I'm doing a cake just like this, for next weekend.
I know most of you will laugh at this, but I've never covered a cake this way before (buttercream is hardly used in the UK - we tend to mostly use fondant... or, as we call it, sugarpaste).
An acquaintance of mine has told me which tube she used to do this cake. But I just wondered if anyone could offer some words of wisdom or advice.
Also, I think I'm right in saying that the buttercream you use is different from how we make it? We just use butter and icing (powdered?) sugar, and either a bit of vanilla or cocoa powder to flavour.
OMG. I'm panicking. Breathe! Breathe! Breathe!!!!!
Thank you.
Suzanne x
Relax..It is very easy...You will find an easy Buttercream recipe here on CC. You can use many star tips ...number 16,17,18,21..I use 3 or 4 different ones.Smooth the feet,ears and face and then star tip the rest..Very easy!! You can do this...By the way....I am like you with Buttercream only I can't cover a cake in fondant if you paid me!HA!HA!
. . . this really is quite easy . . . so yes, breathe!
http://www.wilton.com/decorating/basic/stars.cfm
O.k. you CAN do this
Yes our b'cream is a bit different. You can make it w/all butter but it probably will be harder to work with.
Seems to me you have Trex there which is similar to Crisco, except from what I hear it's coconut based.
Can you use say 1/2 to 1 cup Trex w/1 cup of butter; beat w/mixer to soften, then add about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of your icing sugar? Add liquid (milk, water, juice whatever works) - as little as a tablespoon to as much as 1/3 cup depending on how thin you want the consistency. That would be closest to what we do here in the states.
Any star tip will work - you don't want it too small (like Wilton #16) but you don't want it too big either (like Wilton #20). You could also use tip #133 which has many, many holes - often refered to here as the grass tip.
HTH
the "fur" on the body is just piped using a star tip. Most likely star tip #16.
It's really easy you just pipe out stars over and over and over.....It's takes a while and your hands start to hurt. But it's pretty simple to do.
Here is a link to the Wilton website explaining how to pipe a star.
http://www.wilton.com/decorating/basic/stars.cfm
Thanks for your replies!
Can I ask another question? What's the difference between the 'normal' buttercream and the Italian meringe buttercream or Swiss merine buttercream?
Which, of the three, would be the most suitable for doing this cake? Or is there another recipe you'd recommend?
The mum has opted for buttercream because she "doesn't want a lot of thick icing". Personally, I think she'd have been better off going for a thin layer of sugarpaste, which she could easily peel off if she doesn't like it!
Thanks again.
Suzanne x
normal buttercream is just fat (butter, shortening, or a combination of both), confectioners sugar, a little liquid and flavoring mixed up. The meringue buttercreams are cooked and are made of egg yolks, granulated sugar, and flavoring. They taste quite different. Either one will work fine; meringue buttercreams do not "crust."
IMBC is made w/egg whites, sugar and butter.
I personally don't care for it because it tastes like I put a stick of butter in my mouth
But many people love it......we are all different
SM is similar to IMBC....not exactly sure the differece as I don't make them.
Since you don't have shortenings maybe you would be better off using IMBC. Check out the recipe sections.....I'm sure there are a couple of good ones posted.
Swiss Meringue (and Italian) Buttercream are made with a meringue base. To me, it's the smoothest, creamiest buttercream, and if I have the time to make it, always my first choice.
An American style buttercream is a little quicker. 1 pound of unsalted butter to 2 pounds of 10x sugar. To make chocolate buttercream, I melt 8 ounces of good quality dark chocolate with 1/4 cup heavy cream, and add that. You will want to add a little extra sugar or liquid (water, cream, milk) to get it to the desired consistency - you need it sort of in the middle to do the stars.
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