I am new to cake decorating so be gentle!
My sister wants a carrot cake for her birthday and I have NO IDEA how to decorate with cream cheese frosting. I have only dabbled in BC. I really want to make this nice and pretty for her, but HOW!?

She is in to turtles and I would love to somehow incorporate that. Any ideas??

Thanks!

You can decorate with CC frosting just like buttercream--just keep in mind that it takes a little more sugar to get it to crust. I like to put chopped pecans on my carrot cake--around the sides. Good luck.

You can ice your cake in cream cheese frosting and do all the decorating in regular buttercream. Traditional cream cheese frosting is not well suited for decorating.

~ Sherri

I have had nothing but trouble trying to decorate with cream cheese icing. I've even tried the crusting recipe from here and can't get it to work. I suggest filling with cream cheese and decorating with the wonderful crusting BC recipe to make your life less stressful!

try this recipe for the frosting,

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-901-Whipped-Cream-Frosting.html

it is SO yummy! it doesnt crust, but will pipe well, provided you follow the instructions to whip the ingredients up separately and then fold together so it doesnt become runny. i make it and then chill it for awhile. i see that you have a cake in your photos with basketweave, you certainly could do that with this icing. fill a couple bags and keep them on a bowl of ice or swap them out of the fridge as your hands begin to warm up the piping bag.

if you have a rotating turntable and a long spatula or benchscraper, you'll have an easier time getting smooth sides if thats what you want to do.