around the top edge of my cakes. Even when I try and pick it up after rolling, it would sag. I made MMF so I thought it needed more sugar. That didn't help. Thought my kitchen was too warm, I rolled it out too thick, too thin in the middle, too much shortening and nothing worked. So I bought some good fondant and the same thing happened, although not as much. This last time, with the bought fondant, it lifted better and as I put it on the cake it starting to tear at the corners immediately. I quickly put it on and then cut the excess off the bottom and held the sides to keep it from further tearing and cracking. I put some glycerin on and it seemed to help, but my fondant looked awful.

It's obviously me. I'm just extremely frustrated and have cried a few times.

Thank you for any advice you can give me. I have another cake to do for this weekend and I dread doing it. This is not how I want to feel.

I am by no means a professional, and still have my fondant problems, but I had alot of those fondant problems when I was rolling out my fondant with powdered sugar, it was just absorbing too much sugar and would dry out. I started using just alittle cornstarch to roll out my fondant and it works so much better. If you notice your fondant getting to dry, add water and re-work it. The less you play with fondant, the better.

I'm in agreement with rvercher23! If you do want to put PS on your work surface, don't kneed in so much PS. Does that make sence?! Lets all just face it...FONDANT IS A PAIN IN THE A*& SOMETIMES!!!!

maybe I put too much cf on the homemade mmf.

With the fondant that I purchased, I just kneaded it to get it soft and I used a light brushing of corn starch and that was it. Could it be that it is too thick and the weight of it is the cause? I also heard that the fondant needs to adhere to the buttercream, so maybe I'm doing something wrong with the buttercream.

I'm sorry I don't have a pic to post.

Weight can cause it to tear if it is too thick. When you make your mmf, are you letting it rest overnight? I never used to do that, and it was always horrible to work with, but since I started using Rhondas ultimate mmf, and I let it rest until the next day, it is so much easier to work with. I also spritz the cake with water to get the fondant to adhere to the cake.

you know what , I have almost always used the fondant that same evening. I have not heard about spritzing. Maybe there's hope yet !!!! Do you happen to know where I might find the recipe? I'm excited to try it out. Thank you for your help.

Just a warning about the "spritzing" - be VERY light with it ... more like a misting (dont ask me how I know!) Because once the MMF is made .. MMF + Water = a worse mess! The water will eat thru your fondant and you'll have more tearing than you EVER had b4!!
Good Luck!

The recipe is in the recipes section. Yes, use only a small amount of water, just enough to get the fondant to stick to the buttercream. I only use water because after the buttercream crusts, the fondant doesnt stick to it that well.

first of all you should knead your fondant very well, don't worry about over handling it. Sometimes I even warm it up for 10 seconds in the microwave. I roll it out on a vinyl mat (the stuff you buy on the roll for covering chairs, etc) and I use little to no sugar at all. Then cover and you should have no cracks at all. If you get a minor crack at the edges where it's pulling, use a finger to rub in a bit of crisco. good luck

The problem that I've had with Satin Ice Fondant is that the last bucket that I opened had a really bad texture. I usually just knead a little bit, roll it and cover the cake, but this time when i was kneading it showed the elephant skin. I've never had this problem before, does anyone know how to fix it. Thanks

Laura

I'm going to make the fondant tonight and try it out tomorrow. Fingers' crossed. Thanks for your help.

I always warm my fondant in the microwave for a few seconds, then knead it some. I do NOT use powdered sugar or cornstarch when rolling fondant out for a cake. I lightly grease the mat and the rolling pin with shortning - keep lifting the fondant as you roll to make sure it isn't sticking anywhere. I then lift the whole mat up to place it on the cake. Make sure you don't roll it out too big - that will cause it to tear while applying it to the cake too (too much weight hanging off the cake)

Using the shortning also ensures you don't have "dry" yucky spots on your finished cake too.

We use commercial fondant, either Satin Ice or Regalice, and sometime it is too stiff. I cut off the amount I need and if it too stiff, I add a glop of buttercream and knead it until it's the right consistency.

Use VERY LITTLE cornstarch or PS...just enough to keep it from sticking. Agree that when using a mat (Joanne's fabric store...thickest clear vinyl they have) you almost don't need any.

When I am doing swags, I only roll out the fondant on a Crisco rubbed surface. Don't use any PS or CS for that.

Also, it needs to be the right thickness. Too thick = too much weight with tearing. Too thin = tearing.

Do you roll the fondant up on your rolling pin to transfer to the cake. If you're trying to lift it, that could also be a problem.

I knead the fondant using a little rub of Crisco on the counter to stop it sticking. When rolling out I either use Crisco, or if the fondant is getting a little soft, corn starch. Powdered sugar is in my opinion fondant enemy no 1.

