Icing issues

It sounds like your fondant may be too thin and perhaps your edges too sharp. Condition your fondant but don’t overwork it and roll it thicker. Once you put it over the cake, carefully smooth the top with a fondant smother to remove any air bubbles and then gently start going down the sides a couple of inches at a time flaring the fondant to avoid wrinkles. Remember to be gentle to avoid tearing the fondant and don’t pull it down. Hope this helps.

I know what you are saying, had this many many times!! And I’ve had this pblm after I started having sharp edges; sometimes, when you roll your fondant, the edges are pbbly thicker than middle, hence more weight, so when you unroll your fondant over your cake, the weight will pull the fondant down and you get tears. First thing I do now is secure the edges, as soon as I unroll fondant, I run the smoother on top quickly then immediately, I start securing the edges with my hands. If your fondant, to begin with, is too thin, it will tear at the edges and around the cake too (had that too). I have seen many tutorials that roll the fondant much much larger than the cake to flare it out on the bottom so not to have wrinkles; but in my own personal and humble opinion, I don’t do that anymore, I roll almost exactly the size of the cake, just a tad larger, and it works for me; so what I am saying is try different ways and it depends on the shape of your cake, see what works best for you. My cakes are taller now than what I used to do and this is part of the problem, so that’s why I don’t roll much larger; if your cake is shorter, it is much easier. Good Luck!!

Thanks for the tips. I have another cake to make soon so fingers crossed it works then!

How do you make sure you don’t have sharp edges???

There’s nothing wrong with having sharp edges – in fact, some clients request it. You just have to make sure your fondant is not too thin and you don’t let the fondant just hang – as soon as you smooth your top, start securing your edges with your hands – from then on it should be ok.

It rips as soon as I put the icing on the cake. I’m going to try again and see what I can change to hopefully stop it. I don’t know what I’m doing different to before!!!!