Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi

Just wondering how everyone deals with air bubbles in their fondant and how t prevent them. An age old question I know!

Unless I use ganache (which I tend to reserve for wedding cakes only) I normally crumb coat with buttercream, place cake in fridge for 20-30 mins, then take out, spray with cool filed water then cover. Because i was having so many air bubble issues, I looked online and everywhere (including on this site) recommends allowing the cake to return fully to room temp before covering. My question is, what is the point of chilling, if only to bring back to room temp? I tried this method and found the buttercream so soft, that it feels really unstable when trying to work the fondant on top and it didn’t eradicate the air bubbles anyway!!

It’s got me wondering what the best solution is here. To ganache all cakes? If you use a ganache crumb coat, do you still need to chill before covering?

Would love to hear other people’s solutions!

By the way I use either Sugar Paste Direct or Carma Massa fondant.

Hi Annie

When searching on this site did come across these comments?:
http://www.cakeflix.com/questions/?s=bubbles+in+fondant
A stiffer buttercream for crumb coating will set firmer. However it does need to be a good spreadable consistency so it doesn’t tear the cake. To make stiffer buttercream add more icing sugar. Alternatively you could add ganache to the buttercream to give more stability. Paul has a tutorial here:

Making and using buttercream

… and buttercream filling and covering chart with ganache percentage here:

How much buttercream do you need to cover a cake?

The guide has been calculated using amounts used by Paul in the tutorial. I made up his recipe to make the chart. What was left over sat on my kitchen counter for a month and remained stable. I kept it there as an experiment to gauge the stabilty. Ganache gives the very best stable surface for enrobing cakes. Personally I would choose it over buttercream every time. However, not everyone likes ganache, adding a little of it to buttercream will help it set better.
Air bubble ……… As temperature decreases air becomes more dense. The air inside a cake taken straight out of the fridge will expand as the cake gets to room temp. If the cake is enrobed straight away the expanding air can get trapped underneath the sugarpaste and cause the bubbles. Cake needs to sit out enough to disperse the dew which also forms as it comes to room temp. It only take a few minutes to dry off. If the cake is too wet, the moisture will cause air bubbles to develop. The other side of the coin, if the cake crumbcoat is too dry, sugarpaste will not adhere and again, bubbles will form. Same as wallpapering!

Hope this makes sense and helps a little. 🙂

EDIT: Dark ganache sets pretty well at room temp and its not always necessary to chill it if the decorating environment is cool. White ganache takes longer to set and requires chilling for approximately 15 – 20 minutes.

Thank you for your answer madeitwithlove, I really appreciate it.

I did look through the site first and came across the links you highlighted. I was wondering about adding ganache to my buttercream, but was wondering what you do if it is a flavoured buttercream. I use berry buttercream a lot and lemon buttercream too – would you add white choice ganache to these? Does it affect the taste? I suppose no more than using a full ganache crumb coat!

Could I also ask you how long would you leave a cake after taking it from the fridge before covering it? Can the condensation act as the ‘glue’? Or is this too wet?

If I add the ganache to my buttercream, presumably I need to chill and bring back to room temp again before covering?

Thank you x

Oh and is it the usual ganache that Paul uses for crumb coating or the softer version? x

Hi Annie

Your lovely flavours will be fine in a ganache buttercream and yes it’s the normal type and not the soft version. I would have a little play with ratios until you are happy with the result. I rarely use buttercream but when I need to I add melted chocolate, horses for courses, but the ganache buttercream recipe is brilliant. Bring a crumbcoated cake to room temp or after the dew has dispersed so the cake doesn’t feel too wet before icing. It takes about 15 – 20 minutes depending how warm or cold your decorating area is. Cake should feel tacky to the touch before enrobing. If it feels dry, spray the surface with as little cooled boiled water or vodka to enable the sugarpaste to adhere.