I'm taking the Wiltons (Course 1) and I made my frosting (recipe from the book) and it turned out HORRIBLE.

Wouldn't feed it to anyone, EVER! lol

The icing would just FALL off the cake and it wouldn't "stick" no matter how much I put on it. What am I doing wrong?

I did do some practice with the star tip with it and it turned out nice! Just the covering of the cake.

Another thing I have a problem with it changing the color. I want it to be SKY blue, very light but it turns out it's tinted a SLIGHT really light pastel green. I first put the toothpick in TWICE and then another 2 times but the color wouldn't change from that light green.

I think I'm going to cut up this cake and make those cake balls I seen a recipe for and whip up another cake for class. This is too embarassing to show in public LOL

well, the icing not sticking, is usually because its too dry, add a bit more liquid.

As far as the coloring, it maybe a reaction to your water, or if you used a yellow colored butter flavoring(yellow + blue = green) Try making your icing with milk and see if that helps with the color issue

Wilton's recipe doesn't have enough fat (in my opinion). Before I started adding the right amount of butter and shortening, I struggled with icing too. I think I cried when I finally found the right recipe. Search for buttercream recipes on this site. You won't be disappointed.

I wouldn't be embarrased to take it to class with you. Your instructor can see the cake and give you suggestions on what to do to fix it. That's one reason your instructor is there. I would also try what peg818 says, if you do decide to make a new one before class. Good luck!

Thanks everybody. Kan, really it looks awful LOL I'll take a pic of it and show it in class!! I think I have to take a properly iced cake to class so we can decorate it.

Thanks for the suggestion for adding more liquid and maybe another recipe. I did find a recipe ffrom a member here that has Youtube video's on the subject. Her name is SeriousCakes.

Does anyone know if corn syrup is like Karo Syrup? I want to make her recipe tomorrow and if I can subsitue Karo for corn syrup I wouldn't have to make a trip to the grocery store but If I have to I have to. My class is in the evening tomorrow. I knew I should have done a "practice" cake before tonight but didn't think it would turn out this way.

I use the Wilton BC recipe alot(the one in the Course 1 book). Peg818 is right; you just need more liquid. I use at least 4 TBLS of water for a single batch if I am icing a cake. When it easily flicks off the the knife, I know it's a good consistency. HTH!
SMILE

corn syrup is Karo Syrup.

Oh and I'm sorry I missed the post about the coloring. I'm using good old fashion white crisco, marique (?) powder, powdered sugar, water and flavoring.

The exact recipe is

2 lbs of powdered sugar
2 TBS. Margiue(?) Powder
4 TBS water
2 cups Crisco (white shotening)
1 Teaspoon EACH Vanilla, Butter and Almond Extract
Pinch of salt

I combine the Crisco will the water and flavoring and cream it a bit. Once creamed I had the Marquie (?) powder and then the powdered sugar one cup at a time.

I keep thinking it's too much powdered sugar but it does combine with the creamed section so I think it's right??

So, I'm not sure what's going on with the coloring??

"When it easily flicks off the the knife"

Thanks for the tip.

I have been putting 4 TBS but for a double batch of the BC. I think I'll start making once batch at a time.

Can BC be stored in a plastic or Styrofoam cup overnight or even days a head of time or should BC be used the day of icing the cake?

Thanks for for letting me know that Karo is the same as Corn syrup. Ha didn't know that. Learn something new everyday. I'm not really a baker so I'm new to a lot of this.

How much water did you put in the recipe?

Hi TexasSugar (Love your name btw) I put it 4 TBS for a double batch of the BC recipe in the Course 1 of Wiltons book.

Maybe add more water to the double batch? Maybe 8 TBS instead of 4?

My instructor advised us not to use milk since it can spoil.

It should be stored in a container with a lid. But I have covered the mixing bowl with a wet cloth if I am using it within 24 hours. I keep mine for a 1-2 weeks in the pantry or longer if I store in the fridge (just be sure to let it come to room temp before using).

Thank you!

The water is your issue. 4T for 2lbs of powder sugar will give you stiff icing. Which is what you use for making roses.

