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Hey all
I have been struggling with the cake covering. When I crumb coat it I always leave it to set but its always a bit sticky still and when I cover with fondant it sometimes makes the fondant sticky or i have bulges.. so ny question is how do you set your buttercream (in fridge or in open air and for how long?) Why would my fondant go sticky? Is it too thin?

Hello tiggerjr83

It’s possible that your buttercream is too soft for crumb coating. A stiffer BC is better, use less butter to icing sugar which will set and crust over. Make a softer one for the filling. Bulges are usually caused by the filling seeping out from the layers. Making a dam around the edge of each layer and then filling the middle will help prevent seepage. Some of the information here http://www.ehow.com/how_8181440_make-icing-dam.html might be useful. Have a look at any of Paul’s tutorials for the depth you should roll out your fondant, it may be that you’re just rolling a little too thin.

Thanks .. it wasnt seeping from the filling it was bulging on top where I used buttercream to fill a hole, so I assume it was just too wet. I used equal amounts of icing sugar and butter so I will try with a different consistency .. same thing applies for wanting to do piping on the top of the fondant, I was worried it was going to make the whole thing too wet.. maybe i will also try doing the fondant thicker.

Hi tiggerjr83

I might have this wrong, but are you going to pipe butter cream on the top of the fondant? I’m not so sure whether that would work because the moisture in the BC will make the icing soft. Have you done it before? Just making sure with you, I wouldn’t want all your hard work to spoil. x