Storing a Cake Covered in Fondant

[In2Pastry]

Sherri, Thanks for the gelatine conversion!

~~Kelli

[Wendy DeBord]

You can see Chefettes work on the following thread: here.

[chefette]

So what are you planning to make?

[chefette]

If you can - you should try to use gelatine sheets, but if you are going to use powder -

a gelatine sheet generally weighs 2g. 1 of those little envelopes of gelatine is normally equal to 2 1/2 - 3 sheets of gelatine

I would bloom and melt 3 1/2 packets of gelatine in about 150g water

warm your vinegar and glucose (you can use light corn syrup if you don't have glucose - I don't think it has that much of an affect) in a small pan and add the bloomed gelatine to dissolve

in a steady stream add the warm liquid to the combined 10X and corn starch while mixing on lowest speed with the paddle.

this will appear impossible at first but works itself out mostly - add a little (very little) extra water.

scrape the pastillage out onto the very clean counter lightly dusted with corn starch (amazingly enough pastillage will magnetically draw the only black speck in the vicinity). Knead this thoroughly until it is smooth and pliable. I find that adding a little extra water by moistening my hands periodically is helpful. You don't want your pastillage to be too wet, but maintaining a pliability is important. Like bread dough it should be firm and smmoth and clean the counter and not stick to your hands or the counter.

Cut the lump in half or even quarters and wrap each very well in plastic and store in a zip lock bag with a damp paper towel. Try not to roll out more than you need for each piece at hand. Also don't try to be too ambitious and cut out to many pieces at from one sheet. Until you get your cutting zen and timing it is best to stick to a single piece.

Immediately rewrap any excess from the rolled out sheet.

The pastillage is easiest to work with the day you make it. If you use it another day you will need to knead it up well. You can even microwave it just a few seconds - I would stick with about 6 second blasts. Othyerwise it just melts.

You can wrap and freeze excess pastillage for later use.

Allow plenty of time for drying - Depending on thickness - you should probably allow 24 hours.

The real thrill f pastillage is in the sanding process to ensure smooth perfect edges. - Make plenty of extra pieces to allow for breakage.

[Wendy DeBord]

I had forgotten about this........but I have mixed homemade white chocolate plastic with purchased fondant. It worked fine and did taste pretty good. You can do that in what ever ratios you want. Fondant mixed in with your white chocolate plastic makes it more elastic.

[mignardise]

Been doing fondant for years...........I have been noticing a pattern lately...........am quite stumped on why sometimes this happens to the fondant, when I add color to the fondant and it starts to get really (hard to explain) stretchy, tears at the top edges, isn't homogenous, lots of holes, maybe dry.

What can cause this? Is it the colors, brand/type of colors? I use a variety of brands.

The other thing I think could be the culprit is the A/C drying it out. Because once in a blue moon it does it to the regular fondant. I just assume it's a bad tub (Pettinice) and I open another one.

Give me a clue someone as to what's happening.....................and what to do to remedy this problem.

Thanx

[chefpeon]

The only thing I can really say about this is that I have experienced similar problems but not

because of any type of color issue. I always use the Pettinice, and I swear some buckets of it don't seem to be as fresh as others. No matter if a add some glycerin or a little water....it just

seems dryish and/or off-ish. Then I'll open another bucket and everything's fine.

I've only had trouble with colored fondants that are deep hues....for instance when you have to add a lot of black or red coloring to get it as deep as you want, and then it slacks the fondant out. I have since found that I can offset that problem by using half powder and half gel-paste.

[cakesuite]

Yes, too much coloring destroys my fondant as well. When I need a deep color, I usually color the fondant subtly, then go over it with the airbrush.

[mignardise]

I sometimes think it is the bucket too.

Like I mentioned before, sometimes it happens to the plain white fondant. But definately to the colored fondant.

I seldom have colored cake orders. So, I am guessing it has something to do w/ the color added.

