Okay so I know I sound like a broken record...but isn't there another way to roll out fondant other than shortnening and cornstarch?? At the end of the day there is cornstarch all over the place including me!! and Crisco is jsut to eeww..I've seen in ACE OF CAKES that they roll it out with not much nonsticking agent but I was wondering if you guys know what it is? Maybe a special mat? Thanks for reading.

=0) Monique

There is a special silicone mat but I can't remember what it's called. I have seen a post on here somewhere talking about using vinyl (the kind that's sold by the roll at Walmart that is used inside cabinets and drawers). I don't know for sure though I haven't had a chance to try these methods.

I bought a HUGE silicone mat on ebay for about 45 bucks...it was well worth the money!!! Just do a search for silicone mat.....

A gift to all messy bakers: http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_395293.html

Thats a great pic!
Thats how I do it with my silicone mat as well...sooooo much easier to cover large cakes!!!

Wendoger, can you manage inverting it by yourself or do you need a helper?

that is very cool...thanks for sharing that picture!!!! I imagine covering a huge cake would be sooo much easier..I haven't covered anything bigger than 12"...

I am definitely going to get some vinyl!!!

CherryBomb

Did you buy that big piece off of Ebay or is that something that you found that isn't intended for rolling things on but you found that it works great???

I bought a yard of clear thick table covering from Wal-mart. I don't use crsco or cornstarch. It never sticks and never a mess to clean up. Spent a lil under $5 bucks. Well worth it. Best tip for me off of CC. Goes hand in hand with my PVC pipe as a fondant roller...LOL....HTH!

Clear contact paper...stick it right to your counter...peel off the entire mess and toss it when you are done! I've never had to use shortening or powders this way. And you can cut it each time to the size you need. Hope it works for you!

I just use my Wilton mat from course 3. I rarely need any crisco. It never sticks. This way you can measure at the same time.

I do it by myself....once I get the fondant rolled out, I bring my cake in and put it at the end of the mat, then I just start at the end of the mat that is closest to the cake and start flipping it upside down.

I have done a 14 inch round that was about 6 inches tall (yikes!) and I have done an 11X15 sheet cake with no problems.

that big blue silicone mat works i have yet to buy one so i just use parchment paper you dont need to add cornstarch or anything to it and its easy to lift after your done

save, thanks for the great ideas. Off to try and find a thick tablecloth.

You can buy the vinyl off the LARGE rolls at Wal-mart, whatever size you want. Its in the fabric department.

Okay...so I went to go buy the vinyl from walmart a large piece for big roll outs and small ones....and it would still stick...i had to do the old cornstarch way...i shook hands with a customer and when she turned away she had cornstarch on her hiney.... ....should I put something on the matt?? Maybe some shortnening but not much cause then it's all greasy....I tried a tiny amount of cornstarch but it still stuck....can anyone help.... i'm not lying....my car is covered in cornstarch ....how...i have no idea..

I use powered sugar instead of corn starch. I put powered sugar on the counter where I am rolling out the fondant roll out a little and turn the fondant, keep turning the fondant so it does not stick and add more powered sugar if needed.

You might need to put a little on the roller and the top side to avoid sticking at well. But this way works really well....to me worth the powered sugar clean up. I dont worry about the sugar on the under layer of the fondant once on cake ...you cant see it and the sugar blends in with the buttercream anyways.

I dont use any mats..they never stay in place! For small cakes I roll fondant out right on the counter, for larger cakes I use a cake table (one I use just for decorating). works great every time!!

I got mine st walmart and I think you just have to use a little crisco not a lot to somewhat condition it first but I never hasve a problem so give it another try. what type of fondant are you using maybe that is the problem

Im using MMF could this be the problem??

For me, if I am rolling out MMF in light colors, I use cornstarch. If its MMF in dark colors, I use crisco.
I just bought 3 large tubs of Satinice...they are much more sticky. For the chocolate, I used crisco. It worked great. The only thing was, I couldn't use my fondant smoother directly on the cake. I used a piece of wax paper over the cake and used the smoother on that. No problems.