Hi,

I am making a 5 tier dummy wedding cake and using Covapaste to cover. The largest tiers are 14 x 4 inches and 16 x 4 inches. Had no problems with the smaller tiers.

I am rolling out to 1/4 inch thick but getting bad problems with cracking and tearing when transferring. I have tried rolling out with trex and rolling out with icing sugar. If use trex I can't get my arms under the fondant and I think that the icing sugar approach is too drying.

I am using a small amount of water to dampen the poly dummies.

I am using a 5kg block of paste and have tried kneading it to death, and not kneading it too much.

I don't have a glass mat big enough or a silicone mat big enough to transfer the fondant - having to roll out on the wooden kitchen table which isn't helpful.. Don't really want to spend any more money on buying the special mat which am not sure is available in the UK.

I have already wasted about £10.00 in fondant and have run out of ideas. What am I doing wrong?

Wedding is in a couple of weeks and I should really be onto the decorating part by now!

You can also roll it onto your rolling pin and then unroll it over the tier. Also when i use styrofoam dummies i use some sandpaper to soften the top edge of the styrofoam, this helps with tearing that might occur along the top edge.

Thanks guys,

I had softened the edge of the dummies beforehand which is a great tip. Will try and find some cardboard and try that to transfer. I also think that 5kg was a lot to knead at once so will split in 2, knead separately and then knead together just in case I didn't do it enough.

This is my first wedding cake - wouldn't normally touch doing them with a 10ft pole.. but its for my best friend, which of course makes me want to get it absolutely perfect. Also the design means that I won't be able to cover any mistakes round the tops of the tiers .arghhh. Will cross fingers and try to remember to breathe.