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asked September 23rd 2016

Fondant on sponge cake

I have just made a 3 tier + separator cake for my sons wedding, incorporating gumpaste flowers I made – and fresh roses. It turned out very good and all were well impressed.. The bottom cake was fruit- the 2nd vanilla sponge and the top – chocolate sponge. I covered 2 in dark ganache and the vanilla in white ganache.

Now my problems –
1. I live on the Costa del Sol and using gumpaste and fondant in the summer heat was a nightmare !!!! With a fan in the kitchen to keep me cool – it was drying the gumpaste as fast as I could model it ! Any ideas for the future ?
I have been asked to make more similar cakes but I am very reluctant to do so in the summer heat – which is defeating my whole aim of learning from you !

2. I could not put the fondant on the sponge cakes too early as I thought the cakes would go dry ( I froze them after the ganache) and therefore after 3 days – it was still very soft. When I had to stack the cakes on the day of the wedding – I made fingerprints in it – which I couldn’t smooth out .

3. I used the “new Mat” for rolling the fondant – using their quantitites /thickness etc and it worked very well – but I could see the choc ganache throught the fondant – it was too thin – a point I should tell ” the mat ” people

Apart from installing air con in my kitchen – are there any other/better gumpastes for modelling in warm weather ? I used Renshaws.

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I have just made a 3 tier + separator cake for my sons wedding, incorporating gumpaste flowers I made – and fresh roses. It turned out very good and all were well impressed.. The bottom cake was fruit- the 2nd vanilla sponge and the top – chocolate sponge. I covered 2 in dark ganache and the vanilla in white ganache.

Now my problems –
1. I live on the Costa del Sol and using gumpaste and fondant in the summer heat was a nightmare !!!! With a fan in the kitchen to keep me cool – it was drying the gumpaste as fast as I could model it ! Any ideas for the future ?
I have been asked to make more similar cakes but I am very reluctant to do so in the summer heat – which is defeating my whole aim of learning from you !

2. I could not put the fondant on the sponge cakes too early as I thought the cakes would go dry ( I froze them after the ganache) and therefore after 3 days – it was still very soft. When I had to stack the cakes on the day of the wedding – I made fingerprints in it – which I couldn’t smooth out .

3. I used the “new Mat” for rolling the fondant – using their quantitites /thickness etc and it worked very well – but I could see the choc ganache throught the fondant – it was too thin – a point I should tell ” the mat ” people

Apart from installing air con in my kitchen – are there any other/better gumpastes for modelling in warm weather ? I used Renshaws.

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Sounds like a challenging cake made even more so in the heat.

Paul’s made a lot of cakes in Spain (we’re in Alhaurin el Grande) and he swears by Carma’s Massa Ticino sugarpaste. It was developed for hot and humid conditions so is definitely the best on the market at the moment by a long, long way. Please see examples of their packs at: http://www.cake-stuff.com/search/massa-ticino

With some of the July and August temperatures on the Costa del Sol it really is extremely challenging to make cakes without some adjustments to the northern European and US product advisories.

It may be worth using thicker covering to ensure that the ganache doesn’t come through, I know Paul tends to do that depending on the working temperature. To help the ganache set you are always best using dark ganache adding extra chocolate and the higher cocoa content the higher the higher the melting temperature.

Best to do some trial and error without relying on it first time on a real cake so when the time comes you know the process and products have been tried and tested.

Hope this helps, Kind regards, David

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Definitely Massa Ticino! I only use Renshaw or supermarket brand to cover my boards. Just working with Massa you will feel the difference. In relation to sugar flowers I would cut out fewer petals at a time so you have more flexibility in veining, shaping etc. Make sure you keep any petals cut covered in film. You can also add some vegetable fat to the flower paste. Don’t be put off. If you received such compliments it is well worth continuing.

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Hi Wendy

Have you tried SweetArt sugarpaste and gumpaste? The paste is manufactured in Portugal and used in temperatures similar to what your are experiencing in Spain. Here is their link: http://www.sweetart.pt/en/tips/
and here is an extract of an email I received from them recently with a list of their happy customers:

“Our sugarpaste is very good in a hot climate, we had 40ºC this summer 🙂

In Spain we have a lot of clients. Near to Costa del Sol tenemos:

– MasQDulce – Andaluzia
– Julia Cakes – Andaluzia
– Cintita sus Tartitas – Andaluzia
– La Casita Dulce de las Flores – Malaga
– Mordiscos Dulces – Malaga
– The Sugar Passion – Malaga
– Antonio Cano SL – Malaga
– Merca Dulce – Málaga
– Hayunatarta para ti – Málaga

Thank you,
Sofia Alves”

It’s just another alternative to consider, although I use Carmas Massa Ticino Tropic and simply can not fault it. The gumpaste is equally as good. Good luck with your future baking and decorating.

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