Hi,

I have trouble getting a smooth shiny fondant surface on my cakes. Here are some pics from the last cake, which went totally out of hands. As I was rolling the fondant, the surface starting getting rough and teary, so I decided not to roll it further. I guess that was a big mistake, as my fondant was quite thick at this stage, and the weight caused elephant skin and other problems later on. Really ashamed of the last picture, but the fondant started tearing off and I had to just hold it from tearing further and stick it. Because of the state of the surface, I couldn’t use any smoother either.

I end up using so much more fondant to cover the surface and mistakes. Would appreciate some help to understand what I should do. Could it be powder sugar that’s making the fondant dry and the surface rough? I see such beautiful cakes online, but somehow can’t get that finish.

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are you kneading your fondant at least 50 strokes before rolling it out -- this warms it up and levels it out -- even if it's brand new out of the bucket it needs to be worked well before applying -- 

If that happens again stop rolling knead your fondant again and roll out again. It sounds like it dried out.

No, I haven't been kneading so much as it felt pretty malleable. Shall keep it in mind for the next time. I have to bake soon for my little one's birthday, and I don't want to get it wrong.

Thank you. What could be the reason for the drying? Could it be because of powdered sugar? What is a better choice between Corn Starch and Powdered Sugar?

Shortening :-) fairly thin layers especially on anything other than white.

What type of fondant are you using?  Some brands dry out quickly and other brands takes days to dry out.  

Would it not make it stick to the work surface? I shortening for kneading and then powdered sugar while rolling (so that the fondant doesn't stick to the work surface).

Where I live, we don't have many options. I buy my fondant from a Netherlandish store that has kitchen supplies. I could try another brand next time to see if it makes a difference.

If the fondant is dry (cracking) shortening can be used, so it doesn't stick (will also help if you need a tad into it).  If the fondant is sticky, powdered sugar can be used.  Only use cornstarch if you want it to dry out quick.  I make my own fondant and leave it on the soft/sticky side, so I use powdered sugar to roll it out.  If I use a dryer fondant, I will use shortening to roll it out.  Just depends on the fondant itself - and the air (humidity).

I always always use corn flour (cornstarch) as I found that powdered sugar dried everything out far too much. As said before shortening does help but I'm not a big fan of adding it unless its really needed so I would try kneading it a little more and the corn flour. 

If you still get a bit of elephant skin try mixing a bit of left over fondant (in the same colour) with water until its a paste. You can use this to cover any grainy bits =]

H 

Last year I bought 'The Mat' by Sweetwise it's fantastic.... no more cornstarch or powdered sugar, no more dried out fondant  I wouldn't be without it!

Thank you. I saw a video recently in which it was recommended to spray a little water while kneading. Have you heard of that before?

Thank you so much. This would be very helpful in handling those unsmooth looks.

Thanks a lot. I looked up the mat online. It seems like a really good investment :)

no I've never heard of spraying water on my fondant while kneading -- some air brush their finished tiers off with vodka too clean them off -- 

Thank you so much for all the advice, suggestions and tips. I baked two cakes for my daughter's birthday last week and the problem was much controlled. I tried to avoid powder sugar as much as possible, and it did make a difference I guess. Really appreciate all the help that I got here.

Another problem though - For covering the cake board I used this fondant which would just not stretch. It was new (and no way near expiry date), but hardly stretchable. It took me around an hour to handle and stretch it to cover the board. I microwaved it, which helped a bit but not much. Any idea why that would be? Are there different types of fondants ...e.g. fondant with more stretching capacity and less?

I know I am a bit late to the conversation but I am a big fan of The Mat too. I don't use it as much as I did when starting out cake decorating but it rescued me yesterday as I had a batch of nightmare homemade fondant yesterday that was too soft. I was kneading and rolling it out, when I lifted to cover the cake it collapsed in my arms back on my work table! Smoothed some Trex on The Mat (a UK equivalent of shortening), rolled the fondant out using The Mat and the cake survived  

I noticed you are in The Netherlands, a fellow European! I wonder if there are similar brands of fondant like we have in the UK? I find it easy to get Massa Ticino and there is variable availability of Satin Ice, both of which I find have a good amount of stretch to them. We also have Dr Oetker, I purchased this as it was on special offer but have not used it yet.

That sounds like quite a task Liz. I'm glad it turned out well in the end. I'm from Germany by the way. For some reason we don't get Dr. Oetker Fondant here. The one I buy is from this Netherlandish store "Xenox". It has two pack sizes - the 500 gms one is stretchable and quite easy to use, but the smaller one (250 gms) of the same brand is hardly stretchable. That's why I wondered if they are meant for different usages.

That sounds like quite a task Liz. I'm glad it turned out well in the end. I'm from Germany by the way. For some reason we don't get Dr. Oetker Fondant here. The one I buy is from this Netherlandish store "Xenox". It has two pack sizes - the 500 gms one is stretchable and quite easy to use, but the smaller one (250 gms) of the same brand is hardly stretchable. That's why I wondered if they are meant for different usages.

I purchased a heavy weight piece of plastic from a fabric store big enough to cover my whole table . I roll my fondant out on that and it rarely sticks. I never use shortening, sugar or cornstarch. When the fondant does stick , it's usually from residue from the fondant. I just clean it off good and dry it , then the fondant doesn't stick again.