Fondant, thinner fondant and thicker fondant. They look good til a couple hours laterHELP!

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Permalink Reply by Rachel Carty Smart on August 30, 2011 at 2:31pm

Are you maybe overfilling the center of the cake, or starting too close to the edge?  I usually put a dam of icing about an inch from the edge of the cake, all the way around, then put my filling within the dam.  Even if I'm not putting filling, just icing in the center, I still stop at least half an inch away from the edge to allow for buldging or settling.  Also, once I fondant a cake, I don't put it in the fridge at all, because I find it starts to look funky or sweat when it comes to room temp.

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Permalink Reply by Deah on August 30, 2011 at 2:46pm

To me it looks like your cakes are settling - the actual layer.  What is your normal time line from baking to assembly?

 

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Permalink Reply by Linda Wolff on August 30, 2011 at 5:21pm

I've had the exact same thing happen to mine, so I hope someone has an answer for this. I'm wondering if I am putting too much on the outside as a crumb coat, and too much between layers?

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Permalink Reply by Linda Wolff on August 30, 2011 at 5:22pm

btw...your wedding cake is beautiful regardless if you had some bulging lines.

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Permalink Reply by Trish Rose on August 30, 2011 at 5:49pm

Racheal, too close to the edge for the dam could be part of the problem.
Linda, I make cakes a day ahead, b/c them and refrigerate. Day of delivery, put on fondant, i spritz them so it will stick, decorate and put back in refrigerator til delivery or pick up-it's 110 degrees and humis in southeast texas, if i didn't refrigerate it would probably slide right off the board.
Linda, thanks for your kind words, that was my first attept at a wedding cake or sugar flowers and the other cake is my second attempt on flowers a couple of days ago. I like the decorating part if someone else would bake and cover. haha

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Permalink Reply by Deah on August 30, 2011 at 5:58pm

Try this out - day 1 bake cakes, wrap in plastic wrap to allow to settle.  Day 2 - buttercream and fondant. 

 

The cakes need to sit for a while to settle.  Some use a ceramic tile to weight their cakes for a few hours. 

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Permalink Reply by Trish Rose on August 30, 2011 at 6:04pm

Thanks Deah, another question I have is " how do you not have excess ruffles on the edge of the cake with fondant. Every show i see and every book i read, shows the fondant being smmth all the way to the bottom of the cake with no ripples. I can smooth it all the way around thwn the last bit has this overlap that usually has to be cut out then try smoothing or push it as far to the bottom as i can then cover with decorations. Any suggestions?

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Permalink Reply by Deah on August 30, 2011 at 9:06pm

It takes practice.  Start by smoothing the top then start around the sides.  Some smooth with their hands but I get better results with a fondant smoother.  Get the first inch or so smooth all the way around and then move down unitl you have everything worked out.  Sometimes you need to lift up the fondant you've already smoothed to work out another area.  Just be careful not to stick your finger through the fondant - speaking from experience here!  Patience will eventually win out. 

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Permalink Reply by BizCoCos on August 30, 2011 at 9:49pm

hi, your first problem is that your cake settles after you have decorated, not good, thus causing the fondant to, well you know, second, except in rare occasions, you don't put fondant in the fridge, ok, this is what I do: 1. completely cool cake, buttercream it, dirty icie/crumb coat, refridgerate until crust forms, redo, then redo, each time from 45 to 1 hour. then i do the final bittercream fix with warmed spatula, make sure all bumps are non-existent, holes completely filled in and level and smooth buttercream coat, then I put fondant. hopes this helps, your cakes are very pretty,  If you do all these steps, then it might be your fondant. shows on tv put their cakes in fridge but these are walk in fridges with temp control, etc.  I really think your problem is that your cake has settled.  good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Deah on August 30, 2011 at 10:05pm

Trish, there's a big debate on fondant and refrigeration.  It really depends on your humidity levels.  In theory, if you refrigerate a fondant cake (only flat decorations) you need to bring it back to room temp before you deliver it.  The reason is that the cake sweats as it comes back up to temp.  The sweat will evaporate without any issues if you don't touch the fondant.  As I'm sure you are aware, any decos that aren't flat (flowers and such) will go limp in this process. 

 

My suggestion is to test this method in your kitchen before you really need to count on it.

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Permalink Reply by Karen Marie on September 9, 2011 at 9:13pm

Cakes do not need to be filled to overflowing with icing. The point is to keep the layers together while giving some flavor so really 1/4" thick is enough. Icing is notoriously sweet so why overpower the cake? Pipe a 1/4 " thick ring about1/2" from the edge and then fill the circle with filling or more icing but do't go higher than the dam. Smooth and then place the next layer on top. Crumb coat and refrigerate until the crumb coat is firm.   You can  leave it this way if you wrap the layers. Then finish the cake. You will not have any bulges.

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Permalink Reply by Eileen S on September 10, 2011 at 2:05am

This may sound like a silly question, but are you putting the top tiers on a cakeboard when stacking them? Those plastic dowels need something to support and just cake isn't enough.

 

BTW - I refrigerate my fondanted cakes all the time and have never had a problem with sweating.  But I use homemade marshmallow fondant - not sure if that makes a difference or not.

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