Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A
Tylose is not needed for cake covering. It is used to harden icing to make decorations. Did you knead the icing in manageable pieces first? Just till it is soft and you can add a next lump to the first. The answer above about how much jam you put on sounds very relevant. Its only enough to moisten the surface so the icing will stick, just a scrape. I use sugar syrup between my layers.
I used eggwhite for years, just a thin scrape – one day my mother in law was doing this job for me and slathered it on thick, (looked yuck) the fondant cover would have slipped about all over the place and its own weight would have allowed it to drop and pull apart – so I can see how it could happen. Pat
Hi. I’ve just bought some fondarific and found I needed just as much as with other sugarpastes, it didn’t crack so much but it it wasn’t any easier to work with. It did stick to my board so definately had to use icing sugar. I didn’t think it was the miracle sugar paste it was being made out to be for the price. It cost me over £35 for 2kg as opposed to £8.49 for 2 and a half kg of cover paste. Don’t think I’ll be using it again unless it comes down in price.
I am from Nigeria, West Africa were almost all imported things are adulterated! As a result, i have to add a little bit of tylos–otherwise known as cmc powder to make my fondants. I make , i dont buy as that pays me better. We dont so much fancy sweet things here so the fondant is usually scraped off the cake after cutting, and discarded.
Hello I have just registered and have a lot of questions as I fairly new to the cake world. The first time I put sugarpaste on a cake it fell apart & someone reccomended putting some tylo in it to help make it more stable ,I did not use marzipan but crumb-coated the cake before covering with sugarpaste should I have put marzipan under it first . Also how long would the ganache stay fresh for under sugarpaste. many thanks Linda.
Hello Linda
Some people do put a little tylose with fondant to strengthen it particularly if the weather is very humid and fondant keeps breaking and splitting. I haven’t come across many people in the UK who practice this, I’m sure though there must be, but it’s much more popular in the States. It is individual taste, so if you want to try it there is no reason why you can’t. It isn’t necessary to marzipan cakes, not every one likes it, people who suffer with nut allergies can’t eat it. You can use a thin layer of fondant in place of marzipan, or alternatively you can ganache cakes to get a smooth under layer for icing. Ganache will keep up to a couple of weeks under fondant (some times longer if kept in a cool room, not in the fridge). Fondant icing is sugar and acts as a preservative, best way to know if ganache has gone off is to smell and taste it. Un- used ganache can be stored in the fridge again for a couple of weeks or more, and it can be frozen for a few months. Royal icing and fondant icing should not be stored in the fridge nor cakes which are decorated with these mediums. Hope some of this helps, please come back if you need more information.