I'm having those same problems with SI tonight. 7 tier wedding cake, only 1 tier covered at this point and elephant skin all around the top of the cake. Used Crisco and rubbed it in all the cracks. Waiting to see what will happen. I am tired and worn out and still have 6 tiers left to cover. I had similar problems with SI in March and we finally kneaded some Wilton fondant into it and it seemed to help. But not today.

Also, no matter what I do, I seem to get specks in my fondant. I have scrubbed and cleaned my kitchen to no end and still have this problem. Does anyone else have this problem?

I got Rhonda's mmf recipe and made it. My gosh, there was no way that I could use that many cups of cf. I used 5. I noticed right away that it "felt" different, drier, not as droopy like the other fondants, so my hopes were high. I just put a tiny bit of crisco on the counter and my hands and without anything else, I rolled it out. I kept making sure it was not sticking and I could even pick it up. I was so pleased I started jumping up and down. YAY!!!!!!!

I found the recipe doesn't make very much, so I will make 3 more batches which should cover both cakes for Sunday. I hope everything goes ok and this wasn't a fluke thing.

After making the homemade mmf fondant, I went back to the commercial one I had, it was very soft and drooped when I picked it up. Now that I had something to compare it to, I thought it needed more cf and kneading. Tried that and then when I rolled it out, it tore like before. Very weird !!!

I'll let you know how it works out and if I can figure out how to post a pic here, I will be brave and post my first one. Thanks so much for your suggestions and support. This is such a great community with very kind people !!!

I have had the same problems with SI recently. It seems to be towards the end of my 20 pound tub, even though I've had it sealed completely (and it's only been opened for less than 2 months). I find that kneading in a small amount of Chocopan has really helped when I see this problem. Shortening has not helped, nor has corn starch/powdered sugar. So frustrating at 2 in the morning, huh?!!!

I had these problems with SI right after opening the bucket. And again shortening nor cornstarch works. I didn't have this problem a month ago. Could the formula for SI have changed?
Laura

I have alwasys used the MMF recipe from this link since I started with cakes. http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/Fondant.htm

It works wonderful. I don't even measure very much anymore, throw 3/4 the bag of powdered sugar into the mixer. The other 1/2 on the table, squirt some water in my marshmellows when I'm melting them and it always comes out great! Very strechy, tasty and I NEVER have tearing or sagging. Firms up nice. Hope this helps you!

my homemade fondant is too sticky if i do not use ps to roll it out. is cstarch better? or is the crisco tip better?

Just wondering how the mmf worked out for you pattycakes55d?

I used to have the cracking problem, until I started putting a light coating of shortening on my hands as I knead the fondant, not too much, but just when it starts getting a little sticky, and I also put a light coat on my mat. SI never got sticky but I think it needs a little shortening kneaded in to stop the drying and cracking.

I used to have the cracking problem, until I started putting a light coating of shortening on my hands as I knead the fondant, not too much, but just when it starts getting a little sticky, and I also put a light coat on my mat. SI never got sticky but I think it needs a little shortening kneaded in to stop the drying and cracking.

I just bought my second tub of 20lb SI. The last two cakes I did out of this batch have been horrible. The fondant cracks right away and no matter what I try, it just looks bad. The previus tub I had I just loved never gave me a problem. As a PP mentioned maybe there is something different in the formula.

I used to never have a problem with SI, but lately certain colors seem to crack while I am still rolling it out...I do not use any ps or cs as I roll on a vinyl mat...maybe they reformulated??? You are not alone.. I can't tell you how many lbs have found their way into the garbage rather than on my cakes...

I bought satin ice for the first time and had high hopes and expectations, as I had read some really great things about it and because it meant that that I didn't have to make MMF. LoL. However, if you look at my the Jungle cake in my photos, you can see, especially on the top layer, how badly it cracked. It was just plain awful and that was at 2:30 in the morning! Yar. I just went with it, but I don't think that I will buy the Satin Ice to cover my cakes anymore.

The fondant turned out really good. I used Rhonda's mmf recipe. It was firm and elastic, yet it didn't droop when I lifted it. That's how I test the fondant now. I think this may be the recipe. Hope so. I used just a smidge of cornstarch and kept moving the fondant so it wouldn't stick. I actually could get my hands underneath and lift it on the cake. AND IT DIDN'T DROOP AND CRACK AT THE SIDES. ON THE FIRST TRY, YAY !!!!! It had a nice texture and I was so happy with it.

I have another couple of cakes this week and cross my fingers.....

Thanks so much. If I could just get this fondant part working, it will be so much easier.

The fondant I bought is crappy. I phoned and they said that maybe it just needed a little cornstarch, but that's not so. I guess 5 lbs will go to waste. I'm going to ask my daughter to help me post the pic.

I believe the SI formula has changed because i didn't have this kind of problem before. I had a similar situation with dawn's pastry topping where it melted very quickly and after several months passed by the topping stopped melting.

Laura