Help Help Please :(

Decorating By Nashwa Updated 22 May 2013 , 3:09pm by ibmoser

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Nashwa Posted 21 May 2013 , 5:50am
post #1 of 10

First of all excuse me for my bad English,,,,

I'm so new to this (Cake decorating),, but i'm really enjoying doing this,,, everything seemed to be fine till last night when i was preparing a birthday cake for my friend,,,the mmf (home made) was too soft,,,in the morning the cake was already fell apart ,,,tried to fix it but no luck the mmf was too soft to work with (too stretchy almost transparent) ,, the ganache under th fondant was melting making the fondant unstable,,,, i'm so sad really sad i spent so much time on this cake ans the results was very disappointing ,,, any suggestions for my next cake on 03rd Jun

What is the best recipe for mmf ,, your cakes looks fabulous,  i wish my cake looks the same as yours...


Thank you

9 replies
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auntginn Posted 21 May 2013 , 7:12am
post #2 of 10

Welcome to CC, I am so sorry you had such a hard time.  But yes, let's move on and work on your skills.  Things will get better with practice.

 

#1 When you made the fondant, did it seem very soft or soft but firm?

#2 When you rolled it out did it seem sticky and transparent then?

 

If yes to these questions you should not attempt to put it on a cake but rather add more confectioners sugar or cornstarch to thicken it.

 

Before you applied the fondant to the cake was the ganache set up?  This is very important. 

 

Was your cake completely cool before or are you in warm weather or high humidity.  Because any of these could contribute to the ganache melting.

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Nashwa Posted 21 May 2013 , 8:30am
post #3 of 10

Thank you Auntginn,,

The fondant was not sticky bu too stretchy, i added more ps to it and it was looking fine, but when i covered the cake with mmf i felt like the ganache start to melt underneath the fondant that's why it was unstable...

 

 

I left the cake in the fridge with the ganache over it for more than 2 hours and it was looking great.

i think the recipe that i'm using is not that good ,,,, could you please help me with a good mmf recipe

 

 

...one more question please,,,

Have you ever tried to make figures with Wilton gum paste mix?,,,it keeps on cracking,,,icon_sad.gif

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Rohini Posted 21 May 2013 , 9:01am
post #4 of 10

AdHi! Had the same problem with cracks in gumpaste figures. Maisie Parish told me to just use plain fondant to which you add a little cmc/tylose powder to make it dry harder. Works like a charm for me. Hope this helps you and good luck!

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manddi Posted 21 May 2013 , 10:41am
post #5 of 10

AIf you don't have access to tylose use a 50/50 mix of gumpaste and fondant

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810whitechoc Posted 21 May 2013 , 10:56am
post #6 of 10

If you are making dark ganache it is 2 parts chocolate to 1 part cream, if you are making a 9" round cake for example, you would use 1200gm chocolate - 600ml of cream.  The chocolate needs to have about 50% cocoa butter to set well, read the ingredients label to check this.  If you are using white chocolate ganache it is 3 parts chocolate to 1 part cream, for 1200gm of white chocolate you add 400ml of cream.

 

There are no photos of the first few fondant cakes I made, because they were so bad I didn't want to photograph them!  We are our own worst enemies when it comes to picking all the little flaws in our cakes, that quite often other people don't see.  Hang in there and keep practicing.  Go and read some threads on tips for the areas you need to work on ie ganache and fondant.  There are recipes as well.

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Nashwa Posted 21 May 2013 , 2:26pm
post #7 of 10

Thank you so much for the advices and the nice words i really appreciate it,,, i'm in UAE so it's difficult to find this tylose ,,,  i'll make it 50/50...

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auntginn Posted 21 May 2013 , 4:52pm
post #8 of 10

Gumpaste on its own can be too dry, that is why it cracks.  Most of us use a 50/50 mix or fondant with tylose.  I suggest you look for cmc or tylose on line from a company that will ship to you.

 

I'm sorry I cannot offer any suggestions because I am not familiar with where you are at. 

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Nashwa Posted 22 May 2013 , 6:04am
post #9 of 10

T think i'll go for the online shopping to get this cmc ,,,Thanks auntginn

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ibmoser Posted 22 May 2013 , 3:09pm
post #10 of 10

You may be able to find gum tragacanth in your area.  CMC is a synthetic version of gum tragacanth, so you can knead in the gum powder to stiffen your fondant and help it dry.  The gum tragacanth is a little ivory in color but shouldn't make a big difference.  Check out this link from Lindy's Cakes about gum tragacanth

 

http://www.lindyscakes.co.uk/2009/09/07/what-is-gum-tragacanth/

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