AI'm having such a hard time learning to put fondant on my cakes. Here are a few pictures to show what's happening. I use Satin Ice and The Mat. Please help![IMG ALT=""]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3218241/width/350/height/700[/IMG] [IMG ALT=""]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3218242/width/350/height/700[/IMG] [IMG ALT=""]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3218243/width/350/height/700[/IMG]

ACould it be that I'm rolling it too thick?

With satin Ice, a lot can depend on the bucket you happen to get.  I find the it varies greatly from lot to lot.  A teeny bit of glucose goes a long way to help with elephant skin and to some degree ripping

Also, your level of experience will have a lot to do with those pinched areas at the bottom. My guess is a larger "skirt" on the fondant would have helped. There are some great videos on how to do this well, but I don't know of any I can point you to.

It can be the fondant. Sometimes you can get some that is almost impossible to work with.

AThat looks like a very tall cake? They can also be a little more difficult to cover.

I think I remember hearing a rule that if the cake is taller than it is wide, then it is going to be difficult and it might be worth considering doing the panel covering method.

However many people can cover tall cakes successfully using the draping method. It's all practice. And pulling out your skirt as wide as you can the whole way around, and keeping it wide as ou smooth your way down.

If that's a DB, yeah, no wonder. I can't stand Satin Ice because it seizes up right away when I put it on cold SMBC (that's what I use), and it smells funny too. Might have better luck wrapping one piece around the cake, and putting a separate disc on top, and blending the seams together, or making a border.  When I do double barrels, I cover in one piece, but I roll it a bit thicker, and and add a pinch of tylose powder to help firm it up. And get the top and top edge secured right away before smoothing anything else into place. I use MFF for the fondant.

Here's a great video tutorial showing the paneling method:

AI had a big skirt at first but when I got to the bottom and was pulling my skirt out the fondant was starting to get the elephant skin. Is that because it was already starting to set?

AAnd I want to thank all of you for responding. This site has really helped me in my cake making adventure!

AWanted to show you all what I woke up to this morning. My cake started to buckle as I was working on it last night. I know I can do this. I've only been making cakes for almost a year. I don't have much of a problem when it comes to decorating a cake. I think I'm having trouble with basic foundation skills....baking the right kind of cake, using the right buttercream etc. I'm not giving up! I need to figure this out! Any suggestions?

This is the cake last night... [IMG ALT=""]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3218536/width/350/height/700[/IMG]

And this was this morning...[IMG ALT=""]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3218538/width/350/height/700[/IMG] [IMG ALT=""]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3218540/width/350/height/700[/IMG] [IMG ALT=""]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3218541/width/350/height/700[/IMG]

Is it humid where you live or about to rain? Did the room temperature cool down overnight (leading to humidity)? What's happening is your fondant is stretching as has no place to go. it especially wanted to stretch because of all the extra weight put on around the bottom. it helps to leave a little room on the bottom and keep an eye on it, especially on rainy days.

It can help to make sure the fondant is good and dry before adding all that on. And also you want to be careful with the amount of moisture you use to attach all those pieces. More moisture means more stretching.

Also, what kind of icing did you use underneath the fondant? Sometimes people use a high moisture icing like whipped cream which will also cause this.

The cake is lovely - I'm so sorry this happened, but the issue is moisture and or humidity..Satin Ice has also been known to put out some bad batches. If you want to post the batch number, I can tell you whether it's the same one I had that I had to be refunded on four 20 lb buckets.

AOh man.... first of all, that design is fantabulous, I love it!! and that bow?? looks perfect :D I can also understand where you're coming from and your frustration :(

I really wish I could help you or point you in the right direction. Have you tried making your own fondant? Also, in "Professional Cake Decorating" by Toba Garrett, she mentions kneading 1 tsp of vegetable shortening into your fondant previous to rolling it, to prevent cracks on the shoulders, I know this isn't your issue but maybe it can help the fondant not set so fast and develop that skin you mention on your previous post.

How about damming your layers (depending on the filling)? I'm wondering how did that happen at the bottom. <-- Edited, now I know thanks to howsweet. Makes perfect sense.

Anyway, best of lucks Tiff!

AIt had been raining when I made this. How do I adjust my decorating for that? I had the fondant covered cake in the fridge for a while and it was brought to room temperature before applying the decorations. I used the wax paper transfer method to apply the chevron pieces. I did use shortening to adhere them to the cake. Should I have used water or something else? I used buttercream icing under the fondant... Butter Powdered sugar Whipping cream Vanilla Meringue powder

I would love to try SMBC but doesn't that have to b refrigerated? Worried what my cake would do I when it comes to room temp. The batch number of the Satin Ice is #3080106 Thanks for all your help ladies

AThe cake is a double barrelled cake? As in it's very tall? How tall is it? Does it have any internal supports? Same thing happened to me when I made a six inch tall cake and didn't put any support in it, just kept stacking. The bottom layer was crushed and sagged, causing the fondant to bulge.

If you are making a very tall cake, it can help if you put support in at the four inch mark. You do it just like stacking one tier onto another, but both tiers are the same diameter. So you get to four inches tall, you dowel, you put in a cakeboard, then you stack th rest of your layers.

Such a shame it happened, the design is really gorgeous. Love the colors.

This happen to me on my purse cake.  I found that the fondant "slouch" right off.  I have since figured out what it was:  I was putting too much buttercream icing on the cake and the fondant was rolled to thick.  Thick fondant + lots of buttercream = fondant sliding off.

I have also started to put heavy books on the cake for 2 hours to help the cake to settle before I put the fondant on.

All of this has helped me!

Good luck

It's really hard to tell from the pictures. Maybe it's because the cake is too tall.