I bought my first pail of black/vanilla Satin Ice fondant ($23.00 canadian!)and am very disappointed. I have heard everyone raving about it so I was surprised. I rolled it out just prior to icing the cake. It maybe sat for 10 mins before I applied it to the cake. And it cracked -looks really dried out!

I was very bummed since I could have done a better job making MMF. I just didn't want to spend forever blending in black, as I usually do... I plan to get an airbrush eventually. But in the meantime....

I have never had that cracking problem with Wilton (but hate the taste!).

Can anyone tell me: 1) Did I do something wrong? or is it perhaps an old
batch stocked at the store

2)Is there anything I apply to fix it? Tried some
crisco, but didn't have much luck...

Thanks!

It happens to me too. I've bought several different dark colors and all of my cakes had some cracks on them. I will not be buying it again.

You are right...it does taste better than wilton fondant but i have had trouble with it tearing too. I use it for smaller projects or for covering cookies but it is really "iffy" on bigger projects.

The darker colors tend to dry out quickly. I mix mine with MMF and add some melted chocolate. That helps a lot.

huh. I just don't have these problems with SatinIce. I roll on a veg shortening greased counter and have been known to rub a thin film of veg shortening onto the top rolled surface. I keep it pretty moist and don't roll very thin. In culinary school we were taught to roll fondant to 1/4 inch.

I agree with leahs- No problems rolling out on a lightly greased surface or even lightly dusted with cornstarch. I think your problem *may* have come from leaving it to sit for 10 so long before applying to the cake. I always roll and put it straight on.
The only thing I have done for cracking (when I've used too much cornstarch!) is to rub a little crisco onto it. Works like a charm for me, but it sounds like you're already doing that, so I dunno.
I do live in a fairly humid environment, so maybe that works in my favor?

Definitely lightly grease your rolling surface and I lightly grease my hands when kneading. Another thing, if you left it uncovered for 10 minutes, there is your problem. Cover it with Saran if you are not going to apply it immediately to the cake.

you let the fondant sit out for to long.

you have to have the cake already iced, roll the fondant and than cover the cake right away and smooth out the fondant.

I only use satin ice and I love it

I use satin ice exclusively and I think it's a dream to work with. I definitely would not let it sit for 10 minutes after rolling though. Have the cake ready, roll it out, and put it right on the cake.

I also use it and if the humidity is off, I ususally add a small amount of Choco Pan to it. It seems to make it extra pliable.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! I do live in a very dry climate, but 10 will do that?! That's crazy....I will not likely be using it again.

Sorry, but this was clearly "operator error" and not any fault of the product.

You just can't leave a piece of fondant flat and uncovered for 10 minutes without expecting problems when you try to force it to adopt another shape.

If I'm rolling a very large piece of fondant and I know that it will take awhile, I roll between 2 pieces of vinyl to avoid drying issues.

Rae

10 minutes is an eternity for fondant. You can't abuse a product and then say it didn't work.

Phyllo also dries out fast. If you let that sit for a few minutes uncovered, it's ruined.

It's all about understanding the products and knowing how to work with them.

That is why I asked the question ... did I do something wrong? So, now I know that is not something I could do with satin ice and would therefore likely choose not to use it in the future. I have worked with other fondant and didn't find 10 mins was an eternity. The directions on the product didn't indicate this either. I'm simply expressing personal preference for a product.

I agree you have to cover the cake immediately.

In one way though its good...for instance, I can add a bit of tylose powder and make a pretty fluffy bow practically right on my cake....it dries fast enough to where I can prop it for a few minutes (maybe up to 30) and then it will hold its own shape from there. If I used a type of fondant that did not dry, then I would have major issues making my pieces on my cakes.

You learn to work with the fast drying time for covering cakes but for everything else I find the drying time is great.

And most storebought fondant....I mean the main brands like Satin Ice, FondX, and Pettinice (not sure about the more gourmet brands, like the white chocolate ones and such) will all behave the same way...its just how fondant acts.

If these products don't dry relatively quickly, then gravity takes over and you are very likely to get wrinkly, saggy fondant, which, in my opinion is a lot worse than having to work in a timely manner.

Quite a bit of cake decorating is developing a good timeline for doing all of the tasks. If covering a cake in fondant, the timeline includes having the cake fully prepared before even rolling out the fondant.

Personally, I take the iced cake from the fridge, spritz the cake with water, roll out the fondant, apply the fondant.

If the piece of fondant is very large, I will change the order up a bit because it will take longer to roll it out and I don't want the cake to warm up too much or have the water evaporate. I roll out the fondant first and cover it with saran wrap, then proceed to spritz the cake and apply the fondant.

Rae

I use Satin Ice on every cake too. I roll it out on a mat covered with a thin coat of shortening. I haven't had a problem with that - and I cover the cake right away.