Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Why does my fondant always cracks or stretch? I have tried using with and without cmc powder and trex to stop it from cracking or stretching when covering a cake. I have used tesco’s own fondant and also Dr Oetakar’s (not sure of the exact spellings!) but still it cracks or stretches.

Maybe you are rolling it very thin , I always try to keep thickness which Paul states in his tutorials, other thing I prefer to smooth out the edges and sides as soon as I cover the cake

Hi Ciraffell

Fondant can be affected by the weather, it can be over soft and stretchy in hot humid conditions but can also be stretchy if the weather is damp. It will crack if too much icing sugar is added to it when rolling out or if it has been rolled out too thinly. Try and work in a well ventilated room if your fondant feels ‘wet’ and over sticky, and try not to over knead it, just enough to make it smooth. I find resting the fondant for about an hour after kneading firms it up a little and rolling out and lifting is not such a problem. Resting also helps reduce air bubbles. Press it down like Paul does in the tutorials ( give it CPR!) and roll out quickly within the required thickness. Smoothing the edges straight away once the cake is covered also prevents fondant stretching and cracking. Once the cake is covered try not to keep handling it, leave it to settle down and dry.