The only wedding cake I ever had collapse was a fondant covered cake that sat at room temperature overnight and got too warm as it was undercoated with buttercream. After that experience, every fondant cake, no matter what time of the year and how big or small it was, was refrigerated. Drying a fondant covered cake after it has been refrigerated is important to remove the condensation that occurs. They would be pulled out several hours before delivery. In most cases, they would be wet, either a little or a lot depending upon how hot and humid it was even in air-conditioning. The warmer the weather, the more water on the cake.
Since the cakes couldn't be delivered in this condition, I had to find a way to dry them. It actually is very easy - once I thought of it! Place the cake or cake layers on trays and place them on a speed rack or table. Surround the rack or the table with heavy duty fans. Turn them on and the cake usually dries within 20 to 60 minutes, depending upon how wet they are.
A beautiful cake that is firm and, as importantly - DRY!!!
Notice the rack it is on. It is a side loading rack, which is very important in a bakery. More on that later.
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Maribel Garrabrant says
Helen, thank you so much for sharing your recipes, I will be making the Santa Fe Brownies this Friday for a group of 70 teens, can't wait to taste them!
hfletcher says
Hi Maribel. You are indeed ambitious. One hint to make your life easier. After you divide the batter and put the walnuts in and pour it into the pan. Take the second pan or pans (I am sure you are making more than one pan) and set it over hot water so it doesn't thicken up too much to pour over the cheesecake layer. This is what we did at the shop when we made 12 pans at a time. The second chocolate will set up if left too long and putting it over hot water will keep it pourable. Just don't let it get too, too liquid or it will sink to the bottom of the pan. Please let me know how these worked for you.