Stiff will not stick to a cake. For that you want thin icing.

If you are doing a double batch of thin icing you should have used twice as much water. So 8T (1/2 cup) of water for 2lbs of sugar.

With the Class Buttercream recipe single recipe, the amounts of the water change, but everything else stays the same for the consistancies.

2T of water for a single recipe for stiff.
3T of water for a single recipe for medium.
4T of water for a single recipe for thin.

The milk won't spoil because the sugar acts as a preservative.

TexasSugar, thanks for the info about the sugar acting as a preservative for the milk. I thought it would spoil, too. Does it change the taste or color vs. using water?

Another reason that the icing is falling off is if you are using the non-trans-fat shortening. A lot of people were posting about that last year. There are a few changes that were made to recipes. Melvira adds dry whipping cream powder.

Just a thought.

To be honest, I don't use milk in my icing because I don't really keep it on hand since I'm not a big milk drinker. You can always try it out and see if you notice a difference.

The only color I have heard milking helping with is to keep purple from fading.

I agree that some people have had issues with the non trans fat crisco. Me, personally, haven't had any issues and I have been using the same recipes for years.

From what she said though, her issue really was not enough water in the recipe to get the consistancy you need to ice a cake with.

Thank you everyone. I love that I have a place to go for help with cake decorating!

I added more water and that did the trick. I was jumping up and down with excitement!!

I'm also glad to hear that I can add milk, I think i'm going to start doing that (or atleast give it a try).

It's also nice to hear I can make the BC ahead of time.

*Note to self keep it airtight*

Thanks!! Your all so wonderful.

...........My instructor advised us not to use milk since it can spoil.....

This is not true Another Wilton insturctor who only know what she was told and hasn't been a decorator very long.

I highly suggest you use only the Wilton recipe for class work. The instrutor should know bhow it acts & handles so if there is a problem she should be able to tell you how to correct that. If you use a different recipe she might not be able to.
Yes,icing can be kept for weeks in the frig; up to a year in the fzr when in an air-tight container.
I don't think the non-trans fat shortening is that much of a problem. I have used it w/o problem. You just have to know how the icing is suppose to look/act & make adjustments if necessary.
It won't take you long to learn all this

Hi everyone. A personal THANK YOU for all of your help when I was very upset and confused about what I was doing wrong with decorating my cake.

I wanted to show you the "finished" project and I tried to upload so you y'all can see but it's not working for some reason. I tried multiple times.

I know my cake isn't perfect, you can still see the crumbs in the frosting and my cloud wasn't all that but I'm still proud of myself for not giving up and now I know what to do for my next cake and wonderfully that will be at least a little better than the first!

Thank you all!

Reem0211 are you using clear vanilla extract, or the normal brown vanilla extract? If you are using the brown, it gives your buttercream a little bit of an off-white color (almost yellow'ed), which may be why your color is turning green. Just a thought...

Hi Nicconna

I'm using the vanilla extract that is clear. I thought perhaps it was the butter flavoring I was putting in but when I went to Michael's a few days ago my instructor just took the blue coloring and opened up the film on top and put it about 1/8 of a teaspoon in a cup with some icing and it turned blue!! I just needed to add more of the coloring but thought that I just had to do the toothpick thing (inserting toothpick in color, and I did it 4 times).

I also experimented with making other colors with the four that I already had. Funny I got so excited about it. It's pretty cool seeing the colors changing.

I always thought the reason they didn't suggest using milk in the recipe during class is because most classes are like a month long aren't they? I wouldn't use bc with milk that long out. When I took course 1, I think I made the practice one for practicing on the boards, but for my cakes I used the one I'd been using for years (with milk/butter). I was giving those cakes away and was not going to give one away that I didn't care for the taste of!!!

I recently taught Wilton for the first time and was dismayed at the "stiff/medium/thin" consistencies.

Everything was WAY stiffer than it had to be. The "thin" was still too stiff for icing...the "stiff" was too stiff to squeeze out or stick to itself.

I use the half butter/half shortening Wilton icing recipe but I just keep adding milk until its the consistency I want, which is usually quite a bit more than the recipe calls for.