I did a practice 4 in. cake to experiment in this warmer weather with higher humidity.  

I baked the cake a few days ago and stored it in the fridge, I iced it today with BC (50/50 butter to shortening) and put it into the freezer for an hour.  I put my fondant on and it was much too sticky right away to even smooth, looked all right so I just gave up.  I put it in the basement where it's cooler and less humid and after a couple hours it now looks like a lumpy mess.

What tips/tricks do you have to keep a smooth fondant cake when the weather gets hot/humid?  I need to make a large cake for my son's grad. party next weekend and I'd hate for it to be a lumpy mess too. 

thanks!!

I'm sure someone can help you. I don't cover my cakes in fondant whatsoever, so I am of zero help! Good luck!

I Never did  see ANY RESAON to put a b'creamed cake in the fzr before adding fondant.  Your problems prove it is not the right thing to do. I was taught when going to add fondant to a cake one must b'cream it and very, very quickly cover w/fondant.  Don't let the b'cream dry out at all.               Even though I did little in hot/humid weather (just one summer when I lived in nothern IN) I followed that advice and didn 't have problems. 

Do remember that your b'cream coating needs to be very smooth before adding the fondant.  Was yours on your practice cake?

I just wanted my BC surface to be hard enough to not be weighed down by the fondant.  My BC was very smooth before the fondant and even after I applied the fondant it stayed smooth.  For some reason, it got very lumpy over time. 

I guess I was wondering if it's a good idea (or not) to firm up the BC before applying the fondant.  I have no problem applying fondant over ganache, but was having issues with BC.  The edges would get weighed down and rounded.  I thought freezing might prevent that.  

I'll try not chilling the cake, but not sure how to get a good edge with BC then.

ugh....  :)

I I am in VERY humid weather....I think your cake needed to be at room temp b4 you added the fondant.  I freeze the cake, let it start to defrost, fill and crumb.  I then put back in only to harden the crumb coat.  When harden then add the fondant.  You should have no issues.  What has happened to me when my cake has not fully defrosted or come to room temp and I add the fondant it tends to get supper sticky, when the humidity is like it has been lately you ( I think) need it a full room temp and compressed so you don't have air bubbles.

Something else that may help you if the fondant is not working, do your cake in a crusting butter cream let harden then decorate with your fondant decorations the same as you would have on your fondant.  Still make sure your crumb coat is hardened and you do not have any trapped air.  You do not want to blow outs in your BC.

Good Luck!

The cold cake and buttercream are what made your fondant sticky.  When I put fondant on SMBC and I feel like it is too soft, I do pop it in the freezer but just for a few minutes to firm up the buttercream. I have, on occasion, left it to chill too long, and while I can get my fondant on fine, I usually end up with air pockets, or blow outs, hours later, just when I think everything is going great. 

Make sure you are not applying too much icing under your fondant if your edges are too rounded.

I don't get sharp edges unless I make them.  After you apply the fondant, you can make sharper edges with your fondant smoothers, one on the side of the cake and one on top and you kinda push them together to create a corner. I don't mind a rounded edge, but I guess it depends on how rounded they are.  

I find in the summer months, I usually have to do my covering of cakes in the morning when my kitchen is cooler.  I just did a cake for my granddaughter and I knew better but I tried covering her cake in the afternoon and it was a disaster.  I ended up having to re-do it the next morning.

Good tips, thanks!

I don't use buttercream on a cake I am covering with fondant. I use white chocolate ganache. Plus, I roll the fondant very thin. So thin that I can see the countertop design below the fondant. That is when I know it is thin enough.

Th lumpiness you found is possibly caused by cold air warming up and being stuck in the fondant. Warm air takes up more space than cold air so hence it popping out of your cake into the space between the cake and the fondant.

I have seen people suggest putting a hole right through the cake with a skewer from a spot where decorations will cover the hole to allow the air a space to escape. I don't know if it works but it possibly could.

The tackiness is condensation forming as the cold cake comes in contact with the warmer air and the moisture in the arm air condenses on the cake.

Yes, I see what happened....just don't want it to happen again. :)  lol

I, too, would prefer to use ganache, but my cake will be lemon.   But,  I just bought some lemon oil and will try and flavor my ganache with that and hopefully alleviate all of my problems! :) 

I have another question out there regarding flavoring ganache, but if anyone sees this post first and happens to know how much of this "LorAnn Lemon Oil" to add to my recipe, please let me know!  (1C Cream to 3C white choc. chips)

Thanks!!

Just a drop or two to start with, the oils are strong, haha the first time I used them I nearly took the bottle back as it was so horrible - turns out you shouldn't add them like extracts apparently ;-)

This may also help...use an eye dropper when using those strong oils.  The bottles are little or even the larger one do not pour well.  It is easy to monitor the flavor a little at a time.  The white ganache, for me anyway takes the flavors well.

I don't worry about flavoring my white chocolate ganache. White chocolate is a neutral flavor, like buttercream it works with any cake flavor/filling.