Hi everyone, I’ve recently began cake decorating and I always have a problem with my fondant. After my first failed fondant cake I did a bit of research and tried to avoid all the mistakes done the next time I decorated, however it always tears at the top of at the bottom. I conditioned it, kneaded for a few minutes, added a bit of shortening, tried adding a little bit of water, I even went ahead and mixed the store-bought fondant and marshmallow fondant which is called LMF? And I hear it never tears or rips or shows elephant skin, yet again it ripped. After quite a bit of cakes always ripping I feel disheartened and literally dropped down to my kitchen floor and cried. Today I saw a comment online suggesting that maybe the brand of fondant I’m using is bad quality, I looked at the ingredients and there was no glycerine or humectant to make it stretchy. Perhaps that’s the problem? Especially since I live in a dry climate. Should I give this another try with a different brand? How can I tell if it’s good quality or not? Would practicing on a dummy help instead of always having rips on cakes that takes me a couple days to get ready. Sorry for the long post but I’m at my wits end and feel like quitting even though I love decorating, maybe it’s just not for me..
Moonstone.lady, are you actually using Liz Marek's LMF recipe? That is what I use all the time and it is very soft, moist and stretchy. You could possibly be rolling the fondant too thinly or maybe not quite large enough circle. If you have a considerable overhang, it is easier to stretch and smooth.
I suspect, and it is also my problem, it may just be taking you too long to apply the fondant. It really needs to be done rather quickly. Be sure to quickly smooth out any air bubbles on the top, then attach the first approximately one inch around the top edge to prevent tearing at the top. The only thing I can think of that would prevent tearing at the bottom is working faster. Good luck.
I only usefondant on my cakes. I am UK based and find Renshaws works fine. I only knead it for a couple of minutes max. Roll out quickly and try and get it onto your cake quickly. As already said roll it so you have at least 2-3 inches extra all the way around. As soon as you lay on the cake press the top edges down so it does not tear. Then quickly start to smooth the sides pulling out from the bottom and smoothing down as you go. Once you have trimmed the fondant you can then spend some time smoothing and creating a nice top edge. I use soft plastic squares to achieve this. Don’t give up - it just takes a bit of practice. Try switching to one of the fondants lots of people recommend on here - depends which country you are based in. I have never tried making my own fondant. Here in the UK most people actually like the taste of the bought fondant.
I haven’t used fondant to cover a “real” cake for quite sometime. My family prefers buttercream. But as Debbieshobby posted, don’t give up. Covering a cake with fondant takes practice. Not just the covering, but understanding the feeling and texture of your fondant, and how it will perform. Every fondant reacts differently to the weather when rolling out. Humidity, dryness, heat, all affect the fondant. I’ve had some disasters with unmanageable fondant!!!! Drooping, ripping, it’s happened to all of us, so don’t feel bad. I too have used Liz’s LMF, with no problems. So surprised it gave you trouble. I personally like using a silicone mat to roll out my fondant. A real game changer. I use to roll my fondant over my large rolling pin, take over to my cake, then slowly drape fondant over top of cake. Now, with the silicone mat, I put on just a tiny, tiny amount of shortening on the mat. I roll my fondant out, now this kind of difficult to explain, not really thin or thick, but something in between. I always place fondant on a WELL CHILLED cake. Not frozen, although I do know some that prefer covering a frozen cake. If you’re buttercream/ganached cake is well chilled, your cake is much more forgiving because cake is good and firm. With the silicone mat, you lift up the whole mat, then position over your cake. You have the luxury of being able to picking up the mat and moving if you have to. After laying the mat with your fondant over your cake, you careful peel away the mat to let your fondant drape over the cake. Then follow Debbieshobby’s advice in above post. Now for me, once I’ve applied fondant on the cake, removed any creases, and excess fondant from the bottom of the cake, I never try and smooth fondant on my cake until several hours later, to 24 hrs. For me, I’ve found once the fondant has firmed up, it’s much easier to smooth, and less likelihood of fondant tearing. Plus the bc/ganache has had a chance to adhere/stick to the fondant. And I’ve had a few cakes where the buttercream/ganache started to ooze out underneath a fondant covered cake. I finally figured out it was because in my smoothing the fondant, rubbing with my plastic fondant smoothers, the bc/ganache started to soften/melt from the friction I was creating. That’s why I wait for the several hours to 24 hours. Hope this helps.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%