Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

I read somewhere that by adding a small amount of lard or an ingredient called Tela (?) into your fondant before placing it over your cake can stop the sides cracking. Is this true? Has anyone else heard of this? I would be very grateful for any advice, as a novice I am already on my second commission so I have to get this right! Many thanks, Penny

Hi Penny

The ingredient is called Trex in the Uk and Crisco or shortening elsewhere in the world. It is white vegetable fat which can be found in the same aisle as all fats in the supermarket. Lard is pork fat and mustn’t be used in cake decorating.

Only a very tiny amount is kneaded into the fondant to make it pliable if it is particularly difficult to knead. Too much will change the consistency of the fond making it greasy and unusable. To prevent fondant cracking once a cake has been iced, apply a little Trex in your hands as you would hand cream, then gently rub it over any areas which are likely to crack.
If you google search ‘using shortening in cake decorating’ you will find lots of information on how it is used.

Hope this helps. 🙂