How do you keep fondant from cracking after you have it on the cake? I cover the cake and then finish decorating the cake the same day or the next day and when I go to deliver the cake the fondant cracks. What am I doing wrong? Any advice is appreciated...

This has been happening to me recently and it is REALLY upsetting me! It's like the fondant is totally separating or 'blowing out' from the cake and creating huge cracks down the side...kind of like an eruption. How can this be remedied? HELP!?!?!?!?!

oh no!
I usually use buttercream & have only covered cakes in fondant a few times, once it cracked when I think I rolled it too thin & pulled down on it when trying to smooth it.

Are they cracking when you move them? If so it might be that your board under the cake isn't sturdy enough so the cakes are bending when you pick them up - try using 2 cake circles with the corrugations running in opposite directions, thick foamcore or masonite boards.

If the fondant blows out with air bubbles that is likely to do with how you are storing the cake - extremes of temperature (eg from fridge to warm room) can cause air pockets to develop.

Thanks Bunsen!

It was a 10 inch layer and I had it on a cake drum. Also, I didn't refrigerate it at all...it was always at room temperature. This is why I don't understand what it going on....maybe I had too much buttercream underneath? Could that be it?

Yes. Too much buttercream underneath could very well be the problem with it having air bubbles. I guess that could also cause the fondant to crack. I've had air bubbles develope but I've never had fondant to crack.

thanks mamawrobin!!!
I think I will try to use less BC. The only reason I use the same amount I normally would if I weren't covering with fondant is, I am assuming that the customer will be dissatisfied with the cake if there is an insufficient amount of buttercream.

I apply more than a crumbcoat of buttercream under my fondant, but not too much. Just let it set firm before covering.

My wife who is the cake decorator was wondering why her cakes at home were cracking but the ones at work were not. What she said was the fondant cracks because when the structure of the cake starts to change after the fondant has started to dry this causes cracking.

She then realized at work they have commercial refrigeration where they can store their fondanted cakes to keep them consistent and therefore minimize cracking.

At home, she ussually will chill the cake after crumb coating and then take it out and put on the fondant. The difference here is after she does that she will not put the cake back in the fridge for fear of condensation, well that is when the structure of the cake will slowly start to change as the butter cream starts to get soft. Therefore the cracking starts.

For her last cake for our nephew, she put the cake back in the fridge after fondanting, (since we figured out the condensation part) and no cracks when she took it back out the next day to finalize decorations. BUT... it did start to crack when we started to deliver it about 2 hours later because it was warm and again the butter cream gets soft and slowly changes the structure of the cake. As someone else mentioned here strong boards are important as well for structure.

I live 5280 feet above sea level, very high altitude so I understand this problem. I make sure that my fondant isn't dry at all when I knead it before putting it on the cake. Mix in shortening and don't use too much powdered sugar when rolling it out. Cover the cake as quickly as possible and make sure your fondant isn't too thick or the weight of it will cause cracks. I put the fondant on right after my crumb coat because I find that the bc helps the fondant stick. Then chill the cake right after you apply the fondant. This will set the fondant in place so it doesn't move causing it to crack. Chill until time of delivery and you should be fine. Also, make sure your cake is sturdy enough to support the weight of the fondant. You can add an extra 1/4 C of flour to your cake mix.