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First (I hope!) bubble!!! - Page 2

post #16 of 35
5/16/10 at 10:49am
I was just on the Satin Ice website and watched a video by Mercedes Strachwsky - Two Layer Cake. She inserts small straws into the fondant-covered cake so that air can escape and not cause problems later. Have you guys ever heard of this? Anyone ever tried it? I'm desperate to find out why these bubbles, blow outs, air trapped under fondant happens. I'm on a mission, lol! Check out this video guys and see what you think (she does it at the end).
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post #17 of 35
5/16/10 at 11:03am
I've never thought of it but I use straws as supports in my cakes. Maybe this is one reason I don't have any problem with bubbles?
everyday is a good day, some are just better than others.
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everyday is a good day, some are just better than others.
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post #18 of 35
5/16/10 at 1:59pm
Thread Starter 
Oh that's very interesting because this bubble was caused on a single-tiered cake!!!!! No straws, or even wires stuck into it, or anything.
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post #19 of 35
5/18/10 at 11:50am
Hey guys! I heard back from Mercedes. She is an amazing decorator from Florida. Her bakery is called Bake Me A Cake. She used to have her pictures on here, but I can't find them now. I saw her video on Satin Ice and asked her about the straws in the sides of the cake. She puts them there when she is done covering the cake with fondant so that any trapped air can escape. She told me to insert small straws right into the cake. You can see this video on the Satin Ice website. Maybe this method will help with this "trapped air" problem we are all having. She was so nice and said that I can call her anytime with questions. And she also has a detailed technique book that will be coming out soon. If anyone tries this before I do, let me know how it goes. Thanks!
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post #20 of 35
5/18/10 at 12:02pm
Question....

And then what do you do about all of the little holes that are in the fondant covered cake? Decorations don't necessarily go on every place that there is a little hole and those holes aren't that little. You can see a pin prick in a perfectly covered fondant cake.

I have seen her video on the Satin Ice site and I wondered about that the first time I saw it.

Thanks
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post #21 of 35
5/18/10 at 1:55pm
Very true Peridot! I guess you'd have to have decorations on the cake if you did it this way. Does anyone else have any ideas on how to avoid this problem?
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post #22 of 35
5/18/10 at 2:14pm
Thread Starter 
I don't know that my customers would like straws in the cake if it was not for support...hm.
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post #23 of 35
5/18/10 at 2:49pm
Not sure I'd like to stick straws into the sides either. Maybe for a 1 tier, stick a bubble tea straw right down the center (that is, if you had a decoration to go on top)?
I have a lot of problems with bubbles and bc covered cake too. I let my cakes thaw from the freezer @ rm temp, fill & crumb coat, let settle several hrs/overnight, then apply the bc. I always get bubbles when I'm smoothing. I just poke the bubble with a toothpick then re-smooth. The hole usually just disappears.
I think that the air is either btw the cake & bc or btw the bc & fondant.
I've never heard of letting the cake settle again after the fondant if applied (before the decor). I'm going to try that.
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post #24 of 35
5/18/10 at 2:49pm
I recently did two cakes back to back, and had air bubbles in two of the tiers, to the extent, that they cracked and made a mess. One was easy to fix and hide, the other not so easy. The only correlation between the two tiers (for different cakes), was I used the same green fondant on both. I had baked and iced and let them settle, I even did the tile method on top while settling! It is such a mystery why this happens so randomly and can really cause a lot of heartache!!! On one of the bubbles, the one that was easy to hide, I took my hairdryer and put it on the coolest setting, and ever so slightly heated my fondant up and was able to close the crack pretty easily, the other one I had to make a design change to hide it!! Crazy, frustrating stuff.
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post #25 of 35
5/18/10 at 3:09pm
Sorry if I wasn't clear... you remove the straws when you place a decoration in that spot.
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post #26 of 35
5/18/10 at 3:19pm
Thread Starter 
See now here's the thing...on my cake that bubbled (it was the smaller cake in the navy flower ones I uploaded recently...the bubble happened on the smaller cake above the flower, you cannot see it in the pic because it did not happen yet) I had a HUGE boo-boo in the fondant, and basically the entire place under the flower was ripped. So technically until I put the flower on, there was room for air to escape. But the air didn't start to try to escape until it came to room temp.

So I guess the straws would not work unless the cake was allowed to come to room temp...?
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post #27 of 35
5/18/10 at 3:27pm
Beautiful cakes Kitagrl! Well maybe it's a combination then of letting the air escape but while at room temperature. Wow, complicated stuff, eh? I just would love to know the answer though, because it's really stressful wondering if a cake you've made for a customer is going to be okay. Let keep each other updated on what works and what doesn't and maybe ONE DAY we'll figure this out, lol!
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post #28 of 35
5/18/10 at 3:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kitagrl

See now here's the thing...on my cake that bubbled (it was the smaller cake in the navy flower ones I uploaded recently...the bubble happened on the smaller cake above the flower, you cannot see it in the pic because it did not happen yet) I had a HUGE boo-boo in the fondant, and basically the entire place under the flower was ripped. So technically until I put the flower on, there was room for air to escape. But the air didn't start to try to escape until it came to room temp.

So I guess the straws would not work unless the cake was allowed to come to room temp...?



I make my escape hole for the air just after covering a cold cake with fondant. Then the cake sits out at room temp for 12 hours before I decorate. This lets the cake settle completely while coming to room temp and the air forms/gathers/escapes.

I only do one hole and I always know in advance where my decorations will be going. And as someone has said, you just make a hole with the straw or dowel. You can't leave it in for any time or the escape hole won't work, because it's filled with dowel or cake filled straw, and thus not a good escape route.
Housework makes you ugly.

It's marshmallow, not marshmellow! Aaargh, I have the strangest pet peeves!
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Housework makes you ugly.

It's marshmallow, not marshmellow! Aaargh, I have the strangest pet peeves!
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post #29 of 35
5/18/10 at 4:05pm
Thread Starter 
I really don't have a safe place to put a cake at room temp for 12 hours....oh well... I better just hope that the cakes continue to be safe. haha. Sometimes my bigger cakes I actually work on them long enough to see them at room temp....the smaller cakes (like the one in the thread) not so much.
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post #30 of 35
5/18/10 at 4:21pm
most of use fondant the cake with a chilled cake... I have a spray bottle and it's set to mist.... I mist the cake with water then put the fondant....

as far as the air bubble Kita.... did you read leah's thread on "burping" a cake?
her tech. helped me a lot and now I don't have any air pockets.... I used to have to use a pin to deflate them.... but now I don't have to.... it's a good way to make sure this will not happen....

hth
Happy Caking!
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Happy Caking!
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