Fondant/Buttercream Problems. Desperately seeking help

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by jo dp on September 28, 2011 at 7:30pm

hi there

i left india a while ago so i am aware of the climate but not sure of what the market currently sells. we used to use a product called creole for the buttercream cakes. ( i used to work for a well known hotel group that owns a chain of cake shops) at crawford market, facing badshahs is a cake supplies shop called arife, if there is any product u are after he should be able to get it for u.

alternately check the hotle cake shops and see what they use for buttercream.

as for the fondant, we used to use the american recipe. never had any problems with it. it is basically icing sugar, gelatine, water and glucose. i will look up the quantities and email u again.

best of luck

 

 

Permalink Reply by Gill Dobbie on October 3, 2011 at 1:55am

I had the same problem this weekend with frosting on cupcakes that I had made.  The weather has been so hot that the frosting was melting as I was piping it!!!! However an hour in the fridge and the cupcakes were fine.

With regard to your method of crumb coating the cake and then icing with buttercream, why not just coat the cake with a very thin layer of seedless jam, refriderate then fondant ice....

I do use both methods, but like you find that if I use butter icing on the cake prior to covering with fondant, the fondant becomes very sticky.  I will be going back to the jam method in future, works much better and stops the fondant becoming so sticky.  Also a different type of fondant is needed for for 3 d and modelling work, as fondant on its own will never set as hard as it needs too when making flowers, models etc for the cake.

I never ever put fondant covered cakes in the fridge, as the fondant needs to dry out, being in the fridge prevents this happening and will just make the fondant more stickt!.

Hope this helps

Gillx

Permalink Reply by Gill Dobbie on October 3, 2011 at 2:02am

oh and if you want to make your own fondant stiffer, you need to use 1 teaspoon of tylose powder to every 250grams of fondant.  You knead the powder into the fondant.  Works well for modelling ect and is much cheaper than gumpaste.  A big container of this goes a very long way.

Gillx

Permalink Reply by KAMiNi GOPAL on October 6, 2011 at 5:58pm

Thanks so much Gill. That was really helpful. I just have to figure out how to get tylose powder here. I've got so many helpful suggestions and hints - i'm sure one of them will work. Just have to experiment. 

Gill Dobbie said:

I had the same problem this weekend with frosting on cupcakes that I had made.  The weather has been so hot that the frosting was melting as I was piping it!!!! However an hour in the fridge and the cupcakes were fine.

With regard to your method of crumb coating the cake and then icing with buttercream, why not just coat the cake with a very thin layer of seedless jam, refriderate then fondant ice....

I do use both methods, but like you find that if I use butter icing on the cake prior to covering with fondant, the fondant becomes very sticky.  I will be going back to the jam method in future, works much better and stops the fondant becoming so sticky.  Also a different type of fondant is needed for for 3 d and modelling work, as fondant on its own will never set as hard as it needs too when making flowers, models etc for the cake.

I never ever put fondant covered cakes in the fridge, as the fondant needs to dry out, being in the fridge prevents this happening and will just make the fondant more stickt!.

Hope this helps

Gillx

Permalink Reply by KAMiNi GOPAL on October 6, 2011 at 6:30pm

Hi Jo

Thanks so much for the response. I know Arife. I actually travel all the way from Navi Mumbai to crawford market for getting the things i need. 

 

What did you use 'creole' for? What exactly is it and how does it work in the buttercream? Could you please help me with all these questions. You're a professional and that makes a huge difference. The cake shops will never tell you what goes into their icing would they? :D

 

Probably your fondant didn't have problems because it was an a/c environment? Working in my small hot kitchen - the humidity and heat is too high. That is what is causing all the problems i guess.

 

jo dp said:

hi there

i left india a while ago so i am aware of the climate but not sure of what the market currently sells. we used to use a product called creole for the buttercream cakes. ( i used to work for a well known hotel group that owns a chain of cake shops) at crawford market, facing badshahs is a cake supplies shop called arife, if there is any product u are after he should be able to get it for u.

alternately check the hotle cake shops and see what they use for buttercream.

as for the fondant, we used to use the american recipe. never had any problems with it. it is basically icing sugar, gelatine, water and glucose. i will look up the quantities and email u again.

best of luck

 

 

Permalink Reply by monica murphy on October 12, 2011 at 12:00pm

Hi kamini:

 

I have had that same problem, i make marshmallow fondant and  covering it and storing it in the box in the frige does work, i also put a fan on the cake when it comes out of the frige that helps it not sweat as much. 

 Lately i have been covering my cakes in modeling chocolate(recipe can be found online), modeling chocolate is much more tastier than fondant and it can be refrigerated until delivery. You can purchase the  wilton's chocolate candy,(comes in different colors), or you can make it with almond bark,and tint it the color you want with paste or gels.  The last cakes i did were all of modeling chocolate,check out my photos. Whatever you can do with fondant u can also do with modeling chocolate, sometimes in do a 50/50, which is half fondant and half modeling chocolate which also holds up great in the fridge or freezer.  If it is really hot n humid out, an delivery is far, i will take the cake from the frige and put it in the freezer for an hour before i leave. 

