Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

I’m in need of some help….ive made three stacked cake the past couple of weeks and I’m finding the fondant is cracking pretty badly……I’m using satin ice at the moment so I’m sure if its me or the fondant, and when stack the cakes it seems to crack even more.I really don’t know what I’m doing wrong 🙁 . Would l also like to know what fondant is best to use.

I have not used Satin Ice, but best sugarpaste to use is Massa Tinicio, don’t be out off by the cost it as you do not need to use as much so therefore works out cheaper in the long run. I covered a 4inch high 6inch round cake today and only used about 300g of paste.
As for the stacking, did you put dowels in your cakes to take the weight of the tier on top?
MIWL has used satin ice so I am sure she will let you know the answer to it cracking.

Thank you so much for answering…..Yes I did put dowels in so not sure what went wrong 🙁 and thank you for your feedback…one more thing actually I’ve seen two types of the Massa Tinicio…there’s a “tropic” one a normal one I’m guessing which one do you recommend.Thanks again Jackie Harris.xx

Hi jalilah23

Jackie and I both use Carmas Massa Ticino Tropic, like Jackie I find it is the best sugarpaste I have ever used, it’s fabulous. This paste was formulated for use in hot and humid countries. As far as I am aware cakes enrobed with it can be refrigerated without the usual ill effects of sweating and melting.
I did use Satin Ice Ivory for a very long time. For me , it used to be the best paste at that time. I never had any problems with the ivory. However the white presented lots of problems like spider cracks and elephant skin. Is this the type of cracking you mean? or is it something more serious?
Dowelling cakes after the icing dries can cause problems with cracks which can become larger upon stacking. It’s best to dowel while the icing is fresh and soft. Cracking and elephant skin type problems can also be caused by over use of icing sugar or cornflour during rolling out. Try rolling out on a surface smeared with a little shortening. Apply a small amount to the edges of your iced cake, smooth it in to keep the edges pliable. The shortening prevents the paste from drying out too fast and cracking. It leaves no taste or residue. Prolonged rolling out can also cause sugarpaste to lose moisture. I would suggest rolling out quickly and adhereing to a prepared cake surface to prevent moisture loss.
I hope some of the above info helps. If you need more help please post again.

Really really appreciate your feedback…..and next time I will dowel the cakes before it sets.:) The big mistake I’ve made was buying a 10kg bucket of it !.I found the consistency of it very sticky don’t know if I got a bad batch…..and do you always ganache your cakes.Thank you once again.xx

Contact Cake Stuff and let them know that you’ve had problems with the icing. Mention also that you are a member of this school. You can say that other members have had the same problem with Satin Ice white and that you have no use for the paste as it stands. They may offer to take it back or ask them directly for a refund. It’s possible they may offer help and support. I don’t buy from Cake Stuff so not sure how good their customer after care is. They are winners of Cake Masters retailer of the year so they must be really good!
To contact Satin Ice directly you can email them here: E-mail: [email protected]
They may be able to put you in contact with someone in the UK who can take a sample of their product for testing. Let them know you purchased it at Cake Stuff. The guy at Cake International was really helpful, he definitely wanted to persue the batch but as I’ve mentioned before, I had non to give him. Explain in the email exactly what you have said here but add that you have no use for the paste as it stands. Ask also what they would suggest to bring the paste back to a proper working consistency.

Mish has recommended to use the left overs for covering boards and using in moulds. I’ve also done that, however it needs gum strengther to firm it up. To make gumpaste from the icing sugar, use 1 teaspoon of CMC / Tylose/ or gum tragacanth to 250g of the sugarpaste. I always allow it to rest overnight to help activate the gum. If using CMC the gumpaste can be used more or less straight away. I find gum trag gives far better results but needs resting, same goes with the tylose. I think you’ll find it’s ok for making quick flowers which don’t need wiring. I’ve made flowers with it but they break or the paste still feels wet. You can use a bed of cornflower to lay made pieces in to help absorb the moisture from the paste. I just empty half a packet of cornflower in a flat shallow container and lay made flowers or models into it. The cornflower can be hollowed to make the shape of a former. Once the pieces have dried dust the flour off with a soft brush.

For dowelling please follow all of Paul’s free lesson in the tutorial for dowelling and stacking cakes here:

Stacking Cakes – Overview

Paul uses the nine dowel method, sometimes he uses big bubble straws, these can be quite expensive so shop around for them if using. Living in London you have better access to many Asian stores which keep these at much reduced prices. I just use the nine dowels, touch wood, I have never experienced a collapse! shuuuush!! I can only help you out with solutions which I have found useful. Other members too may have tips which they’d like to share. Please post again if you have any more questions, if you need any more information or help, don’t feel alone. You have a lovely day too, enjoy the sunshine while it lasts!! x

* “To make gumpaste from the icing sugar, use 1 teaspoon of CMC / Tylose/ or gum tragacanth to 250g of the sugarpaste”

This should read “to make gumpaste from sugarpaste” and not from icing sugar. Hahah I’m going loopy!! x

Yes, I always ganache my cakes. I can’t work with buttercream as a crumbcoat. Are you having problems with ganache?
Did you by any chance buy 10k bucket of white Satin Ice? I found the white to be very wet, sticky and most troublesome with massive air bubbles. I mentioned it to the Satin Ice rep at Cake International. He said if I had taken the batch back to them they would have tested it, of course I didn’t have any on me to give him, I don’t carry pails of sugarpaste around with me. He did make me laugh though. Did you buy it online? You could send feedback to Satin Ice, they are very helpful and you never know, they may even replace it for you if you could supply them with a sample of the batch.

If you would like to help firm it up, knead in 1 teaspoon of gum strengthener like tylose powder/CMC or gum tragacanth to 500g of icing. Let it rest overnight to activate the gum. This amount will allow the paste to be less sticky and more managable. Don’t add any more because you’ll be in danger of turning the icing into gumpaste. It depends really on your weather, on heat, rain, humidity. The more humid the weather the more sticky the icing. Sugar attracts water so the icing becomes sticky, stretchy and other horrible things! I too got caught with the 10k pail, thankfully it’s all gone now, however I would still use the ivory, it tastes so much better than the white. Mine tasted like calcium tablets, yuk! and felt like chewing gum, even more yuk!
Hope you manage to work through what you have left, it’s disappointing I know! x

I have some satin ice too which is mega sticky. I too now only use massa Ticcino by carma. It’s amazing!

I didn’t want to bin the satin ice so I have been using that up,to cover boards. It works really well for that. Just roll it out then use the rolling pin as a smoother over the top once you have stuck it to the board. Funny thing is that I love Satin Ice Gumpaste for using in moulds.

Yes I did buy a 10k bucket of white Satin Ice. I bought it online from Cake Stuff, now I don’t know what to do with the rest of it apart from what you suggested and put some CMC in it…..by any chance can it be used for modelling and flowers, I think I will also take Mish advice and use it perhaps to cover cake boards…I live in London so it wasn’t hot at the time when using it, what is the best way of getting in touch with them (Satin Ice) and what shall I say…sorry if I silly 🙂 and yes I did experience air bubbles. Thank you gain for your comments has helped me a lot….can I also ask how many dowels would you recommend putting in a 10inch cake. Thank you and have a lovely day.x

Can’t thank you enough for all your help and support MIWL.xx 🙂