I have been decorating for 8 years now and have NEVER been able to get a round cake to have even edges. Please see the picture below. The edges are dipped in our jutting out. I hope that I am explaining this well, I'm not exactly sure how to word my explanation. When I look at cakes in the local bakeries, even the grocery stores, their edges are nice, crisp and even. Please help!!

hmm, that cake looks pretty good to me, but I see what you mean on the bottom righand middle right side.

Is the cake underneath uneven or just your frosting?

If it is the frosting there are many demonstrations on how to get smooth buttercream on you tube. I personally like to frost the top first, pushing the frosting over the edges. Then I frost the side and I end up with extra sticking up above the cake. Then I pull in toward the center of the cake to smooth the extra stickeing up. does this make any sense.

There are definately people on here who are more expert and could probably give you better directions.

I use a drywall spackle knife, the 4-5 inch size. It is SO much easier to ice and get a smooth look. best cake tool I own and got it at home depot for $5.

do you use the icer tip?

Do you wrap, and freeze, refridgerate?

Mike

I use the bench scraper ... the blade is much firmer than our spatula and it's easier to hold it perfectly straight up and down. As I teach kids how to decorate (for class projects and for 4-H), I've noticed how easy it is for our hand to almost-naturally lean in toward the top of the cake.

Bench scraper and turntable ... perfect edges everytime! (then Melvira it, of course!)

I use the icer tip sometimes, but the results are the same.

I have never wrapped, frozen and refrigerated before. I am assuming that is pre-icing to make the cake firmer?

I will try the scraper/spackler to see if that helps. Thanks so much for your advice.

I'll freeze my cakes. So if I don't pay attention (most of the time) I put them out of round. I refidgerate atfer I crumb coat. this will firm them up.

Mike

Thanks, I will try that, too.

You could also try the upside down icing technique...I believe there is a tutorial on this site.

Besides the spackle or bench scraper, a business card or other plastic card works good for fixing tiny imperfections in the top or side edges...

I highly reccommend Sugarshack's Perfecting Buttercream DVD. It's well worth the small investment! Don't wait around like I did! Just get it!

I use a pastry scaper that has a sharp 90 degree angle... I cut down my cakes about 1/4 inch (so the cake board sticks out)... I pile on the icing and then with the bench scraper flat against the bottom of my turntable and pressed against the side of the board, I give it a twirl.. that gives me perfectly straight sides.. (now getting the top edges even is another story - I'm working on sugarshacks method)

Ditto the metal bench scraper, I love that thing - I used to have a plastic one a long time ago, and then realized that someone had taken a scrubby pad to it so I had these interesting little lines in my frosting To get my top edges perfectly smooth, I learned to not be bossed by the cake and to frost higher than I actually needed so I get a level top.