How can I get fondant flowers to be stiffer and not droop? I'm making lillies for a wedding cake, and am new at making fondant and gumpaste flowers...fondant looks very pretty...I put them on the form to dry..it takes days and days...still when I lift them on their wire it droops! Help!!! Wedding is Nov. 8...been trying for weeks to figure it out! Made some gumpaste ones...they dry...but are loose on the wires I inserted...they spin around! thanks!

are you making calla lilies? if so, check out tonedna's tutorials on youtube:

oh...i wouldn't recommend using fondant for the flowers...they wouldn't dry hard enough. also, check out Nicholas Lodge's gumpaste recipe here on CC:

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2142-31-Gumpaste.html

thank you for the post so far, but I saw on a post on this web site a lady making lillies, not callalillies, but lacy lillies. She said fondant...she was using fondant and said it had more workability time than gumpaste....any more ideas????

adding tylose powder to fondnat will help it stiffen up

but i prefer gumpaste for flowers also

The weather in your area can have a *big* cause & effect on fondant. Maybe where she lives (at least part of the time) it's not humid. You don't say where you live. Humidity could be causing the problem.
Workability.......what is easy for one may be harder to another.....gumpaste definately is better and should eliminate the problem you are having.
How thick you roll the fondant also will.......but what Sharon said is definately the answer for you......add some Tylose powder OR GumTex to it.

Yes, I agree ith Shron too! When making flowers, I often use fondant and just add tylose and allow it to rest for at least a day b4 using it.

It totally depends on what you are doing--because if you want nice stretch and hold like a delicate flower with wired petals, or roses or something like that I use gum paste.

If you want to dry out some fondant to mold things like easy plunger flowers, and various things like bows or purse handles, I add cornstarch to my fondant. Then I dry my stuff in a warming drawer--takes a few hours.

In the links below the picture might come out too big then it will pop down to the right size but that is all fondant. The working chain and the purse handle and the bow are fondant + cornstarch. They come out nice & crisp with the cornstarch.

http://acmecakes.com/images/2007-08-25_10-34-43_0003.JPG

http://acmecakes.com/images/2007-08-25_10-35-41_0009.JPG

http://acmecakes.com/images/frogandgift2.jpg

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http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=68445

^^^ These flowers are fondant and tylose--see how much more 'movement' I got with the tylose? It's more stretchy and melodic.

Some stiffening the fondant thoughts for you.

I use 1 tsp. of Tylose to 12 oz. of fondant and it works just beautifully for me. I sort of spread the block of fondant out into a rectangle and sprinkle on the Tylose. Put some crisco on your hands and knead it in. For me, it is best to do this a day ahead of using it. I always have a batch of fondant with the Tylose and one without that I have ready to go. I have the best luck with Rhonda's Ultimate fondant. Good luck!!!

I've added tylose powder to fondant to stiffen it up and I've used a 50/50 mix of gumpaste and fondant. Both work well. It depends on what application you need as to which mixture you should use.

Ahhhhh, this makes so much sense to me today! Yesterday I made a polka dot cake for my cousin's 13th birthday and my circles (which I made of Satin Ice Fondant) kept losing their shape when I would lift them and try to apply them to the cake. I couldn't figure it out!! It's not humid nor warm where I live and I wasn't even rolling the fondant out very thin, yet as soon as I'd lift they'd lose their shape! I am going to try the tylose and fondant mixture for a cake that I am making this weekend! I have to make stripes, stars, triangles and circles....Wish me luck!! I really could have used some last night...LOL

Preciousa225, if that's happening with smaller things like circle embellishments, cut them out and let the air dry for a minute, flip over and let air dry for another minute and then put on the cake. They'll be firmer and not lose their shape.

Thanks so much!! I will definately try this! I love this site...LOL

Lilybird, when do you add the tylose to the fondant? I have some mmf that I've dyed and am planning on using tomorrow to make a bow for a cake and some stripes and circle embellishments. Can/should I add the tylose now or wait until I am ready to use the fondant to add the tylose?

Please help!!! Anyone???

You can add your tylose now but it will make the fondant get really hard. It will be a problem kneeding it soft again. It can be done, but takes longer. Just break off little pieces; work soft, then continue to do this until you have enough to put together & kneed well.
If it is much too hard to break off any, put it in the MW for about 10-30 seconds.

Thanks so much Kakeladi! One last question while I have you here. Would you happen to know if 3 lbs. of MMF is enough to cover both a 10 x 4 inch and a 6 x 4 inch cake? Any help you can offer would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks so much Kakeladi! One last question while I have you here. Would you happen to know if 3 lbs. of MMF is enough to cover both a 10 x 4 inch and a 6 x 4 inch cake? Any help you can offer would be GREATLY appreciated!