Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

hi on novelty cakes or even wedding cakes, should i use tylo powder to harden up my fondent , i made a cake before and when i delivered, it tore apart, nightmare thanks x

Yes, I think that the oils in the marzipan might be the reason the fondant fell off.   Normally what I do is bake the cake then leave it wrapped up for a day, or freeze it.  Carve it and fill it – if filling with buttercream I put it in the fridge to set before I cover it.  Cover with the marzipan then leave it in a cool place to harden for about a day.  Then cover with the fondant and again leave to dry overnight before decorating.  Should be ok and a lot easier to work with.  The freshness sort of depends on the fat content which is why a lot of people use butter as it has a higher fat content than marg.  The marzipan and fondant act as a sealer to keep the cake fresh. 

I once made a cake for someone who was giving it to a friend as a birthday gift.  What she didn’t know was that her friend was being whisked away on holiday as a surprise and so the cake didn’t get cut.  She came back two weeks later, cut the cake,  ate it and said that it was lovely! 

Hope this helps and let me know how you get on.

Susan

I add tylo to make decorations but I think it alters the taste of the fondant, so wouldnt use it to cover a cake with.  Have you tried covering your cake with ganache instead of marzipan? Gives a beautiful smooth finish and tastes much better (IMO).

Hi Annabel, do you mean using it on decorations on the cake or on the actual fondant covering the cake?

I have never used it on the fondant covering, I don’t think that it would work anyway.  What did you use to coat the cake with before putting on the fondant?  What brand of fondant did you use? Take me through the steps you took starting from after you baked the cake.

after i baked i then shaped the cake into a bag shape then sliced the cake in middle and filled with boiled jam and covered all over the cake with jam, i then covered it in marzipan then boiled jam for the fondent, smoothed the fondent and added the detail. The fondent brand was from tesco i have since started to use karen davies fondent which is nice but i have’nt use it yet for novelty cakes and i have a order for a alcoholic bottle to be made in 2 weeks time and a 3d tomas the tank engine for july and slightly scared incase the falling apart happens again, thank you

1.  Did you put lots of jam on the cake before the marzipan or just enough to brush on so that it would stick?

2.After you covered the cake with marzipan did you leave it to dry for at least a day, preferably two days, before applying the jam and fondant?  Again how much jam did you use?

I use Tesco’s fondant as well.  I have tried many other brands and I still prefer to use tesco’s, I have never had any problems at all with it.

thanks so much for your advice, i have loads of questions to ask its fab to be able to come on here and get the advice i need, thanks again  x

I have changed to using Karen Davies marshmallow fondant and don’y have any more trouble with cracks or splitting.  It is much firmer so I don’t think it would slip either.  Also just seen Fondarific demonstrated.  Looks good and Paul has a you tube video suggesting it.

Hi Jayess,  I had been looking at Karen Davies fondant, but was a bit put off because there was no price for it on her site.  Can you tell me how much it is per kilo please?  Also, I had a look at the Fondarific site and unless I’m reading it wrong, it’s about £15 per kilo?

Hi Susan, it is a bit expensive to have posted.  It cost £5.50 a kilo plus postage which I think Karen said was £4.50 so you would be better off buying a  few kilos.  I have also bought it online at

http://www.sugarcraftcreationsonline.co.uk/karen-davies-marshmallow-sugarpaste-1kg-1583-p.asp

for £7.99 a kilo.  Expensive yes but it works lovely in molds.  I try to buy at exhibitions and make sure it has a long shelf life.  Fondarific is £15 a kilo.  Never noticed before I bought it, it had better be good ;0)!  The demonstrator said you do not need as much (we’ll see!).

Thanks for that info Jayess. The Karen Davies stuff does sound good, but a bit too pricey – would push up the price of the cake too much. Although I’ve got to say again that I’ve never had any problems with Tesco’s fondant, really can’t find any fault with it. I’ve never tasted marshmallow fondant though, sounds tasty.

Although I’ve got a couple of wedding cakes to do next month and I might try it then. I think wedding cakes can absorb the price of it a lot better than birthday cakes etc.

Where can you buy Fondarific in the UK?

Zaheeda, you can buy Fondarific here –

http://www.buynbake.com

Hi Annabel

I was just re-reading all the Q & A here and I noticed you seemed to have put jam on the marzipan to stick the fondant on.  This might have been your problem if you did.  I always use a clear alcohol, vodka usually, to wet the marzipan before covering with fondant.  If you are concerned with using alcohol use boiled water.  Sorry in advance if I have misunderstood!

thanks for replying, on the actual fondant covering of the cake x

i used just enough jam to coat the cake but what i did’nt do was leave it for a day or two to dry i just covered with jam then fondent , i didnt realise i had to leave it to dry in between so that is where i went wrong i made the cake and compleated it all in a day i made it two days before delivering as i thought it had to as fresh as possible. How many days before delivery should i have baked the cake i just did’nt want the cake to go off if i made it a week before, thanks so much

Thank you Susan

I have seen online someone recommend using tylo powder in fondant to cover cakes to prevent tearing..I haven’t tried it though. I use regalice and re only time I have a problem tearing is when I’ve over rolled on the edges..so maybe try not to roll so thin..aim for the thickness of a pound coin all over.  I was talked into Satin Ice at the cake show and I DONT recommend it. It was so thick and heavy to roll and went on the cake rigid!! I had to scrape it all off the cake and run out to the shop and buy some regalice!!

thanks very much jayess x