Tips For Drying Fondant

Decorating By keeshonjohnson Updated 19 Jun 2009 , 7:23pm by kokopuff

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keeshonjohnson Posted 17 Jun 2009 , 6:31pm
post #1 of 18

I have made some fondant decorations for a cake for Friday and they don't seem to be drying very quickly. I need them to be dry so that they can stand up on their own. Does anyone have any tips?
Thanks

17 replies
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jaybug Posted 17 Jun 2009 , 11:27pm
post #2 of 18

I usually lay my fondant pieces on corn starch. This helps to wick the moisture out of it so it dries faster. HTH! icon_smile.gif

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bettinashoe Posted 17 Jun 2009 , 11:36pm
post #3 of 18

You can dry them in a food dehydrator.

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cherrycakes Posted 18 Jun 2009 , 12:07am
post #4 of 18

You could also put them in the oven with the light on. Make sure you put a sign or something on the door so you don't accidentally turn the oven on!

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Best-I-Can Posted 18 Jun 2009 , 12:31am
post #5 of 18

I live on the Gulf Coast (on the beach) of Alabama, Is there anything that will keep my fondant from melting as soon as it hits the high humidity we have 6-7 months out of the year???

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apetricek Posted 18 Jun 2009 , 12:41am
post #6 of 18

I put mine in the fridge, and it firms them up quickly. I do this all the time, and have never have a problem...I know some people question the whole putting fondant in the fridge...but I haven't had a problem yet. HTH!

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mareg Posted 18 Jun 2009 , 12:47am
post #7 of 18

Wow these are some great tips. I usually let the so cal air dry mine.

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Best-I-Can Posted 18 Jun 2009 , 12:54am
post #8 of 18

I have had cakes in the frig for over 24 hours and as soon as it hits the 90-100% humidity the fondant turns damp and shiney and starts to wilt?!?!?!?!?

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bettinashoe Posted 18 Jun 2009 , 1:11am
post #9 of 18

I forgot to mention, if you are making decorations instead of covering a cake you will probably want to use gumpaste as it dries quickly and becomes hard enough to stand on end, as you mentioned you were wanting.

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Best-I-Can Posted 18 Jun 2009 , 2:02am
post #10 of 18

I wondered if gumpaste was the secret, Am I correct in understanding gumpaste can be eaten but it does not taste good?

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DebBTX Posted 18 Jun 2009 , 2:11am
post #11 of 18

If I don't have gumpaste ready, I have made a homemade gumpaste from fondant.

1 tsp. Tylose to 1 lb. of fondant

-Debbie B.

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kokopuff Posted 18 Jun 2009 , 2:13am
post #12 of 18

ok so I am totally new and dumb when it comes to fondant,I thought you had to add gumpaste to fondant to get it to harden faster but you don't have to,it just takes longer to dry out.I was hoping to find out before this weekend too.Thanks.

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bettinashoe Posted 18 Jun 2009 , 10:54am
post #13 of 18

When your doing accents, figures or details on a cake that you want to harden, it is better to go with straight gumpaste.

I use gumpaste for all of my roses.

I use a combination of tylose/fondant for my sculptures but they don't harden well in very humid weather and sometimes melt. I have not had a problem with gumpaste used alone melting.

So, for pieces that I want to be very rigid I will make them from straight gumpaste. I only use pure fondant for covering cakes.

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Texas_Rose Posted 18 Jun 2009 , 11:00am
post #14 of 18
Quote:
Originally Posted by Best-I-Can

I have had cakes in the frig for over 24 hours and as soon as it hits the 90-100% humidity the fondant turns damp and shiney and starts to wilt?!?!?!?!?




Try not putting them in the fridge and they should do better when you take them outdoors.

It's fairly hot and humid here but fondant does all right...the only time I've had trouble with it here was when my air conditioner was out and it was kind of like frosting a cake with cheese soup, even with a dehumidifer running.

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keeshonjohnson Posted 18 Jun 2009 , 4:27pm
post #15 of 18

So I should have used gumpaste!!! I will try that from now on, thanks everyone :0)

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kokopuff Posted 19 Jun 2009 , 3:28pm
post #16 of 18

I went and bought a package of the wilton gumpaste,I'm assuming it probably taste as bad as their fondant,anyway if I want to use it for a cake I'm doing for Sun. can I wait until Sat.to make my gumpaste pieces,will they be dry in time,

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bettinashoe Posted 19 Jun 2009 , 6:51pm
post #17 of 18

Gumpaste dries hard and brittle, it becomes a litle fragile so use care with it. If you haven't used it before I'll give you some tips. Make sure you knead, knead and knead some more. The paste should be rolled fairly thin before cutting. Lightly coat the work surface, your hands and the cutter with shortening. Don't overdo it with the shortening, however. You can also sprinkle your hands with corn starch/confectioner's sugar as needed. I sprinkle the drying surface before putting the pieces on them to dry just to make certain they don't stick. Gumpaste dries very quickly so work with small batches only and cover the pieces until they are ready to be dried.

The taste of gumpaste is sweet and rather bland. I am confident gumpaste pieces will dry overnight. You can put them in a cold oven and then turn the oven light on to dry Saturday night. Make sure there is no other heat in the oven if you do this. You don't want to melt the pieces.

Good luck.

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kokopuff Posted 19 Jun 2009 , 7:23pm
post #18 of 18

Thank you for the tips!Yes this will be the first I will be using gumpaste.I finally joined this century and made a fondant covered cake last weekend.I made Rhondas ultimate mmf and found that I really liked how it handled and everyone liked the taste,barely a crumb left but it was on a chocolate cake,I hope my white cake for this weekend will be just as good!Wish me luck!Thanks agin!

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