Cake Decorating Community - Cakes We Bake

To practice working with fondant, I have been making 6" cakes, icing with American buttercream, then covering with fondant.  The last cake I covered looked great at first, then developed sizable air bubbles in less than 24 hours.  I finally cut the cake a day later to see what was going on.  What I thought were air bubbles was actually the buttercream pulling away from the cake!  We've had an incredibly warm summer here, but our AC has been on at all times.  I can definitely see that the frosting has been "seeping," and the cake circles (uncovered, as I was just practicing) are completely oily-looking now.  I made a 50/50 (high-ratio shortening/unsalted butter) buttercream, which was the subject of my first discussion posted here!.  I tweaked a doctored cake mix recipe, and am now wondering if there was too much moisture in the cake.  Also, my fondant (Fondarific, pre-colored) looked to be about 1/8" thick; could that have been part of the problem. 

I would so appreciate hearing from all you experienced decorators out there.  It seems the more I try to get my recipes and techniques nailed down, the more confused I get!  But, I refuse to give up!!!  Thanks in advance.

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June, I know there is an organization call icing smilings. Make cakes for special people.

Scott, Don't you find when you put a fondant covered cake in the refrigerator that is sweats once you take it out?

Scott S. Smith said:

Hi Cheryl, First when working with butter cream you need to keep your cake refrigerated. If the cake and icing are at room temperature it will be soft and easy to cover, but the weight of the fondant will cause the cake to compress on itself. By refrigerating the iced cake 45-60 minutes it will firm allowing you to cover it and return it to the fridge. Once the cake warms to room temperature it will start to fail especially on warm and humid days. I find by doing this the cake has about 3-4 hours of display time for our clients before it needs to be cut.

Yes Michelle

I know about that organization. But it is not here in as yet Canada.  They are launching here, but they are looking for corporate sponsors to get the ball rolling. Going to sign up and volunteer, and when things get rolling...I might get a cal to help.  :o)
 
Michelle Johnson said:

June, I know there is an organization call icing smilings. Make cakes for special people.

Laurie

There is a huge thread here on refridgerating & freezing fondant cakes.
 
Laurie Beier said:

Scott, Don't you find when you put a fondant covered cake in the refrigerator that is sweats once you take it out?

Scott S. Smith said:

Hi Cheryl, First when working with butter cream you need to keep your cake refrigerated. If the cake and icing are at room temperature it will be soft and easy to cover, but the weight of the fondant will cause the cake to compress on itself. By refrigerating the iced cake 45-60 minutes it will firm allowing you to cover it and return it to the fridge. Once the cake warms to room temperature it will start to fail especially on warm and humid days. I find by doing this the cake has about 3-4 hours of display time for our clients before it needs to be cut.

Sweating depends on humidity, If the humidity is low the cake should not sweat. on the other side if the humidity is high sweating is going to happen. I have found that the worst case scenario is the cake looks shiny, as if I steamed it. If the cake does sweat it subsides once the cake has reached room temperature. I find this method works really well for me and allows me to keep the cake perfect for well into our clients events.

Thanks, Scott

Scott S. Smith said:

Sweating depends on humidity, If the humidity is low the cake should not sweat. on the other side if the humidity is high sweating is going to happen. I have found that the worst case scenario is the cake looks shiny, as if I steamed it. If the cake does sweat it subsides once the cake has reached room temperature. I find this method works really well for me and allows me to keep the cake perfect for well into our clients events.

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