Common Cake Decorating Problems
Troubleshooting Cake Icing Mistakes and Disasters
A guide to preventing or fixing some common cake decorating glitches, from curdled buttercream to cracked fondant.
Fondant is Sagging and Buckling at Bottom of Cake
Fondant bulging out the sides of the cake usually occurs a short while after the cake was iced, and is caused by one of two problems. The cake or almond paste layer may not have been sufficiently moistened to allow the fondant to stick, or the sides of the cake were not smoothed down well enough to press out all the air.
How to fix or disguise: If the cake was recently iced, it is often possible to gently open the fondant out from the cake board and re-smooth the sides, pressing the air out as firmly as possible, and moistening underneath the fondant with water or alcohol and a small brush. If the icing has hardened, any attempts to smooth it will result in cracks. Cover the bottom of the cake with a wide ribbon to disguise the bulging.
Piped Writing or Designs Have Leached Colour Onto Fondant
This artistic but often unwanted effect occurs when the royal icing is not colourfast. Use proper cake decorating colours—gels or powders—to tint icing, not cheap supermarket-brand liquid food colouring. Allow the tinted mixture to sit for a while (covered, to prevent the icing drying out) before using, and if possible test a few dots of icing on a spare piece of fondant to check for colourfastness.
How to fix or disguise: A thicker nozzle can sometimes pipe right over the original writing and leaching (just be sure that this new icing is colourfast!). Otherwise, writing can sometimes be covered with a plaque of fondant, with the writing piped onto the plaque.
Fondant Has Cracked or Torn at Edges of Cake
Fondant that is rolled too thinly tends to tear, exposing the cake or almond paste underneath. Fondant that is rolled too thickly cannot smoothly curve over the edges of the cake, and often cracks.
How to fix or disguise: For serious tears, it can be best to pull the fondant off and reroll. Do not attempt this with the layer of fondant or almond paste next to the cake unless you have extra icing—reusing the same icing will result in streaks and crumbs throughout that layer. Fondant which contains glycerine, such as Pettinice, is stretchier and thus more forgiving than cheaper fondant. Small cracks can often be smoothed away by rubbing firmly with an icing smoother, but only while the fondant is still quite soft. Piping patterns over the cake, such as a cornelli design, covers a multitude of fondant sins.
Stacked Cake has Buckled
Read these instructions for stacking cakes. A tiered cake is not made by simply placing the layers on top of each other; internal supports, made of dowelling and cake boards, prevent the structure from buckling or collapsing.
Fondant Layer is Uneven or Pitted
A cake which is not perfectly smooth can show its imperfections through two layers of icing, especially if the fondant and almond paste are rolled very thin.
How to fix or prevent: Before applying the almond paste layer, plug up any holes or dents in the cake with almond paste. Fruit cakes often contain holes where raisins have fallen out; cakes may also have creases if they were baked with wrinkled greaseproof paper. Always trim the top of a cake flat and place it upside-down for icing. Rub the almond paste layer vigorously with icing smoothers to flatten and smooth the surface before applying the fondant.
Buttercream Icing has Curdled and Seeped
If you ice a cake with buttercream on a hot day it may weep, separating into fat and a watery whey.
How to prevent: Beat the buttercream well. Ice your cake in the cool of the morning or evening, and place it in the fridge immediately after. When piping buttercream, overly-warm hands can melt the icing inside the piping bag. Wear cool clothes and wash your hands periodically in chilled water if necessary.
Fondant is Sweating
How to fix or prevent: Do not store an iced cake in the fridge or an airtight container. A large cardboard box with high sides, covered by a clean light cloth, is the best way to store a cake. Some of the sweating can be reduced by rubbing a little sieved icing sugar over the damp spots.