I had stretch marks all on the top edges, and some parts were almost on the verge of tearing. Never happened to me like this.

Anyone else have some added advice and thoughts?

[justcake]

I've been using Satin Ice recently after having consistent problems- similar to the ones you described- with Petinice. I've found that you really have to stay on top of the distributors in regard to rotating their stock... I no longer accept any buckets with dust on them! usually means they've been sitting in a warehouse too long and that's the only time I've had problems. I believe the shelf life is only 6 months- at least that's what the Satin Ice rep stated.

In regard to color- yes, the more food color the weaker the fondant gets... I usually let it "rest" overnight after adding a lot of food color before I attempt to use it- not sure why it works but it seems to help. Also- Satin Ice is making colored fondant now in primary colors which is the same consistency as the basic white- I've used it to mix colors into white fondant instead of food color- it works great for lighter colors- that way it stays the same consistency and can be used right away. For darker colors I use the airbrush to accentuate as well.

[JeanneCake]

I believe the shelf life is only 6 months- at least that's what the Satin Ice rep stated.

←

I never had much success working with SatinIce brand, it was very stretchy, very easy to poke through when applying to a cake, it was harder to work with than Pettinice and not worth the aggravation at the time - this was at least two years ago and that's when I went back to Pettinice! So maybe SatinIce has reformulated their fondant? Do you have these types of issues with it? During a PastryScoop chat last year, Ron Ben-Israel said that he used a sheeter for this brand and he recommended icing down a table if you were going to roll it out. When my distributor doesn't have Pettinice, I use Albert Uster's Massa Grischuna.

At the time I was buying it, SatinIce told me the shelf life was a year so maybe they have reworked it and it is time to try this again.

[mignardise]

Thanks for the replies.

One more...........when I pick up the Pettinice from my distributor, it is in their temperature controlled warehouse, then I bring it to my cake studio and it is not a/c'd all the time. I crank it up towards the end of the week when all the cakes are due. Could it be the fluctuation in temperature?

Thanks Justcakes..........I certainly will make sure that my distributor hands me fresh buckets. Or, I'll try the Satin Ice one more time for comparison. Kinda a creature of habit. Hate to try something new when you got the other one down.

[zaskar]

I bought a 50lb box of fondant for $20. I haven't opened it yet. I was wondering if anyone knows if you can add color to it, and how? Would I use powdered color or a liquid color?

Thanks,

-z

[nightscotsman]

Is this a rolled fondant or poured fondant? You can add color to both, but usually use different products.

[DragonflyDesserts]

I want to start using fondant more in my cake shop. I've made marshmellow fondant for small pieces but making fondant can be time consuming. Do most of you that use it buy it or make it. If you buy it, what have you found to be the best brand? Any input would be appreciated.

TIA!!!

[JeanneCake]

I used to make my own, but now I buy it.

Most distributors have some version of ready-to-use fondant available (Swiss Chalet, Albert Uster, Satin Fine Foods, Pettinice, aka Bakels, Sweet Inspirations); you might want to get some of each and see how they handle for you. I've tried most of them, and in order of preference, I like 1: Albert Uster 2: Pettinice 3: SatinIce. I don't like the Felchlin brand (Swiss Chalet). I've never tried the Sweet Inspirations brands, but they've come out with lots of colors (primary and pastels) and some flavors that look interesting. While I don't like the taste of the SatinIce brand, their primary colors are strong and great for coloring a larger piece of fondant. I use their black and don't bother coloring my own black fondant any more.

For chocolate fondant, I use Pettinice only (I tried SatinIce and found it very soft and it tore easily and was frustrating to work with). The dark choc Albert Uster brand is too stiff and way way too hard to work with so until they reformulate, I'm staying with the Pettinice Choc fondant!

