fondant bubbles

[Eeyore]

Lately I have started having trouble with bubbles popping up under the fondant on cakes. It has happened in the past occasionally of course. but suddenly it has started happening more frequently. I cant figure out why. I dont think I am doing anything differently.

As you all probably know, once you get a bubble under your fondant you cant really get it back as smooth as it was. Plus you have a hole where you "popped" the bubble.

I know that a big part of the problem is the weather down here. We put our cakes back in the cooler after we enrobe them to wait until time to decorate. This is really important for us esp. in the summer because the longer the cakes are out in the heat the more unstable they become.

We dont use a genoise or any other sponge because that just wouldn't fly down here. We like our cakes extra tender, soft, light, sweet, and buttery. We like our Butter cream rich and buttery and plenty of it. So we fill our cakes with french buttercream usually with alot of butter. So they can have a tendency to slide. So that is another reason we keep them cool as long as we can.

The problem is of course that the filling gets much stiffer under refrigeration than the regular icing we put on the outside. So we takes scraps of cake and stuff them between each layer around the perimeter of the cakes before we trim them. this seems to help prevent what we call "panty lines" in our fondant.

So Im trying to determine the reason the bubbles keep appearing. I know that air expands as it warms up.

When I "pop" the bubbles I have found that the bubble is under the icing--not the fondant. And a couple of times when I popped one the icing was still attached to the fondant and there was cake attached to the icing. So the air was actually under cake. So I thought that maybe the cake slivers I was using to stuff the spaces between the layers was being pushed out. Because I have found that cake will adhere to icing but it will not adhere to more cake.

So that is where I am in my investigation so far. But Im still perplexed as to what to do about it.

Any experience? Or suggestions?

thanks
eeyore

[m brown]

okay,
here is how i roll:

day one, cut, wash fill and crumb coat.
Let set, ice with bc or the crumb coating (bc paddled with cake, like a very soft rum ball).
Wrap iced cake in plastic and cool over night- this allows the cake to settle and the flavors to meld together.
day two, cover with fondant, smoothe with the smoothing tool and allow to set for an hour in the cooler covered to protect the finish.
Decorate, box, wrap, chill, deliver, allow cake to be shown (and warm a little) cut and serve.

this works well when you have many cakes.
I try to work the bubbles out rather than pop them if possible.
make sure your under boards are sturdy -- masonite or just double cardboard or plastic tuff board or plastic wilton tray.

I am starting to miss working.......just a little.

[Eeyore]

Thank you for the reply. that sounds like basically how we already do it.

We usually cut, fill, and ice one day. then enrobe and decorate if possible the next; then finish and diliver on the 3rd. We always keep them chilled whenever we're not working with them. We like them to set out for just a few hours before service.

Well I didn't have any bubbles this week. I think that is because it finally started to cool down this week. Plus I've been doing the fondant a tad thicker. My boss likes it REALLY thin. Most of our customers want the look of fondant but dont like the taste or texture.

When I do have bubbles I try to avoid piercing the fondant, but it seems that when I try to just smooth it out toward the bottom it tends to come back. And the absence of all the icing that gets pushed out through the bottom tends to really change the cake. You have to remember that in the summer we cant go back and use a cake smoother once the fondant has been on the cake. In fact some days when I put the fondant on the cake I can only run the smoother around a couple of times before it gets too gummy. Then if you touch the fonant at all it will stick to whatever you touch it with and you will definately have a bubble.

Well, winter is coming so things should go better now. Next July I just might be back on here complaining again. lol

thanks again
eeyore

[panini]

Eeyore,
I have encountered the bubbles on a fair amount of persons I've worked with over the years. I spent many hours trying to crack the code.
I looked at the chemistry and found there was very little evidense that the bubbles were being produced after the application of BC.
I did find a common denominator in most of the bubble makers.
Most all the bubblers applied their BC with a spatula. The non bubblers did not.
I found that when applying their BC with a spat. they seemed to have a curvature in their stroke sometimes that basically trapped air between the first surface and the second. These type of bubbles are hard to dispurse because they are not between the bc and the fondant, their between the cake and the buttercream.
I switched them to applying with a bag and flat tip and it cured most of the bubbling problems.
Now this will be useless info if you apply with a bag
If not, I will suggest applying your BC with a bag with the bag almost horizontal to the cake, giving no chance for air to be trapped. See if it makes a difference.
pan

[Eeyore]

Well, that is one of the wierdest things I ever heard! lol You're right, I use a spatula..Mostly because I HATE using a bag. But if it would prevent the bubbles maybe it would be worth it. I cant see how it would prevent less air being trapped under the icing. But Im not going to argue with your experience.

thanks for your help.
eeyore

PS. You are right. the bubbles are definately between the cake and the BC. NOT between the BC and the fondant. I have suspected though that the air was coming from deeper in the cake because often I eliminate the bubble and as the cake continues to rise in temperature the bubble comes back.

[panini]

Of course that is one of the wierdest things you've heard. I'm one wierd person. I am so anal about things that I took the time to study, analyze and seperate the bubblers from the non bubblers.LOL
I think this is the most important reasons for triming all cakes before icing.
If you don't have a perfect 90 degrees, there is a chance for trapped air.Try to invision the side of a cake that might have a concave space or a little divot/void in the side. If you spatula over this in a curving motion or even a straight motion you will trap the air in the divot or void. When you pipe you tend to force the BC along the side, in and out of the voids, eliminating the air.
I wish you would give it a try to see if you can see a difference.
If you think there is some sort of science experiment going on inside to produce air, lava and other gasses which bubble up from the depths of your cake to errupt like a volcano then I would take a look at your formula and shelf life I would bet as you go along and keep adding weight to the piece you force those little buggers to the surface.
Please keep me in mind for more usless studies in the kitchen
pan

[momoreg]

I agree with Panini that air between the bc and cake cause the bubbling. I used to have a problem with bubbles when I used Italian bc (which I used fairly stiff, and smoothed with a hot spatula). Now I use Swiss bc, and keep it VERY soft. This consistency gives ithe final coat a perfect finish. The softness helps it get into all the nooks and crannies. No bubbles!