Cracking fondant!

[Nicky404]

Hi guys, I have been having a problem with my fondant when I am decorating my cakes. I find that the moment I lay my fondant over my cake the fondant cracks and falls apart. I roll out a lot extra around the whole cake to try and prevent the cracking but the cracking continues!
I use Tesco's fondant mostly but will use Renshaws if I have too, I follow all the correct procedures while working with the fondant, like the kneading etc. However I always have that cracking issue :C
Ill place a photo of one cake that really cracked badly...
I really would like some advice on this matter, anything that might be causing this or something that I could be doing wrong, please and thank you very much
In my photo I done the cake for my 1 year old Nephew and around the edge of the cake cracked and bulged out badly, I managed to solve the bulge slightly but couldn't solve the cracking...

 

[ThatNewMommy]

Are you using a nonstick mat? If you're not, what are you using to prevent it from sticking? Powdered sugar dries out the fondant and it may be causing the cracking. Try corn starch instead. Some people use shortening (a bit!) but personally....I don't like using shortening. Also, is the area too cool? The warmer it is the smoother it will be.

The cracking means it's drying out. I've never worked with those brands of fondant but hope someone who has can help.

 

[Becky]

Oh no, sorry to hear about your fondant problems! To me it looks like it has been overstretched a little... perhaps try rolling it out slightly thicker, and when you place it on top very gently ease it down the sides. You want to gently form it around the shape of the cake rather than pulling it down to fit.

 

[Nicky404]

Are you using a nonstick mat? If you're not, what are you using to prevent it from sticking? Powdered sugar dries out the fondant and it may be causing the cracking. Try corn starch instead. Some people use shortening (a bit!) but personally....I don't like using shortening. Also, is the area too cool? The warmer it is the smoother it will be.

The cracking means it's drying out. I've never worked with those brands of fondant but hope someone who has can help.

No im not using any form of mat, im using icing sugar to coat the surface while rolling out my fondant. Well here in Northern Ireland the weather is unpredictable, it varies between unbearable warm or cold. Ive worked with these brands lots of times before and the issue only seems to be arising now lately.

 

[Diane Lane]

@Nicky404 I've never made or used fondant, but it seems it can be a bit tricky. The first thing that occurred to me was your location (I see now that you're in Northern Ireland), and whether perhaps the temperature or humidity could be a factor. I know many recipes here in the States have separate directions for high altitude as well, so perhaps it's something like that.

 

[ThatNewMommy]

No im not using any form of mat, im using icing sugar to coat the surface while rolling out my fondant. Well here in Northern Ireland the weather is unpredictable, it varies between unbearable warm or cold. Ive worked with these brands lots of times before and the issue only seems to be arising now lately.

It may be the icing sugar then. It's possibly absorbing the moisture from the fondant. Since you've used them before, maybe they changed recipes a bit or maybe the varying temperature. Try switching from the sugar to a "poof" with cornstarch. To make the poof use a handiwipe type of towel, put some cornstarch in the middle, then gather the edges and tie it all into a poof. I wish I could explain it better. Then you can just pounce it on the board and on your hands. If the temp is too cold try warming the fondant in your hands. I've even read some people nuke it in the microwave for 5 seconds so that it can warm up. I'm on the opposite end of the temp problem with fondant. I live in the Caribbean so unless I'm in an air conditioned room, that fondant is going to be a mess.

 

[Nicky404]

It may be the icing sugar then. It's possibly absorbing the moisture from the fondant. Since you've used them before, maybe they changed recipes a bit or maybe the varying temperature. Try switching from the sugar to a "poof" with cornstarch. To make the poof use a handiwipe type of towel, put some cornstarch in the middle, then gather the edges and tie it all into a poof. I wish I could explain it better. Then you can just pounce it on the board and on your hands. If the temp is too cold try warming the fondant in your hands. I've even read some people nuke it in the microwave for 5 seconds so that it can warm up. I'm on the opposite end of the temp problem with fondant. I live in the Caribbean so unless I'm in an air conditioned room, that fondant is going to be a mess.

Thanks so much!!!
I must try using cornstarch then and see if that helps, I had a feeling it was either the temperature or the icing sugar. My mum always kept telling me that the warmer weather was the cause of the cracking fondant but I had a feeling it wasn't the warm weather

 

[Nicky404]

@Nicky404 I've never made or used fondant, but it seems it can be a bit tricky. The first thing that occurred to me was your location (I see now that you're in Northern Ireland), and whether perhaps the temperature or humidity could be a factor. I know many recipes here in the States have separate directions for high altitude as well, so perhaps it's something like that.

Thanks @Diane Lane, i enjoy using fondant as it gives you endless possibilities to what you can craft and make. It is so much fun... When it co-operates
I hate the weather here, it doesn't know what it is doing half of the time, but I have always had a feeling that the weather was a major contributing factor to the cracking fondant but I didn't think much of it until the cracking became very problematic in the appearance of the cakes. I'm going to try amplifying the heat in my kitchen and see if that helps the cracking a little bit.

 

[Diane Lane]

@Nicky404 I hope you get it figured out, and your next batch comes out perfect. Let us know if you do, that way if someone else comes along, that information might help them, as well.

 

[Anya]

It may be the icing sugar then. It's possibly absorbing the moisture from the fondant. Since you've used them before, maybe they changed recipes a bit or maybe the varying temperature. Try switching from the sugar to a "poof" with cornstarch. To make the poof use a handiwipe type of towel, put some cornstarch in the middle, then gather the edges and tie it all into a poof. I wish I could explain it better. Then you can just pounce it on the board and on your hands. If the temp is too cold try warming the fondant in your hands. I've even read some people nuke it in the microwave for 5 seconds so that it can warm up. I'm on the opposite end of the temp problem with fondant. I live in the Caribbean so unless I'm in an air conditioned room, that fondant is going to be a mess.

never used fondant, never even considered it actually. wanted to clarify, the colder the temperature, more likely for it to crack? o.o wow. i'm not sure of the weather in Northern Ireland (i am pretty much clueless of information about the rest of the world) but is about 29 to 31 degrees Celsius too warm? (that's the average temperature here in Maldives)