Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A
fondant and cmc proportions
How much cmc to add to let’s say 100 grams of fondant to ensure pliability and strength? I made a buttercream covered coffee mug cake and when I stuck the handle made of fondant+ cmc + lolipop sticks into the side of the cake, the handle cracked :(.
The amount is usually 250 g of sugar paste and 1 teaspoon of cmc/tylose or gum tragacanth. You’d need to experiment around that amount until you reach a happy medium for your climatic conditions. Sometimes if you are in a quick drying area you will need to slightly decrease the amount of powder, if you experience a lot of humidity the powder may need to be increased slightly.
Hi cwolf214
For carving, use batter which will yield a firm but moist cake. Madeira cake (pound cake), chocolate mud cake, some sponge cakes, as long as they are firm. Please try and avoid cakes made via the foaming method as their structure is too weak to sustain the weight of ganache and fondant enrobing. Paul’s chocolate cake is good for carving but needs to either be frozen or chilled for best handling. It’s a beautiful recipe, used by many Cakeflix members, myself included.
Paul’s cake recipe can be baked in a nonfan oven at 150c. Similar recipes bake better in a nonfan oven as it is a more gentle heat than transmitted from a hot fan. I turn the fan off in my oven settings when I bake Paul’s recipe.
Hope this helps. 🙂
