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Duff totally screwed me

post #1 of 40
8/27/11 at 8:12am
Thread Starter 
I needed some black fondant for cut outs. I usually just buy black. Wilton only had a small package and Duff had a bigger tub so I bought that. First time using anything of his.

The cut outs DID NOT DRY! EVER. I have never experienced this. I'm in Colorado, so humidity is not a factor.

Is his stuff not for cut outs or what? I am so angry and embarrassed in the end result. He totally screwed me over and I will not buy anything of his again.

I will admit I cannot remember if I added gum tex or not. But in any case, how many amateurs even know to do that? And that's his target audience, right?

It's the rainbow graduation cake in my photos if you want to see it.
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post #2 of 40
8/27/11 at 8:14am
Sorry to hear about your experience. I haven't ever used his products, but your cake looks great!

The Dude abides.

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The Dude abides.

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post #3 of 40
8/27/11 at 8:20am
Well, personally, if I'm doing cut outs that I need to be stiff when dry, I always add tylose, no matter what brand of fondant I was using. I'm guessing this is your mistake in not doing so, rather than his product. Fondant alone shouldn't dry out to be hard, it has to remain edible!
AKA: bonjovibabe
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AKA: bonjovibabe
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post #4 of 40
8/27/11 at 8:25am
I've never really had fondant dry hard, it's usually quite brittle and crumbles easily. Tylose helps or I mix it with some modeling chocolate or gumpaste for added strength.
~Lisa~

Check out my blog!!
http://sugarcelebrations.blogspot.com/
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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 #5 of 40
8/27/11 at 8:28am
Duff's fondant is know to stay soft and flexible, which makes it good for covering cakes.
Answers to the most often asked questions re: SPS. SPS instructions are on Page 15 of the Sticky at the top of the Cake Decorating Forum. Supplies can be ordered from Oasis Supply, Global or BakeryCrafts.
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Answers to the most often asked questions re: SPS. SPS instructions are on Page 15 of the Sticky at the top of the Cake Decorating Forum. Supplies can be ordered from Oasis Supply, Global or BakeryCrafts.
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post #6 of 40
8/27/11 at 8:31am
Thread Starter 
Yeah, maybe..but I've never had Wilton fondants cut outs not dry. Ever.

I mean, if his product is not meant for that..I don't know...people need to know that somehow. I read the tub after the fact, and no....

This melted in the sun pretty quick too. Again, Colorado in early June. Not hot or humid.
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post #7 of 40
8/27/11 at 8:34am
MMF will dry hard, if you have a week or so. The pieces being soft enough to mold to the curve of the cake wasn't such a bad thing though...if the tier had been taller, the softness wouldn't have mattered at all.

I saw that you mentioned something about your buttercream in the photo description. Have you tried the Melvira method with the foam roller?
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post #8 of 40
8/27/11 at 8:51am
Thread Starter 
Yeah that bottom tier should have been taller. That tier is actually a dummy I made with a bunch of cake circles. The tier and the templates for the cutouts were all measured....I don't know what happened...if the dummy compressed??? Yet another learning experience, I guess.

I am familiar with the Melvira method, tho I don't use it. I should look that up again. I mostly just do the Viva or just parchment paper method.

Seriously, it did not look that bad in real life. icon_wink.gif

I hate learning experiences! Lol.
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post #9 of 40
8/27/11 at 8:55am
Yeah, he should market it as rolled buttercream instead of fondant. It takes a good week to dry it. And it is near impossible to get it off the table once you cut something out. But all that being said, I love it. It's all I ever cover a cake with.

Want a little tip? I mix it half & half with Wilton's cheap stuff. Helps to give the Duff fondant some backbone & the Wilton some flexibility.

Hope you will give it another try. icon_smile.gif
We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.
- Luciano de Crescenzo
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We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.
- Luciano de Crescenzo
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post #10 of 40
8/27/11 at 9:02am
the same thing happened to me only with his red fondant. I had to cut out stripes for a 4th of July cake last year and it took forever because they kept stretching. I too never had that problem with other fondant.

Its funny though that this year I pulled out this fondant (keep in mind this over a year old now) and it worked great for some accents I did. It had hardened just enough. Still very flexible though.
A closed mouth gathers no feet.
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A closed mouth gathers no feet.
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post #11 of 40
8/27/11 at 2:38pm
Just like there are many BC recipes, there are also many ways to make fondant--both homemade & commercially.

Duff's is just different--not better, not worse. It has it's place.

It's a candy melt based fondant with about 35% more FAT in it than regular fondant.
It acts much more like modeling chocolate/candy clay.
It doesn't really dry and adding gums to it (tylose/cmc/gum trag/gumtex) doesn't do much of anything, either.
It's more heat sensitive than other fondants and it will get very shiny and/or melt in higher heat.

Because of these properties, it also doesn't form elephant skin, it can be mended well using the heat of your hand, and for beginners it allows a longer working time.

I love it for covering boards because if I nick the board DAYS after it's been covered, I can still fix it icon_lol.gif
If I want it stiffer, I, too, will add some Wilton (that I've added tylose to). The Duff's is so color concentrated that the color doesn't lighten much at all and it does hold it's shape much better.

HTH
Rae
I love you, but your emergency is not my crisis!

They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.--Terry Pratchett (b.194
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I love you, but your emergency is not my crisis!

They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.--Terry Pratchett (b.194
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post #12 of 40
8/27/11 at 3:11pm
I don't think Duff, who is a pro in this business would purposely screw up people. He would know better.. If something you bought does not work for any specific purpose other than the obvious, it does not necessarily mean you were ripped off or fooled by the maker.

In my experience, fondant gets hard but only after a week or so... We all learn from all our bad experience, so maybe next time this won't happen again.
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post #13 of 40
8/27/11 at 3:48pm
I've used the brown, red and purple fondant by duff and they've all dried over night with no problems.
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post #14 of 40
8/27/11 at 3:50pm
Fondant is not gumpaste. nuff said.
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post #15 of 40
8/27/11 at 4:56pm
Similar experience with Michele Foster's recipe. I am realizing now that it has cream and butter in it, added Tylose and left pieces to dry overnight...they were slightly harder but certainly not enough for what I needed. Lesson learned. I am sorry you had to learn the hard way as well.
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