Hi I'm new with making fondant and recently tried two recipes- Michelle Fosters and one from the food network. After leaving them both overnight I opened them up and had essentially the same problems with both batches:

- fondant was too sticky to use so I tried kneading in some sifted powdered sugar, causing the fondant to...

- become "cracky" in my hand and when I kneaded (see bottom pic below) .. it wouldn't stay attached to itself in one piece when I kneaded but top would rather crack away from the bottom when I folded it over to knead. This made me think it was too dry but...

-it was still sticky and sort of crusting to my hands, so I...

- rolled some out and it worked, however its still very shiny (see top pic below) and sticky, like if I lightly put my finger on it leaves a print and you can see in the pic it shows every little nook, crannie, ridge, smudge, etc.

I've read a lot of posts about "saving" fondant but Im stumped here. If i add powdered sugar it seems to dry it out a lot, but its still so shiny as though it needs more. Has anyone ever had this problem or have any suggestions for a fix?

Thanks

instead of adding powdered sugar, try adding shortening. i know it sounds counter intuitive, but the shortening won't dry out your fondant, like the sugar will. 

Thanks @ellavanilla , but we dont have shortening like crisco where I live. 

Anybody have any other non-shortening suggestions?

Where are you based? If it's in the UK try Trex :)

@anaelisabethlee Im in Germany and I dont know anything like that here, besides big bars of plant fat but those are used rather for melting and frying things.

AFound this: shortening; vegetable shortening Bratfett or Backfett; Pflanzenfett (kann durch Margarine nur ungenügend ersetzt werden)

I'm guessing pflazenfett means plant fat? Do they have Stork?

thanks @KathleenC and @anaelisabethlee for the suggestions

Pflanzenfett (the plant fat) is disgusting tasting and not really the same as crisco in anything but consistency, but I'll try it on a little piece and see if it works (and doesn't change the flavor of the fondant too badly)

I have to say though it seems counterintuitive, to add crisco/pflanzenfett, because although it might eliminate the crumbling problem wont that just make the fondant even more sticky/shiny than it already is?

AI use shortening to stop my flower paste being sticky (and sticking to me!) So definitely worth a try!

So I tried the addition of shortening and my end result still cracked and was sticky. I got it onto my cake in two pieces but when I went to smooth the cake with the smoothers it was even sticking to the smoother (luckily its just a practice cake but still)

Can anyone recommend a fondant recipe besides the food network or michelle foster one? I know everyone raves about that michelle foster one but this is my second try with it and second time getting not so stellar results.

Thanks!

Try Elizabeth Marek's MMF:

http://artisancakecompany.com/2012/11/the-best-marshmallow-fondant-recipe-ever/

It's the only one I've tried, but I've had great success with it.  As a note, I replace 2 tablespoons of the water with 2 tablespoons of clear (artificial) vanilla, just to give it a bit more flavour.  I also use dollar-store or grocery store brand marshmallows, and I buy the Wilton fondant at Michaels when I have a 50% off coupon, cuz I've frugal like that.   

(of course, with you being in Germany, I'm not sure what resources are available to you regarding being "frugal"   )

Ah I guess I should have specified, marshmallows like that arent popular here, so you can only find them for like 5 euro a bag in certain grocery stores.

Anyone have a non-MMF fondant recipe to recommend?

haha @KathleenC im frugal too, thats why im trying my hand at this homemade deal. you can buy decent fondant here too but for about 10 Euro/kg. yikes. thats not in my budget.