i tried wiltons once or twice. i like that it is smooth, but dont care for the taste, so i make mmf. sometimes the batch isnt so smooth (sugar crystals) and it takes so long and is messy. i am making a huge 4 or 5 tier birthday cake next week and found a store locally that sells the satin ice fondant. it seems rather pricey so before i spend $40 or $50 dollars on it, i thought i'd get some feedback. how does it roll out, look and taste compared to the others. thank you !

I love the taste of Satin Ice and so do my customers. It isn't chewy like Wilton's is either. As far as working with it, it doesn't have as much "stretch" as Wilton's but is still very easy to work with.

The few times I have used fondant, I have used the Satin Ice and it is really very nice to work with. I have made MMF once or twice and if you can get the Satin Ice, that's the way to go!!! It is also nice if you want to add a flavoring to it.

what is the satin ice taste? does it have a flavor to it? (like mmf resembles marshmallows...)

or what flavors are good to add? brands- oils?

how about pettinice? theres another store here that sells that and it is 7 dollars cheaper than the satice ice, at 20.0 for 5 lbs
.

bumpity bump bump BUMP

I absolutely HATE making MMF and don't like that it's SO stretchy. That said, I DO like the price! LOL! Is there a good recipe for a tasty, but less messy, fondant?

i guess that recipe would be called BUY IT PREMADE~ i hear you on the mess. i just want to save some time and messes but i dont know if buying it from wilton is a good exchange...thats why i want to find out about pettinice and satin ice.

WHAT DOES SATIN ICE TASTE LIKE?!

http://thebusinessofcake.blogspot.com/2006/06/fondant-comparison.html

http://www.baking911.com/asksarahbb/lofiversion/index.php?t184.html

it sounds like fondX or satin ice it better...they said that pettinice has a chemical aftertaste.

hmmm....

I think Stain Ice has a nice vanilla flavor too it--almost a vanilla marshmallow but better than MMF. Works great, though I find it a bit softer than Wilton. I love working with Wilton fondant--the best consistency, just an awful taste.

In my opinion, the Pettinice works fair and tastes better than Wilton but still not wonderful tasting. Satin Ice has a very good taste. The white has a nice vanilla taste and the chocolate has a flavor similar to fudge. I like working with Satin Ice.

For price alone, mmf is the way to go. Mine is rarely messy. How are y'all mixing it? I do it by hand, in a LARGE bowl, and most of the sugar is contained. Roll with Crisco.

mmf is not too terribly messy, i do it in a large bowl too...but i dont always get it consistant. sometimes its smooth, other times i get hard sugar lumps or cystals in it that dont disolve after sitting over night. i dont mind doing it for small cakes since i am baking from my home kitchen, but this cake i am doing next week, i need at least 7-8 batches so for 20 minutes a batch, i wanted to save some time...since my time on this cake is free (stupid, i know- i need to agree happily when someone offers to pay me rather than say, oh-dont worry about that). i agreed to take payment for ingredients only.

Melysa - this is what I have found out....I only use Wilton to cover the cake board or to model something in which I will add gumpaste so nobody ever eats it.

I started off with Satin Ice and people picked it off.

Then I used Pettinice cuz my cake shop switched stated people liked it better and I had issues with the white color being ivory and people still picked it off.

Now I am doing straight MMF. I have found a super easy and fairly clean way to make it and I have never had an issue after my first messy batch. But guess what - - - people still pick it off.

So I save my money and have found a very easy, less messy and consistent way to make MMF and I am happy.

Satin Ice has a wonderful taste... it's softer and easier to stretch out than Wilton's fondant... it's very easy to work with but is pricey if you're having to cover several cakes... I know MMF is very messy to work with but for the cost, I just simply can't afford to cover all my cakes with Satin Ice... I'd love to be able to do that and not have to make the MMF, but there is no way I could charge enough and neither would people buy cakes from me for the cost I'd have to charge to come out ahead.

tiptop57 - What is your way of dealing with the MMF mess?

Maybe my bowl isn't big enough, esp. since I usually make 2 batches as once. I just hate dealing with the sugar and the messiness of the marshmallows b/c I do everything by hand. Plus, it's killer on my back and right arm and I don't like that it's not white-white.

