I know we all have our theories on the causes and cures for blowouts, but I wanted to post this interesting thing that just happened.
I am icing square dummies. After about 30 minutes after icing one I see a blow out starting to form on the top of the dummy. What the heck? How can a dummy have a blow out. I pricked it and smoothed it down and it came back. So I cut out the puffiness with my exacto, and low and behold, right under it is the barcode sticker thingy. It had come loose from the dummy (assuming from the grease) and was puffed up under the icing.
We all know dummies can't emit gas, or settle, so it could not be that causing the blow out. I find this as further support for my theory that it is an adherance issue of the icing against the side of the cake. Excess moisture, wetness, grease, condensation gets between the icing and the cake, the icing dislodges and blows out.
Now the mystery still is what causes it to puff? We know the dummy has no gas, so why did the sticker puff up when it became unglued from the dummy due to moisture?
hmmmmmmmm
Thanks for sharing your recent find. Over the years I have been plagued with "blowouts" and read all ideas on the subject. Your find is very interesting. I have begun crumb coating and that has helped.
But is it not possible that the cake dummy can emit gas? Many synthetic materials give me headaches and I can detect an odor months after others can't. Is that not because of a gas of some type being emitted?
But I like your theory!
I wondered the same as ziggytarheel... maybe gas is being emitted from the dummy? But, Sharon said the blowout was right over the sticker, so in this case it would seem to be the sticker at fault. And she did not say she had ever had a problem with dummies (other than some of us!) before...
I mean isn't it the problem (not the theory) that the icing does not adhere?
Your dummy was greasy?
I don't quite understand what you mean and how it relates to cakes that have to be moist to be palatable.
the sticker puffed up away from the dummy, not just wrinkled or curled. (think puffed up like a parachute shape) I am sure the grease from the icing absorbed into the sticker and caused it to unstick, but why would it puff up in a circle just like a regualr blow out?
I have never ever had a blow out on a dummy (with no stickers)
I am no expert but I doubt dummies emit gas. ( we could research it though)
when I get blow outs on cakes, I can almost always contribute it to a moisture issue between the cake and the icing: cake had condensation on it from being in bag, frozen and thawed after being iced, going from cool temp to high humidity or heat.....
so I personally see this as support of my theory that they are moisture related, not gas related. that coupled with the fact that pricking the cake with pin holes has not helped them for me either.
but wth do I know really???
We all have different experinces and solutions; no one really knows the truth about these blasted things, but I found my experince to be interetsing and passed it along...
I think in this particular instance what caused your blowout was simply the curling of the sticker paper caused by the moisture. Since it wasn't sticking to anything anymore it wanted to curl.
just MHO
Ding ding ding! The sticker is probably also releasing gas of it's own. The adhesive, whatever.
adhesive emits gas?
show me the documentation of this! HAHAHAHA
crazy a$$ blowing out sticker mystery! tee hee
my brother is really smart about these types of chemical/physics things: I am going to ask him about this....
When something is "bubbling" up persay underneath a solid/semi solid surface, it is just that. Forming a buble shape. The "gas", gotta be a gas (air whatever) is hitting the icing, not getting through as it doesn't have enough strength quite yet (or there would never ever be blowouts, just little holes where it escapes) and is equally spreading out outward in a circular shape until it finally has enough strength to blow out.
adhesive emits gas?
show me the documentation of this! HAHAHAHA
crazy a$$ blowing out sticker mystery! tee hee
I'm quite sure anything of a sticky/liquid/watery nature emits something, on some level. And either way, it expanded, correct? Well....if it wasn't gas, I dunno. Sounded good! Mmmmm, sticker adhesive icing. Yum! 
sticker gas! LOL
may very well be! something has to make it puff out, you are right about that!
the sticker puffed up away from the dummy, not just wrinkled or curled. (think puffed up like a parachute shape) I am sure the grease from the icing absorbed into the sticker and caused it to unstick, but why would it puff up in a circle just like a regualr blow out?
I have never ever had a blow out on a dummy (with no stickers)
I am no expert but I doubt dummies emit gas. ( we could research it though)
when I get blow outs on cakes, I can almost always contribute it to a moisture issue between the cake and the icing: cake had condensation on it from being in bag, frozen and thawed after being iced, going from cool temp to high humidity or heat.....so I personally see this as support of my theory that they are moisture related, not gas related. that coupled with the fact that pricking the cake with pin holes has not helped them for me either.
but wth do I know really???
We all have different experinces and solutions; no one really knows the truth about these blasted things, but I found my experince to be interetsing and passed it along...
I see where I got lost--I thought you meant fondant at first because you mentioned moisture so I thought you moistened the dummy with water for the fondant to stick then I thought well maybe she greases her dummiesto apply the fondant because you mentioned grease getting under the sticker.
So we got buttercream here.
If you had concluded that it was grease related it would make sense.
I mean to me moisture and grease are two different things yes?
>>>Air is gas.
When we pin prick a blow out and it collapses, all upc codes aside, there is something escaping the hole and departing the scene--since it's not a liquid or a solid that escapes it's a gas--we only got the three choices. Otherwise poking a hole in it would have no effect.
In this case the sticker curled up and the buttercream did the best it could to keep up. I bet it was freaky though.
But you are going from grease activating the sticker issue to that being confirmation of your theory that it's moisture that blows out your cakes and I'm lost again. Where's the moisture in the dummy?
And it is a fascinating thing because it proves that when something pushes out from under the icing the icing conforms, goes along for the ride and in some cases blows out.
I'm done .
Just posted my findngs for all to draw their own conclusions!
Have fun!
I'm done .
I hear ya!
So apparently I said something wrong.
No high fives for K8t.
'K bye see yah.
"I'm done." That's where Sharon goes when I talk about this subject.
"I'm done." is code in any forum for I'm leaving the discussion. huff puff
So I'm just saying, 'K bye see yah.
Edited to say: But I love to talk about this subject because it's fascinated me for eons so don't count me out of the discussion just waving bye bye.
Oh great idea!
Too bad Sharon left the discussion & won't ever know 'cause she's done
But when I think about how often I get a blow out--it's pretty random. The food detective's gonna have to be really patient--he's gonna have to grow 'em somehow.
If you hear anything back, dude, that would be so cool!!!
Please let me know!
What if....
it's due to lack of porousness that causes the bubbles/blowouts? or it's too moist which won't allow air/gas to freely escape...
The sticker presented a block of air/gas flow which is in pretty much everything...and tried to move what was blocking it...
just a thought from the other side
I think that there is a thin layer of gas under all the fondant, but if something (like a barcode sticker!) is pushing the fondant up a bit (or not allowing it to stick) then it allows there to be a cavity for all the gas under the surface to go to the one spot.
I know sometimes when my fondant bubbles up, it seems like after I think its smooth, I find more bubbles. I think its an issue of when the fondant is not adhering to the surface, any gases under the entire surface kinda rush to that spot because its a place to go....
That probably made no sense. haha.
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