After looking at some photos of fbt cakes, I noticed that on some of them you could see the piping in the fill-in areas whereas others were perfectly smooth. Also, some looked really "thick" on the cakes. Are you supposed you thin out the buttercream that you use on the fill-in or flooded areas? And are you supposed to keep it thin so that it blends into your cake?

i use a thin consistency buttercream to make fbct's. i also keep the designs fairly thin so they don't stand up off the cake too much. when i first started doing these, i made them thick for fear of breakage, and would cover up the messy sides with a shell border. i didn't like that so much. so now i make them thin. but i've also had some breakages because of this. i've learned to pick out the weak points and add a little more frosting on the back for support. and the fbct's must be handled with care. if the break isn't too bad, i can piece it back together and no one (except me) would really know it was broken in the first place :-p.

on the other hand, you can make the entire top of the cake as a fbct. i usually don't because i don't have the freezer space.

HTH.

I'm sorry for jumping in like this but Chakkakin, you do excelent fbct's! I've played you it a little but I was not completely happy with the results. Do you mind sharing a few more details? How thin is your "thin" consistency icing, is it almost runny? What tip do you use for the outlines?
Do you use a special icing for your technique?
Good questions, stlcakelady!

Manna4, thanks for the compliments! i started off with a non-crusting buttercream recipe posted by SquirrellyCakes.

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cups shortening
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups of icing sugar

beat on low speed - butter until softened, add shortening, then vanilla, then sugar.

the icing is a nice, thin consistency, perfect for fbct. i usually use this recipe if i'm not icing the cake in buttercream.

if the cake will be covered in buttercream, i just use the same thin consistency that i use to ice the cake. i use the Wilton Buttercream recipe, adding a total of 6 tablespoons of water or milk.

i don't use any tips, i just cut a small hole in a parchment bag, probably the size of a tip 1. but i'll cut it bigger or smaller depending on the design.

i'll PM you with a few more details.

i use a consistency similar to when you write on cakes.

I"m glad I popped in here. I did a fbct this past weekend for my granddaughter's birthday and didnt' like it at all. I think my icing is too thick and I'm using tips that are too big. Cant' wait to try this expert advice real soon! thx!