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HELP!!!!! Why Does My Fondant Covered Tiers Crack?????

post #1 of 16
7/19/11 at 8:45pm
Thread Starter 
Hi Everyone,

Ok, lately I have been coverinf my cakes with fondant (satin ice) as usual, doing nothing different. But, I have been experiencing alot of cracking in my fondant upon stacking. Im not sure why and I need help in trying to find out why and get a solution to my problem.

Am I stacking my tiers too late? **my last cake, I covered my tiers and stacked them hours later)????

Should I stack my tiers right after I cover them? While the fondant is still soft?

Do you think the temp in my house is too cold and thats why my fondant covered cake gets hard on top and cracks upon stacking??

UGGGHHHHH...Im so in need of my fellow CCr's help!!

TIA
I can do ALL things Through Christ who strengthens ME!!!
CAKE IS MY LIFE!!!!
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I can do ALL things Through Christ who strengthens ME!!!
CAKE IS MY LIFE!!!!
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post #2 of 16
7/19/11 at 11:08pm
Perhaps the air conditioning is drying out the fondant, or maybe the area in which you live is experiencing a drier season than the usual and drying it?

Do you use dowels? Maybe the tiers are creating too much pressure?

How about the thickness of the rolled fondant? Perhaps it is too thick?
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post #3 of 16
7/20/11 at 5:16pm
Thread Starter 
Yes, Ranillabean. Thank you for responding. I thought it might be the AC too. But, lately here in NYC we have been experiencing a Heatwave, which continues throughout this week...smh...

Maybe I will turn the AC down more and hope that it helps icon_smile.gif

I use the plastic dowels, the new straws and wooden dowels throughout for support. so, Im not sure if thats even part of the problem...i dont know icon_sad.gif

I roll my fondant out to approxiamately 1/8 sometimes right on the nose. sometimes a lil thicker.

Im a lil scared now bc I have a 3 Tier cake to do this w/e and I cant afford for this to happen again, especially since I will be pressed for time.
I can do ALL things Through Christ who strengthens ME!!!
CAKE IS MY LIFE!!!!
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I can do ALL things Through Christ who strengthens ME!!!
CAKE IS MY LIFE!!!!
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post #4 of 16
7/20/11 at 5:17pm
Thread Starter 
what temp do you think would be good for the room I will be doing the covering in?
I can do ALL things Through Christ who strengthens ME!!!
CAKE IS MY LIFE!!!!
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I can do ALL things Through Christ who strengthens ME!!!
CAKE IS MY LIFE!!!!
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post #5 of 16
7/20/11 at 5:30pm
Might be your Satin Ice fondant. I have had lots of cracking lately with my Satin Ice am have been so frustrated with it-- I made a batch of MMF fondant and didn't have a problem.
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post #6 of 16
7/20/11 at 5:50pm
I don't think you can do anything about the temp of the rooms, too hot would make it goopy, and ac makes it crack. I'd recommend after covering te cakes to put a layer of shortening over the surface of the fondant, it might be shiny at first but it should keep the fondant moist enough until you're ready to stack and then absorb back into the fondant so it won't be greasy looking
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post #7 of 16
7/20/11 at 6:11pm
Honestly, I stopped using Satin Ice for that exact reason especially in the summer! I went back to Wilton (taste and texture is soooooooo much better now a days!) Even just mixing 1/2 wilton with 1/2 satin, I bet you"ll see a great difference- it's MUCH easier to work with icon_smile.gif
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post #8 of 16
7/20/11 at 6:15pm
I had the same issue with the satin ice fondant, It was so bad it prompted me to try different ones, the fondarific is amazing and so is the choco pam. I would not use satin ice again.
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post #9 of 16
7/20/11 at 6:29pm
Thread Starter 
BelaB: i just might have to try something else. Years ago, I remember I tried to make a batch of mmf and failed and I never tried again, lol.

ranillabean: Omg, its funny that you said to put a layer of shortening on the cakes bc I always put a layer on after I cover my cakes, lol. Now, what I did notice is that after I recovered the 2 tiers last w/e and then put my shortening and then immediately stacked them, they behaved and i didnt notice any cracks at all. So maybe i have to have the room at a medium temp, cover cakes immed, add layer of shortening and stack immed. hopefully this will work in my favor. If not, I guess I will be practing how to make mmf, lol...smh....

Thanks you guys for all of your help! If you think of anything else that would help me, pls post icon_smile.gif much appreciated icon_smile.gif
I can do ALL things Through Christ who strengthens ME!!!
CAKE IS MY LIFE!!!!
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I can do ALL things Through Christ who strengthens ME!!!
CAKE IS MY LIFE!!!!
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post #10 of 16
7/21/11 at 4:50am
Michele Foster's Updated Fondant is AWESOME -- the only thing I omit is the lemon juice because I thought the lemon extract was enough -- the recipe is here on CC. I did mix my MMF with Satin Ice and it stopped cracking, but I'm pretty much done with Satin Ice.
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post #11 of 16
7/21/11 at 5:26am
I will advice that you stack the cakes as soon as possible after covering as when you let them set before stacking you increase the probability of cracking.
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post #12 of 16
7/21/11 at 5:33am
I used Satin Ice 1 time and didn't like the cracking at all,,so never again. I use Michele Foster's Fondant and so easy to make and I love it! You would love it..give that recipe a try..I promise, you will love it and you can cover up any flaws soo much easier than any of these fondants..Step out of your box to try,and you will be thankful you tried it!! It's awesome tasting too!!

Best of luck
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post #13 of 16
7/23/11 at 7:17pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you all for responding, advice and tips! I really appreciate it icon_smile.gif

UPDATE: my 3 tier cake was a success! I covered it, doweled it and decorated it really fast. When I went to place the 2nd tier on' there wasn't any cracking. i mean, i was moving fast too, lol.

i am going to try the MMF recipes you all recommended as well as mixing the satin ice with mmf. I purchase satin ice in 20lb pails, so I will try this for sure. I never thought of doing this, thanks for the tip. i'm willing to try anything to stop all of these cracks bc they are not fun at all.

THANK YOU AGAIN MY CC pals, YOU GUYS ALWAYS HELP A SISTER OUT, AWESOME!!
I can do ALL things Through Christ who strengthens ME!!!
CAKE IS MY LIFE!!!!
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I can do ALL things Through Christ who strengthens ME!!!
CAKE IS MY LIFE!!!!
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post #14 of 16
7/23/11 at 7:42pm
I used Satin Ice and had no problems. I did cut my support dowels exactly at fondant level though so the top tiers weren't sitting right on top of the fondant. I then doweled them all together. It seemed to work well.
~Lisa~

Check out my blog!!
http://sugarcelebrations.blogspot.com/
or visit me at Sugar Celebrations on facebook!
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~Lisa~

Check out my blog!!
http://sugarcelebrations.blogspot.com/
or visit me at Sugar Celebrations on facebook!
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post #15 of 16
7/23/11 at 10:19pm
I have had cracking problems with my Satin Ice fondant this time too. I have used it without trouble in the past, but perhaps I will try another brand when I reorder. Taste wise do people prefer Chocopan or Fondarific? I have heard that most don't care for Wilton's. I might thy the Foster recipe, but I do like to buy the more intense colors rather than color them myself. I spent over an hour coloring fondant last night...that is for the birds!
When life gives you misshapen cakes, make cake balls!
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When life gives you misshapen cakes, make cake balls!
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