 

hope this helps.

Permalink Reply by KAMiNi GOPAL on October 12, 2011 at 1:12pm

Hi Monica - thanks so much for the response. I have to check and see if i get modelling chocolate here. I've not heard of it here - so i'll have to look. Haven't heard of almond bark either. These are terms i have learnt on this forum or online. Not s=come across them here. Anyway - i shall start looking for these ingredients. Even paste and gel colours which people use as standard there are not available here. :D

 

monica murphy said:

Hi kamini:

 

I have had that same problem, i make marshmallow fondant and  covering it and storing it in the box in the frige does work, i also put a fan on the cake when it comes out of the frige that helps it not sweat as much. 

 Lately i have been covering my cakes in modeling chocolate(recipe can be found online), modeling chocolate is much more tastier than fondant and it can be refrigerated until delivery. You can purchase the  wilton's chocolate candy,(comes in different colors), or you can make it with almond bark,and tint it the color you want with paste or gels.  The last cakes i did were all of modeling chocolate,check out my photos. Whatever you can do with fondant u can also do with modeling chocolate, sometimes in do a 50/50, which is half fondant and half modeling chocolate which also holds up great in the fridge or freezer.  If it is really hot n humid out, an delivery is far, i will take the cake from the frige and put it in the freezer for an hour before i leave. 

 

hope this helps.

Permalink Reply by monica murphy on October 12, 2011 at 1:59pm

hello kamini:

 

the recipe for modeling chocolate can be found at:www. ehow.com, search for modeling chocolate. as you see in the recipe you can basically use any chocolate that you can find in your area. just follow the recipe and you should be fine.  To get a bright white color just add some wilton white icing color to white chocolate.

KAMiNi GOPAL said:

Hi Monica - thanks so much for the response. I have to check and see if i get modelling chocolate here. I've not heard of it here - so i'll have to look. Haven't heard of almond bark either. These are terms i have learnt on this forum or online. Not s=come across them here. Anyway - i shall start looking for these ingredients. Even paste and gel colours which people use as standard there are not available here. :D

 

monica murphy said:

Hi kamini:

 

I have had that same problem, i make marshmallow fondant and  covering it and storing it in the box in the frige does work, i also put a fan on the cake when it comes out of the frige that helps it not sweat as much. 

 Lately i have been covering my cakes in modeling chocolate(recipe can be found online), modeling chocolate is much more tastier than fondant and it can be refrigerated until delivery. You can purchase the  wilton's chocolate candy,(comes in different colors), or you can make it with almond bark,and tint it the color you want with paste or gels.  The last cakes i did were all of modeling chocolate,check out my photos. Whatever you can do with fondant u can also do with modeling chocolate, sometimes in do a 50/50, which is half fondant and half modeling chocolate which also holds up great in the fridge or freezer.  If it is really hot n humid out, an delivery is far, i will take the cake from the frige and put it in the freezer for an hour before i leave. 

 

hope this helps.

Permalink Reply by jo dp on October 12, 2011 at 5:59pm

hi Kamini

creole was the name of the product used as buttercream. i am still in contact with a few people in the industry. give me a few days. i will email/call and ask what is the current market/shop using. good to know arife is still around. i had in the early days given him a "foreign" chocolate mould so that he could clone it, way back in 1992. that is such a long time ago!!! ha ha.

 

take care Joan

 

 

KAMiNi GOPAL said:

Hi Jo

Thanks so much for the response. I know Arife. I actually travel all the way from Navi Mumbai to crawford market for getting the things i need. 

 

What did you use 'creole' for? What exactly is it and how does it work in the buttercream? Could you please help me with all these questions. You're a professional and that makes a huge difference. The cake shops will never tell you what goes into their icing would they? :D

 

Probably your fondant didn't have problems because it was an a/c environment? Working in my small hot kitchen - the humidity and heat is too high. That is what is causing all the problems i guess.

 

jo dp said:

hi there

i left india a while ago so i am aware of the climate but not sure of what the market currently sells. we used to use a product called creole for the buttercream cakes. ( i used to work for a well known hotel group that owns a chain of cake shops) at crawford market, facing badshahs is a cake supplies shop called arife, if there is any product u are after he should be able to get it for u.

alternately check the hotle cake shops and see what they use for buttercream.

as for the fondant, we used to use the american recipe. never had any problems with it. it is basically icing sugar, gelatine, water and glucose. i will look up the quantities and email u again.

best of luck

 

 

Permalink Reply by sylvia on October 16, 2011 at 1:08pm

hi, i truly understand your problem cos i live in Nigeria and make fondant from scratch.

my recipe is:2tbsp water

3tbsp glucose

1tbsp+1tsp gelatine.

1tsp cmc

few drops of clear flavor.hope this helps

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