You will find it easier to work on a stainless steel table, and use a bouquet garni bag filled with cornstarch to lightly dust the table. Use an 18" heavy-duty rolling pin, a shorter or more lightweight one will make rolling big pieces harder. But for small (decorative) pieces, the little white rolling pin is great. You can roll fondant out on a silicone mat (it will pick up the impression of the fiberglass fibers) or a non-stick mat; I just use the table and as long as I move the fondant piece every two or three rolls, I don't have a problem with sticking.

[DragonflyDesserts]

Thank you for all you helpful information! You went beyond my question to some very helpful stuff for a beginner. I am very excited to begin working more with fondant. I definately need a larger rolling pin. Any one use a sheeter? Earlene Moore suggests 3 tools that seem helpful.... Atlas pasta extruder, clay gun and the wilton cookie press. Any comments on whether these items work well and are durable enough and worth my $$. ?

Thanks again!

[JeanneCake]

Sheeters are expensive! There's a company somewhere in MA that sells tabletop sheeters and their cheapest one started at $4K. They're a new company so their stuff isn't available used yet; and I wonder about a used sheeter - it could be tough to clean and get all the flour, etc out of it depending on where it was used before.

The clay gun is a good tool to have around to make borders with and if you do any figure sculpting, it has little disks to make various effects easier; I'd definitely get one (you can also buy them at a local craft store).

I have a cake design that resembles a hand-tied bouquet with lots of stems around the sides of the cake. I used to use the clay gun to make each stem, then I decided to try a cookie press and went through three or four of them. I finally bought the Wilton cookie press and the stand Earlene makes for it (the stand doesn't fit any other cookie press), and it cut down the time it takes to do this design considerably. I would wait on this one, you may not need it just yet. But if you get a cookie press, get the black and silver one from Wilton so if you do eventually get the stand, you will already have the right one. And if you buy the adapter disks from her, you can use the clay gun disks in the big cookie press.

The pasta machine is good for making very thin strips of fondant or gum paste; for when you want cut outs or if you are making flower petals or ribbons of fondant for around the base of a cake. You want to make sure you store it in a plastic bag so it doesn't get dusty; and if you can afford it, get the motor that goes with it - it will make using it easier for long strips, especially if you are alone and can't grab someone to help.

[Tippy]

My favorite fondant is FondX, made by CalJava, but I will make up a batch for small pieces on my own.

My only caveat is you may not want to use the Wilton fondant. I have never met anyone who liked the taste. Of course, there could be someone I missed.

[Tweety69bird]

I totally second the Wilton vote, it tastes awful.

[zaskar]

I purchased some premade fondant (made of sugar, corn syrup and water), it's called Creme Fondant.

I added color to it by putting some liquid coloring in the stand mixer and the color came out fine.

My problem is rolling it out. It sticks to my Silpat and my silicon folling pin. Does anyone have a suggestion or tips for rolling out Fondant.

I tried using cornstarch and powdered sugar put I think I used too much because it began to crack a little. I heard the cornstarch works better than powdered sugar, I know ps has cornstarch in it.

Thanks for any help.

-jim

[zaskar]

Not sure how would I tell?

It came in a 50lb. box with the fondant eclosed in a bag.

What is the difference?

[Patrick S]

Not sure how would I tell?

It came in a 50lb. box with the fondant eclosed in a bag.

What is the difference?

←

Poured fondant is semi-liquid, and is poured over the cake. Rolled fondant is like clay -- its rolled out and placed on a cake.

[zaskar]

Not sure how would I tell?

It came in a 50lb. box with the fondant eclosed in a bag.

What is the difference?

←

Poured fondant is semi-liquid, and is poured over the cake. Rolled fondant is like clay -- its rolled out and placed on a cake.

←

I have the rolled fondant.

Which one is better, or is it just preferance?

[K8memphis]

You can add shortening to it to remoisturize it but it will not necessarily completely restore the stretch and flex you might need.

"Creme Fondant" hmm, is that for rolling out or for heating & pouring over stuff???

You need starch and glycerine, gum trag and stuff like that in it also for it to be rollable.

Edited May 16, 2006 by K8memphis (log)