So first.. I have a cake display at a local coffee shop and once a month I bring in a cake and we have a little "party" where people can eat free cake and hopefully I'll get an order or two out of the deal. So today happened to be the party day - cowboy theme. The cake decorations came out great, thank you Cricut! However, when we cut into the cake, it crumbled inside.. just fell apart. I don't think I over baked, I don't think I overfilled. It still tasted fine, but was quite embarrassing. It was a 1/4 sheet vanilla cake with rasp filling, covered in buttercream then fondant.

So you would think that is enough stress for a day.. no. I leave the party to go home and get to work on my cakes for this weekend. I pre made of course my ganache and fondant that I will be filling and covering this cake with. This isn't a cheap cake mind you, so of course I want this thing to be perfect! Me and ganache already have a love hate relationship. I can never get the right ratio to get it right. Also, because it has the cream in it, I feel as though it has to go in the fridge, and have never gotten a straight answer that it doesn't. This of course make it hard. So to all you ganache users, do you put it in the fridge? Or what is your process? I took mine out of the fridge so it could set for a few hours while I did another cake. When it felt soft enough I began to frost the cake with it. Cake is in a million pieces. So NOW I decide before I go to the store to get more cake supplies since clearly I have to start over, I'll color my fondant. Well, you would know with the way my day is going, the fondant is like worse than gumpaste. There is NO working with this fondant. won't knead, nothing. So I have gone to the store, re baked and re made everything. All is cooling now, so wish me the best of luck that I get this cake made and nothing else falls apart!

Tips are appreciated at this point! lol

So sorry to hear this! I really don't know what to say about the cake being "crumbly" and have never made ganache.

Keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well for you!!!

Did the crumbly cakes come from the same batch of batter? Maybe you forgot an ingredient.

I hope your day gets better!

Yuck, I'm so sorry about your bad day

When the cake crumbled apart, did you try part of it? My decorating skills sometimes fail me, but my baking is typically solid. I made a cake the other day and couldn't figure out why it was a crummy mess, when I checked back over the recipe and it dawned on me that I was short an egg.

Also, when my fondant is being a PITA, sometimes I pop it in the microwave to get it to a workable consistency, add a little shortening, and go from there.

I hope the rest of the cake goes better for you!

awww...this really does sound like a bad cake day sometimes I quit those days and stress myself out the next day trying to get everything done. kudos to you for trying again tonight (((HUG)))

I too would look back at the recipe...if you feel you didn't over bake. the other thing is it sounds like you were baking larger cakes. did you use a heating core or flower nail? that would help cook the inside of the cake just as fast as the outside...but if not used then your inside COULD be over baked

with ganache you can put it in the fridge to firm up...you do want it to totally cool before applying it to the cake. If it does firm up and you want the syrupy mixture again just let it sit out or put it in the microwave for a few seconds. should be back up to normal temp after that!

I don't know what fondant recipe you used...but I would take DefyGravity's advice...easy to do and kind of warms things up to make it more workable. you may need some more of something too

did you change measuring cups/spoons recently??? sorry...just had to make you laugh

I keep my ganache at room temp unless I'll be keeping it for a while. Chocolate truffles are filled with ganache and those are fine at room temp.

If you do keep the ganache in the fridge, you can warm it back up over a double boiler or in the micro. Just go slow & stir so it doesn't get too liquidy.

Hope things are going better. I had my "Murphy's Law" cake last week.

Kristy

Thanks everyone! I'm feeling better now, I still haven't touched the cakes, but I took a nice big bite of the one I ruined with ganache. As soon as the kiddos are fast asleep I'm going to get back to work, and hopefully not pull my hair out! It's not due until Sunday, so I have all day tomorrow which makes me feel better!

As far as the one that fell apart, I suppose I could have missed an ingredient, I just have no clue.

KJ62798 - Would you say ganache is good at room temp for a couple days? How long do you feel comfortable leaving it out? It would make my life so much easier if I didn't keep it in the fridge!

sooo sorry to hear about your bad cake day!!! I totally understand, I am having a bad cake day myself. My cake is having serious bulge issues and my fondant pieces are cracking. I will pray for both of our cakes!!!!! fingers crossed

I'm sorry you had a bad cake day! I think we can all relate! Have you tried whipping your ganache? Don't be afraid to put your ganache in the fridge, as step0nmi said, you can always put it in the microwave for a few seconds to get it softer again, or if it is to soft you can put it in the fridge or add a little more chocolate to firm it up.

You do not have to refrigerate ganache for a couple days. I'v had those kind of cake days- sometimes you just gotta walk away. Here's hoping for a easy breezy decorating day tomorrow.

Just wanted to add - the ganache is made using cream that you have brought to the boil......so, if you think abouit it, it's kind of sterilised. And just as a previous poster said, ganache is what is inside chocolate truffles and sweets - and how long are they on the shelf in the supermarket? I only refrigerate my ganache if I have any left after icing a cake ( usually eat it though!) I find it sets just as well, not so hard you then have to reheat it.

Good luck

No ganache does not have to be refrigerated. There's a great post somewhere here that explains why. I don't remember the scientific details, other than the part that there were three ways that people preserved food back before refrigeration (while travelling by stage coach for instance): smoking the food, salting the food, and sugar preserving. Remember sugar cured ham? Anyway, that's the extent of what I remember, but I do know that ganache CAN be left at room temp for as long as the cake lives (up to 5 days usually).

Good luck. Hope your difficult run is over, and things go more smoothly for you.