Ongoing Fondant Issue - Help!
Decorating By TotallyBaked Updated 18 Jul 2018 , 1:10pm by TotallyBaked
Hey, y'all!
Been caking 9 years, and I've had the same issue with fondant over and over. Whether it's MMF, Satin Ice or Wilton. Whether room temp, chilled or frozen. Whether buttercreme or ganache. Humid or dry. This happens. This buckling, sagging, droopy, sad mess. I can make buttercreme sharp and smooth all day ling, but not fondant. What am I missing?!?
Thanks in Advance!
Have you tried Michele Foster's updated fondant recipe? I have never used anything else. It's never failed me. I did have one 
cake bulge, (the bottom tier of the KTM motocross bike cake), but the helpful people on cakecentral here helped me determine that that was because my supports were too many and cut slightly below the top of my bottom cake instead of equal to or slightly above.
How much buttercream are you putting on the cake before you cover it in fondant? If you put too thick of layer on, especially if the buttercream is on the loose side, can make the fondant stretch and fall when the buttercream softens up. BTW, really good job on the hulk fist!
if you use a thicker undercoat use a thinner fondant and vice versa -- are you working it too much before you roll it out? maybe your fondant needs some body -- those colored fondants especially -- but I almost never and probably never (but never say never right) anyway I never add cornstarch to fondant that I cover a cake with -- I let it cure though and dry out a bit if it needs it -- just air dry --
after I give it about 50 kneads (like in a perfect world it would have been colored the day before) just to warm it up -- then if it's deeply colored or I feel it's too loose -- I let it sit to dry out a bit then roll it back up -- lightly knead -- pat it out a bit so there's more surface for the air to hit -- and for however long just come back in like 10 minutes and briefly knead in that dryness -- but it's not crusted over or anything -- then repeat as long as i have to -- but usually I just take it out of the bucket, knead it and go -- thinner if a thicker undercoat of icing/ganache -- thicker if there's a thinner undercoat --
and what about temperature of cake -- I cover cold cake and when covered i toss it back in the chill box to continue to cure/chill/firm up --
best to you -- you do really nice work -- I love that little puppy popping out there --
Considering where the bulges are located, I suspect you may have over filled between the layers and/or the filling was too soft. When I stack my layers, I always firmly press on the top of the tier to be sure nothing is squeezing out. I have known people to use a ganache ring around the outside of the tiers, then fill with buttercream or other filling, to avoid bulging.
Though I haven't done that much w/fondant as Sandra and K8 my 1st thought upon seeing the cracking on the hand was that you didn't knead the fondant enough. I have never let my fondant dry out (as K8 said) in any way and don't remember any cracking - well at least not much:) I was taught to work fast with fondant - never let it even start to dry out. I almost always used Wilton fondant & increased the flavoring.
I think the bulges on that middle tier have nothing to do w/fondant. Are your layers level? It looks to me that maybe they are not and you are trying to just fill in the open space w/icing or not even doing that. You have to have a smooth side before covering the cake - no open space between each layer and that is accomplished by completely levelling each layer flat. The other possibility as I see it is that your fondant is much too thick and it is weighing down the layers causing bulging.
Quote by @kakeladi on 1 day ago
I think the bulges on that middle tier have nothing to do w/fondant. Are your layers level? It looks to me that maybe they are not and you are trying to just fill in the open space w/icing or not even doing that. You have to have a smooth side before covering the cake - no open space between each layer and that is accomplished by completely leveling each layer flat. The other possibility as I see it is that your fondant is much too thick and it is weighing down the layers causing bulging.
All of this.
When I layer up a cake I always press down on the top (not super hard, but enough to get the layers to settle), crumb coat, chill, then a final coat of icing. And that final coat of icing has to be smooth or any lump or bump will show through the fondant. Then you want your fondant to be rolled out thin enough where the weight won't pull down on the cake causing bulging, but thick enough where it won't easily tear on you.
So try putting a little less filling in between your layers and giving your cake a gentle press before crumb coating to make sure everything is settled.
I certainly hhope OP understands that I am not being critical as much as I am trying to help her reason out the problems.
Freckles: I also have done that. It is a good practice. I once - yrs ago - took a class on the commercial aspect of decorating - quick! - and we were told to torte ea 2" layer into 3 and use just a thin smear of filling. It is suppose to taste better, is quicker and much, much less chance of any buldging. I never did adapt that method in my decorating :)
kakeladi - I like decorating fondant cakes and the looks you can achieve, but there is nothing like a nice buttercream cake for the sole reason of more filling/icing! How can anyone say that a thin smear of filling would taste better? They must be crazy!!
Sometime I find a torted, frosted cake to be just too much. I like icing, but I do like to taste the cake. That being said, I have the biggest sweet tooth in the world!
I concede to you, dear lady!! I knew we had much in common!
A tad late in my response, but thank you all so much for these great words of advice! I'm taking them all, rolling them in to one, big, successful fondant covered topsy turvy cake today (:
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