Help With "the Mat"

Decorating By toottifruitti Updated 16 Feb 2013 , 11:19pm by toottifruitti

toottifruitti Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
toottifruitti Posted 14 Dec 2011 , 9:20pm
post #1 of 42

Hi Everyone, I just purchased "The Mat" I used it on a cake for my mother's 79th birthday cake. What a trial I had. It took me 3/4 of an hour to roll out the fondant. The best workout I have had in a long time.lol. I am still feeling the effects of it 2 days later.
When I went to put the fondant on the cake it was stuck to the Mat on both sides. What a disaster!
Has anyone else had problems and if so how did they overcome them.

41 replies
justliloleme Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
justliloleme Posted 14 Dec 2011 , 9:30pm
post #2 of 42

I recently bought The Mat and have had the exact same problem.

It felt like I had been pushing at that fondant for hours! icon_biggrin.gif

melanie-1221 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
melanie-1221 Posted 14 Dec 2011 , 9:36pm
post #3 of 42

My first episode with The mat was the same...I did everything I was supposed to , I seasoned the mat, made sure it wasn't too greasy, not too dry.
After about 30 minutes of rolling and getting nowhere I ended up having to take the top layer off and rolling directly on the fondant, only to have it stick to the bottom mat.
VERY frustrated, I decided to give it 1 more shot, I used a different brand of fondant , it rolled out like a breeze and it just fell off the mat onto the cake smooth as glass. The easiest , best experience I have ever had with fondant.
So...I am blaming the fondant, I have since switched to Satin Ice and have had no sticking issues.
Might just be me though...

All4Show Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
All4Show Posted 14 Dec 2011 , 9:56pm
post #4 of 42

I'd be curious to know what brand of fondant everyone was using for their first try?

melanie-1221 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
melanie-1221 Posted 14 Dec 2011 , 9:58pm
post #5 of 42
Quote:
Originally Posted by All4Show

I'd be curious to know what brand of fondant everyone was using for their first try?



I was using Fondarific. I like the flavor but have had bad luck with it lately. Maybe a bad batch..maybe user error, not sure but I have had no issues at all with the Satin Ice.

Allie06 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Allie06 Posted 14 Dec 2011 , 11:18pm
post #6 of 42

Hi! I bought my Mat, maybe 7 months ago, and have used FondX and MMF, both work like a dream. I pretty much adore my Mat. Sweetwise has troubleshooting videos on youtube, pretty informative. Good luck! =)

sillywabbitz Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
sillywabbitz Posted 14 Dec 2011 , 11:24pm
post #7 of 42

It took me several rounds with the mat. Seasoning the mat with shortening helps. You can do a super light dusting of corn starch if it's sticking but honestly my mat was tough until I had used it 3-4 times. For me what "seasoned" the mat was actually breaking it in.

I tried it with Duff's fondant and it was terrible. Wilton and Satin Ice were much easier to work with for me and like I said after a few uses it really got broken in. Once I had read that tip, I started just rolling out spair fondant for practice to get the mat really broken in.

QTCakes1 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
QTCakes1 Posted 14 Dec 2011 , 11:49pm
post #8 of 42

I was plan on getting one, cause I've read so mandy great things about it. But I also saw on their site they use it with fondx, so maybe it is geared to use with that brand?

crazyladybaker Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
crazyladybaker Posted 15 Dec 2011 , 1:06am
post #9 of 42

I love my mat too! It took a couple of times to get it to be friendly though. I first used Satin Ice but haven't had the greatest luck lately with it so I am using Jennifer Dontz recipe. It requires a bit of work but the taste is so worth it.

step0nmi Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
step0nmi Posted 15 Dec 2011 , 2:23am
post #10 of 42

i watched the video they had and didn't have any problems! yes, there is slight sticking when you flip The Mat over but that's to help you move your piece around and get it on the cake in the right spot...i'm gonna go look for the link to the video

step0nmi Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
step0nmi Posted 15 Dec 2011 , 2:25am
post #11 of 42

here it is:




yes, it's kind of long...she does it FFW first and then explains...it's very informative and I'm really glad I had watched it before I used it!

Yokieca Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Yokieca Posted 15 Dec 2011 , 2:52am
post #12 of 42

Love it have only used Wilton's (I add vanilla extract to it) fondant in it and have had no problems with it.

LisaStephens Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
LisaStephens Posted 20 Dec 2011 , 5:08pm
post #13 of 42

I love mine! Have used with the Fondx and with Satin Ice, no problems with either. Fell in love the very first attempt

toottifruitti Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
toottifruitti Posted 21 Dec 2011 , 9:51pm
post #14 of 42
Quote:
Quote:

I'd be curious to know what brand of fondant everyone was using for their first try?



I used a cake decorator's stores brand. They make it there at the store. I did get in contact with "Sweetwise" and they told me to use Fondex. I told them that where I live in Australia I haven't come across the product Fondex. I can purchase Satin Ice & Regalice here so I am going to give them a go.

