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Fondant EMERGENCY. Need help IMMEDIATELY please!

post #1 of 15
8/23/12 at 3:48pm
Thread Starter 
I have a cake due tomorrow. I rolled out my fondant to put on the cake and it is dry and cracking. So I kneaded a lot of crisco into it and tried rolling again and it is still cracking!

What should I do? Should I knead crisco in AGAIN and wrap and let the fondant rest? If so, for how long?

Or do I need to start over again? I'm using marshmallow fondant.

Thanks so much!!!
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post #2 of 15
8/23/12 at 3:55pm
It sounds like it is (obviously) very dried out. If shortening doesn't do the trick, you might want to try a few drops of water. Is this a new batch, or an old batch? If water and shortening and a little reheating in the microwave don't do it, you may be better off making a fresh batch.
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post #3 of 15
8/23/12 at 4:01pm
Thread Starter 
It's a new batch. I made it on Tuesday. I made some blue fondant (different batch) also on Tuesday and it was fine. I have no idea what is wrong. I've never had it dry like this before. The marshmallows were brand new and everything was as I normally do it.

I tried microwaving and no luck. If I make the fondant now, should it be okay to roll out in the morning?

Is there something I should do to make sure it doesn't dry out? I triple wrapped it in plastic wrap and that obviously didn't help.
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post #4 of 15
8/23/12 at 4:14pm
Try kneading in some glucose, approx. 1/8 tsp at a time, until it is the desired consistency.

Full disclosure: I've done this many times with commercial fondant with great success, never tried with homemade fondant.
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post #5 of 15
8/23/12 at 4:15pm
Did you try glycerin? If it did dry out you can use glycerin to restore moist.
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post #6 of 15
8/23/12 at 4:16pm
Thread Starter 
I think I'm just going to make another batch. I've never had fondant do this before.

So now I'm trying to figure out how this happened. I guess it was too much sugar.

Or could it be that I added to much vanilla extract? Could the alcohol actually dry it out ? I used 1 TBSP for a 1.5 lb batch.
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post #7 of 15
8/23/12 at 5:29pm
Too much sugar is the most obvious culprit. But the vanilla could be also. I usually make 3 lb batches and only add around a tsp of flavoring.
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post #8 of 15
8/23/12 at 6:05pm
FWIW, I misspoke and meant glycerine. Woops.
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post #9 of 15
8/23/12 at 6:14pm
I have had this problem with darker colored (mmf) fondant before. I'm not sure why being dark colors changes it (unless it's because you have to add so much...) I discovered that by heating the fondant in a microwave slightly, then pushing mini marshmallows in (about 1 per square inch or so), then heating slightly again and kneading until it's all incorporated it will fix the texture. I did this with some black & it helped tremendously!
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post #10 of 15
8/23/12 at 6:15pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks, everyone! I ran out to get more supplies and I'm going to try again with less sugar and less vanilla.
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post #11 of 15
8/24/12 at 7:36am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the help, everyone! The fondant I made last night was perfect, and now I'm just putting the finishing touches on my cake. In the future I'm going to add the powdered sugar very slowly and in small amounts to my fondant batch! I've learned my lesson!
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post #12 of 15
8/24/12 at 7:50am
I've never made fondant from scratch yet and with every cake i make i say i am going to make my fondant next time.. does it take a long time to make? I feel like with all the steps in making very different part of the cake (baking the cakes, making the filling, making the icing for the wall - can't think of what it's called - making the ganach.. ) is it worth the time to make the fondant as well. i will have to try it...
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post #13 of 15
8/24/12 at 8:15am
Thread Starter 
I make marshmallow fondant for 2 reasons: it tastes the best (in my opinion) and it is way cheaper than Satin Ice. Satin Ice costs about $9 for 2 lbs (I see from looking online), but I can make 3 lbs for a little over $5. But the downside is that if you do not make it perfectly, you can have problems.
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post #14 of 15
8/24/12 at 10:07am
I have always wondered... if you factor in your time/labor cost (esp with dark colors) are you really saving that much?
I wonder this for GP too...
Maybe this is off-topic, though.
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post #15 of 15
8/24/12 at 12:58pm
The only time I've had trouble with homemade MMF is if I purchased an "off" brand of powdered sugar that contained too much corn starch in it as a filler. Get Domino's.
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