Why is it that sometimes my fondant will have pock marks when I put it on a cake?

Is it stretch marks? Do you have a photo?

The only time I ever get pock marks on my fondant is if I'd accidentally get a drop of water onto it. It's far too easy to do! If you notice it, just take a dry piece of kitchen towel and absorb the water and then smooth the icing a bit and it will improve. The other thing it might be is pieces of hardened fondant. Just try to remove them whilst kneading and ensure your fondant is wrapped up as airtight as you can get it when storing it to prevent it from hardening.

This and bubbles in the fondant happen when the fondant has not been kneaded enough. Knead that stuff into submission until you see that the bubbles and pock marks are gone. Sometimes if the powdered sugar doesn't disolve well it will need to be kneaded for ten minutes or more.

HTH

Cat

Here's a photo of what it looks like. This doesn't happen to me every time, but it has happened half the time, which is a lot. The fact that it doesn't happen every time is more confusing though because it seems I'm doing something wrong only half the time.

Duplicate post, please also see:

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-6871700.html#6871700

HTH

I' ve been seeing the same pockmarks lately - ever since I stopped using my KA mixer for the mmf. I would be interested to know the answer too.
I use the KA to just get the mmf started and then continue on the counter with the rest of the powdered sugar. Is this how you make yours?

Agreed.... looks like you havent kneeded it enough....

The pock marks are from not kneading it enough.

What kind of fondant is it? There is another conversation about Satin Ice and how it is not performing well. It could be the fondant itself.

It's homemade marshmallow fondant. I didn't use my mixer. So some say it's not kneaded enough, but some disagree? I'm not sure what I should do differently.

That reason right there is the number 1 reason I stopped using MMF. I always, always had pock marks and no problem solving solved it. MFF doesn't do that to me, and Satin Ice doesn't either. MMF always had pock marks on the "underside" (the part rolled on the counter or matt) and sometimes on both sides.

I wish I could tell you why it happens, but when I asked here on CC no one could solve it for me either. Consider another type of fondant.

Sometimes my fondant (Satin Ice) shows pock marks. I smooth them out with a piece of fondant. It that doesn't work, try a little royal icing over the marks and blend.

Yeah, it's always on the underside that was against the mat for me, too! I decided I'll buy a big bucket of Satin Ice. It will save me a lot of worry (and the time/effort/ingredients it takes to make the MMF). I was sooooooo worried with the last cake I made that the person getting it would be upset. Luckily, they said only good things about the cake, but I don't want to go through all that again.

I love how my mmf tastes. I guess I'll take a chance and knead the heck out of it in my KA - the only reason I stopped using the machine was because I read here on cc that the beater threads can wear out by making fondant in it. My first wedding cake order coming up and don't want to take a chance with the fondant having pockmarks - the only reason they went with the fondant was because I convinced them with my mmf. Wish me luck!

Looks to me like maybe you had some small pieces of fondant or clumps of powdered sugar on your rolling pin when you were rolling it out. I've noticed the same thing with my cakes when I occasionally get a clumpy bag of sugar. Try sifting your sugar and making sure that your rolling pin doesn't get sticky.