I am sorry I haven't got back on this forum for a while as I didn't think anyone had replied to the posting. I had ticked the box for email updates but to no avail.[/quote]

ladyren Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
ladyren Posted 14 Jan 2012 , 2:04am
post #15 of 42

I recently got The Mat. The first time I used it, I broke my rolling pin! It does get easier, as you break it in, and it was a great excuse to get a marble rolling pin ; )

princessmermaid Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
princessmermaid Posted 19 Jan 2012 , 6:17pm
post #16 of 42

Duff's fondant does NOT work with this, sticks no matter what you do. Satin Ice worked really good for me but I am finding that the mat is leaving marks on my fondant now so I am not as happy with it. After I roll it up, and go to use it again, its got a lot of wrinkles in it and I have to use a blow dryer on it to get it flat again.

step0nmi Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
step0nmi Posted 19 Jan 2012 , 9:00pm
post #17 of 42
Quote:
Originally Posted by princessmermaid

Duff's fondant does NOT work with this, sticks no matter what you do. worked really good for me but I am finding that the mat is leaving marks on my fondant now so I am not as happy with it. After I roll it up, and go to use it again, its got a lot of wrinkles in it and I have to use a blow dryer on it to get it flat again.




satin ice has to be kneaded with a lot of shortening to not get that elephant ear look icon_sad.gif I actually put a little bit of wilton fondant in with it to keep that from happening

princessmermaid Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
princessmermaid Posted 19 Jan 2012 , 10:15pm
post #18 of 42

Yeah, in this case it is the mat because after I chucked the mat to the side, the Satin Ice fondant rolled out fine on the table. I am going to cut up this mat to use for decorations and get a new mat. I read that if you roll up the two mats separately, they don't wrinkle like that. I don't know, but its worth trying again because the first time I used it, it worked like a dream and that was also using Satin Ice.

Norasmom Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Norasmom Posted 19 Jan 2012 , 10:29pm
post #19 of 42

I use it with MFF and it works as well.

step0nmi Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
step0nmi Posted 20 Jan 2012 , 1:55am
post #20 of 42
Quote:
Originally Posted by princessmermaid

Yeah, in this case it is the mat because after I chucked the mat to the side, the fondant rolled out fine on the table. I am going to cut up this mat to use for decorations and get a new mat. I read that if you roll up the two mats separately, they don't wrinkle like that. I don't know, but its worth trying again because the first time I used it, it worked like a dream and that was also using .




did you grease your mat and then wipe it down? there is a whole tutorial on how to condition and use the mat if you're having trouble...i really don't think cutting the whole thing up is a good thing to do. you can cut it down so that it's not too big!

hula1974 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
hula1974 Posted 30 Jan 2012 , 6:59pm
post #21 of 42

Do you have any problems keeping the mat still on the table? Everytime I try to roll fondant on a mat the mat slides all over the place and I can't get any good pressure down on the roller. Am I doing something wrong?

MarianInFL Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
MarianInFL Posted 30 Jan 2012 , 7:16pm
post #22 of 42

I wet the table a bit to keep it from sliding.

Debbye27 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Debbye27 Posted 30 Jan 2012 , 7:20pm
post #23 of 42

I am in LOVE with the mat! I also grease it with shortening, and I use it with MMF, but I love to roll out fondant on the mat, then flip it onto my cake, and just peel off the mat -it's a beautiful thing!

southerncross Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
southerncross Posted 31 Jan 2012 , 1:01am
post #24 of 42

I love my "Mat". I use Albert Uster's white chocolate or Americana fondant and it's a dream. I have also used it with a MMF with ease.

alliecakes82 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
alliecakes82 Posted 31 Jan 2012 , 1:21am
post #25 of 42

Silly question for those who have one...

Do you wash it in between uses? I am new to cake decorating and do a cake every couple of months. I feel a little weird just rolling it back up without washing, but I guess that defeats the purpose of the seasoning?

My fondant is Jen Dontz's fabulous recipe with Michele Foster's Fondant.

Allie

loulou2 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
loulou2 Posted 31 Jan 2012 , 1:52am
post #26 of 42

I love my Mat. I prepped it like they said in the video & have had no problems. I use Wilton fondant & can roll it thin in no time with no sticking. When I used it last week I didn't use any shortening at all. So just like an iron skillet it needs seasoning!!

kmstreepey Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
kmstreepey Posted 31 Jan 2012 , 2:04am
post #27 of 42

I just got The Mat and have used it a couple of times with no problems at all. I seasoned it per the video instructions the first time. After each use, I roll the two together, taking care that no wrinkles get rolled in and that both stay flat and together. Like the one poster said, the wrinkles will stay if they are there when you roll the two sides up. I haven't had much of a problem with that, though. I use Michelle Foster's Fondant recipe and love, love, love the way the Mat works with it!

MarianInFL Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
MarianInFL Posted 31 Jan 2012 , 4:07pm
post #28 of 42
Quote:
Originally Posted by alliecakes82

Silly question for those who have one...

Do you wash it in between uses? I am new to cake decorating and do a cake every couple of months. I feel a little weird just rolling it back up without washing, but I guess that defeats the purpose of the seasoning?



Allie




I don't wash mine, I don't think you are supposed to unless it gets really gunky, and that just doesn't happen.

southerncross Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
southerncross Posted 31 Jan 2012 , 6:07pm
post #29 of 42

I justlightly wipe my Mat down with a paper towel, roll it up and store it in the mailing tube it came in.

lilscakes Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
lilscakes Posted 31 Jan 2012 , 6:40pm
post #30 of 42

I don't have the mat and instead simply use two sheets of clear "tablecloth" plastic. Works like a charm & much,much cheaper. I roll it on a large tube between uses and have not had any issues. Total cost under $5.00 icon_biggrin.gif

Quote by @%username% on %date%

%body%