Again, that said, I'll probably keep using it just b/c it's cheap. A woman in my Wilton class made her own fondant and it was a beautiful white and had great consistency and stretch. It was a lot like Wilton's and took color very easily. I really wish I had gotten her recipe. I use Wilton's only for decorations and not to cover cakes.

I've used santin ice and it is a soft marshmellow-vanilla tatse. I like it and most people I know do. <with exception of husband who says, "icing shouldn't require chewing!" But alot of people still pick it off! I've made MMF and while it took it's toll on my hand and arm, all that mixing and mixing to get it done and colored too, it is the cheaper way to go. I'd have to charge alot to cover a wedding cake or extravegant design with satin ice. I have a local shop where I can get 2lb tubs for 9.00 so that's not too bad if it's a smaller cake. But for a bigger order I'd have to go with MMF. Build up my arm and hand muscles hu?!
I DO NOT like wilton taste at all. And I would mold with it but never cover my cake in it. I want someone to taste my cake and icings without that there for sure, YUCK! Though just my opinion.

I'd love to of known the recipe too chocomama ... do you know or did she say how it taste? You may be able to contact the instructor and refresh her memory of the class. She'd have sign in sheets or tracking forms/student forms with the students information. She may be able to contact her to see if she would call you to share the recipe.. just a thought

ok, so your opinions...should i drive 30 miles to buy 50$ worth of satin ice (she is paying for the ingredients and said to do whatever i need to do) or do i make 8 batches for about $20 and two more hours of my time....

this is for my sons school christmas party, and his teacher is a nice lady who came to me and asked me to make a tall cake with a wow factor. originally yesterday , she offered to pay for ingredients and my time, i said no just ingredients. well, she sent a note home yesterday with details and also asked that i send her my bill. just a minute ago, i got off the phone with her, and asked her the budget, and who is paying, the school or her, she said it is out of her pocket, but the budget is whatever it takes because she really wants an amazing cake and to not let the cost detour me. ok- so should i charge for my time as well? (im usually timid and feel embarressed about asking to be paid what i deserve because i think it is expensive) my expenses will be about a hundred dollars for a cake to serve 75-100, a five tier stacked cake...kind of whimsical with plain cake, buttercream and fondant, royal icing and luster dust plus boards, ribbon boxes etc. what would you charge?

4-6-8-10-12" rounds 4" high or 4-8-12 double tiers 7-8" high inverted concave shapes. which would look cooler?

i have used the MMF, the Pettinici and the Satin Ice and I like the Satin Ice the best. It workd pretty well, has a great vanilla marshmallow taste and once on the cake has a beautiful smooth look, and one of the best things that i like about it is that you can put your Satin Ice covered cake in the fridge and it will harden, but not too much and colors do not bleed or fade. In my opinion, though Satin Ice is more expensive, it is worth the money.

I started with Wilton's fondant and even though its very easy to work with it, the taste is not very good.I haven't tried Satin Ice yet.When I started to really hate fondant, I found a recipe for MMF here in CC.For me it was just a little messy at the beggining but with practice I realize all you need is a big container and patience.You also have to work fast.Now I only try to make my own MMF and it works out very good.No bubbles,no sugar crystals,beautiful... And mine is so stretchy I can roll it thin enough so most of the people dont peel it off the cake.It almost fuses with the buttercream I useasnthe base for the fondant.Also flavoring it is easy too.The best thing to do is try every method you can and stick with the one that works the best for you. Mine is MMF...

I use my kitchenaid...just grease the bowl with crisco, depending on the batch size put in about 3/4 of the powdered sugar, make a well in the middle. Heat the marshmallows in the microwave in a big bowl at 30 second intervals until melted. Pour in marshmallows and flovoring in the well and start kneading it with the dough hook, add more powdered sugar until you get the right consistency. Whaala, grease your hands with crisco, pour fondant onto greased rollpat or counter, knead a little, put in a zip bag until next day. (Flavor it with 'cream bouquet', cream royale, butter, vanilla what ever your choice). Yummy. Not a real big mess left to clean up.

I use my kitchenaid too when I make it. Works great but still easier to buy ready made! I usually use Satin Ice. It is more costly than Wilton but you can roll it much thinner so the price works itself out that way. I do also use mmf sometimes and Wilton for modelling or making slats for baskets.

Debbie

so whats the best way to avoid sugar lumps in your mmf?