant on my first try of working with it. So i watched some instructional videos in youtube and started working on it.
I started with a red velvet cake which is one of the common cakes i bake, filled it with cream cheese frosting and (Here is one of the mistakes i realize i did after reading up on some faqs) coated it with the cream cheese frosting, plopped it into the fridge then rolled out my fondant, removed my cake and covered it. I realized that there was something really wrong when the frosting started bleeding out under, but still i continued working on it. The fondant wasn't as smooth and was a little bit lumpy at some sides (i actually made myself believe it's because of my first time.) I placed it back into the fridge as i started working on little toppers i would be placing on top. now here is where my problems started.
When i removed the fondant covered cake from the fridge, and a few minutes of exposure at room temperature the fondant started to moist like it literally looked like a sweaty man who just jogged miles. it was wet and looked soggy and shiny. My reaction was just like watching a horror movie.
I'm not sure where and what i did wrong. was it because i refrigerated it? is it not supposed to be refrigerated?
did i make a mistake in my MMF recipe? i think i added too much water into the marshmallows.
was it because of the added moisture from the food coloring. (I used liquid. Don't kill me please it was the only food coloring i had at the moment)
was it because of the place i live in? where i live is one of the coldest places here in our country.
was it because i used Cream Cheese frosting?
I'm not sure what i did wrong. I plan on making another batch but i would want clarifications first before trying again so i won't have to waste precious ingredients.
PS. I ate the cake anyway, it was great. ^_^
Hi Blue Velvet,
Sounds like your fondant was fine and it is perfectly OK to us cream cheese frosting under your fondant. It works very well if you use the crusting recipe (Edna de la Cruz has a great recipe on her site, Design Me A Cake). I refrigerate my cake after applying icing and let it chill a bit and crust, but bring it back to room temp before applying the fondant. Once the fondant has been applied, I prefer not to refrigerate. Just put in it's box and store on the counter. I usually have a small amount of icing ooze out from underneath the fondant as I smooth it against the sides of the cake.
When adding liquid flavoring or coloring to the fondant mixture, I substitute the liquids, in equal parts, for part of the water called for in the recipe.
Hope this makes sense and that it helps.
no i didn't use the crusting recipe one, just the normal frosting one with cream cheese, whipped cream and icing sugar. but i'll check that one out.
so the sweaty fondant is just normal? I mean i plan on making a cake on my nephew's christening and i don't want my cake to look sweaty, i want the clean looking ones like the ones i see at weddings and at some birthdays i went to. granted they were professionally made but i wanted mine to at least look less wet and more dry and clean looking.
If you feel that your cake needs to be refrigerated after the fondant has been applied (I have not done this but have read where others have with success), put your cake in its cardboard box (not airtight like Tupperware). Be sure an remove the cake from the refrigerator several hours before the event. Let it come back to room temperature, still in the box. The moisture formed by condensate will dry and your cake should be as good as new.
Try to add gum mix to your MMF. I used MMF for my cake decor/toppers but I add Peotraco brand gummix (fondant improver) because that's the only available here in my local area. Liquid food coloring might cause it to moist so much specially if you add volume of liquid coloring, food color gel based is good when coloring fondant, but if only liquid you have available at the moment, just don't add to much liquid food color. I put my finished cake in refrigerator after decorating because in my country it's too hot weather so my MMF decors/toppers will moist.
When kneading your fondant, instead of putting shortening on your hands to prevent the fondant from sticking to your hands, try using cornstarch to prevent from sticking and dust/sprinkle some cornstarch on your mat/table where you knead your fondant dough. Shortening can possibly add extra moist to your fondant. That's what I do sometimes, instead of shortening, I use cornstarch specially when my MMF is moist/too soft because of too much liquid food coloring that i added to my fondant then after that, i just dust off the cornstarch that looks obvious in the fondant using food/pastry brush or if you don't have food/pastry brush I think the alternative solution is wipe it with paper towel. 
@SandraSmiley I'll try that out thank you.
@amiewid Do you also live in the Ph? I know about Peotraco gummix since i have been seeing it on display here in our place but haven't really tried using it since the recipe i follow doesn't really ask for it. what does it exactly do? is it like tylose powder or something like that? guess i'll have to lessen the liquid food coloring or i might just get those gel FC's although i'm not sure if they have the colors i need might have to check it out. so the moisture probably comes from the refrigeration then?
Yes, Philippines! So you're from Philippines too? Here's the sample pic of Peotraco Gummix (Fondant Improver) https://theabakescupcakes.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/dsc_0700.jpg available yan sa mga Baking Supply store. Makatulong yan sa consistency/elasticity ng MMF. Ganyan din ako nong una, nag try ako ng MMF buti nalang i'm so lucky nong first attempt ko hindi nag tear yung fondant maybe dahil konti lang liquid food color add ko. Pero nong second, dahil nga kailangan ma achieve ko yung dark color maraming nilagay liquid color kaya very unpleasant yung result, too moist/sweaty and nag tear, parang gusto ko nang umiyak at huminto pero hindi ako tumigil at nag research ako maraming blogs nabasa ko about MMF they add gummix. Try to see/read her site for MMF recipe http://bakehappy.net/2012/07/bake-happys-marshmallow-fondant-recipe.html#.VnZGEfl97IU sana makatulong sayo.
@amiewid yeah from Ph din Baguio area so di ako masyadong nag woworry sa heat. I follow Aiko's (bakehappy) blog pero di ko nakita yang fondant recipe or di lang talaga ako masyadong nagtitingin lol. I'll try doing the one with fondant improver then i'll post an update on the results. thanks guys for the help.
@amiewid currently nga maulan eh so medyo abala din lol. anyway i tried doing it na just finished placing the fondant inside the fridge after kneading it. it's more elastic now compared to the first one i tried after finishing up all of the icing sugar is this because of the fondant improver or the icing sugar wasn't enough. it stretches out into at least 3 or 4 inches before breaking. I also don't have a ziplock bag so after covering it up with cling wrap i placed it in a tupperware before placing it inside the fridge.
I don't refrigerate my finished MMF, unless it's gumpaste. After kneading, binalot ko siya ng cling wrap, then nilagay sa transparent plastic bag like 5x10" size at tinali ko (because i don't have ziplock bag) then saka ko nilagay sa air tight container. Pag need ko na gamitin yung MMF, kelangan ko muna siya i knead for few minutes para mag warm up hanggang sa bumalik na yung tunay na texture o elasticity niya. Pag nilagay ko na siya sa cake, saka ko na siya nilagay sa ref para di mag sweat kasi nga warm yung temp sa area.
@amiewid @BlueVelvet Is bake happy' mmf recipe ok for outdoor event in tagaytay? Also, will be very happy if u can share how u refrigerate your finished cake. Is it stable after taking out of the fridge? Would really appreciate any help/tips on doing this. Not based in Manila but want to make my cousin's wedding. Thanks!
@Psilverio Mine was ok... Nag survive din naman. 
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