I want to make a 4th of July cake and I want to paint stripes on the cake. Can this be done and how? I don't want to use fondant and don't really want to stipe the cake with frosting (example using the basket weave tip turned backwords). Thanks for the help.

Yes ...you can paint on buttercream.....just let it dry first and then use alcohol....vodka works well.....as your liquid...I put a few drops on a plate and mix in a little color....use a SOFT brush and paint on your stripes...the alcohol evaporates out and leaves the color on the cake and does not make the frosting mushy.

Click on my photos, there is a small painted BC test cake. You have to use light strokes and it may take more than one swipe, but it works. You might want to stick to broader imagines as finer detail requires you to work a lot in one area and this can get soggy, which will cave in your BC.

Absolutely! Just as sdfisher said, mix color gels with alcohol and paint away! If you look in my pics, there is a cup of cappuccino cake and the sides are entirely painted. I used a smaller brush to purposely create the streaky look--too match the photo of the original I had. If you don't want it very streaky, use a larger brush. Also make sure that you dab off the excess before painting--don't want that icing to get all wet and soggy. Good luck!