thanks so much saracupcake!

that really helps.

Hi, I make my buttercream from Lurpack. And when you beat it for a while it gets more paler. I have heard that some use a tiny bit of violet to get a whiter buttercream. I haven't done it though.

I also have made wilton buttercream with half and half, and it is not greasy at all. And you need to use Trex, not White Flora because it has less fat content than Trex. But if you are not using all butter, you can't call it buttercream. Its called Frosting.

When I bake my cakes I use wet towel method and sometimes the Flower nail method. So almost all of my cakes comes level.

Thank you so much for replying...some great ideas. Just off to buy some Trex!! I love CC - its completely addictive.

Bashini, can I ask, what's the flower nail method?

Many thanks xx

Saracupcakes, I haven't found my buttercream greasy with Trex at all. Maybe if you substitute it for butter entirely you might get that result, but I'm not sure!

Thanks, I'll have to give that a try. I can't see the flower nails in my tip set ever getting used for flowers!! Although I have used them a few times to get food colouring paste out of those little jars! xx

Can any of you help my mum with a query? She made muffins and they didn't dome as you would want, apparrently they were level with the tin. She did put in baking powder any ideas what could have gone wrong?
I am sure one of you will have the answer!

Thanks!

Eilidh

I haven't made muffin, but just thought that the oven would have been too hot?

just wondering if anyone has tried adding superwhite food colour powder to thier buttercream to make it white, or would you have to use too much to make it work?

Hi There,

Can I jump in with another question? I want to bake a chocolate cake, using Peggy Porschen's recipe but the recipe is for an 8 inch cake. If I wanted to do a 9 inch cake, how would I amend the recipe to suit? Also, if I wanted to do a smaller cake, say 7 inch, would I just use the 8 inch recipe, and leave some of the batter out?

Sorry if this seems like a stupid question to some of you really experienced bakers

Pauline

Hi

I tried half Trex/half butter as suggested here, and I am so pleased with the result! Thank you so much for all your help. It really is quite white...I'm not sure the photo does the colour justice. The problem I was having was that when I tried to tint buttercream pale blue it was always coming up more of a greenish blue (like a tiffany box colour), so hopefully this will fix that problem!

Thank you again for being so helpful.
xx

Seres they look pretty white and pretty good to me, I wanted to lick the screen ha ha. What tip did you use for the swirl

To get my cakes flat I now take it out the oven after about 20-30 mins and shake the tin a little bit, it mostly works but I was looking for a better method, bashini what is the wet towel method? I think ill try the just pushing it down method as well, it sounds easy lol.

Ive to make my number 1 cake in the week, the only thing im worried about is the fondant on wires, I dont know how to attach it to the cake ive attached a pic of what they have asked for, how would you attach the starbursty thing?

Also one more question! Im having real trouble covering boards, I find when I roll it so big to cover a board I cant lift it with out it tearing or sticking to the silicone mat.....I hate covering boards one reason is the problems Ive just posted about and the other is to me it seems like such a waste of icing!!!

Here is the cake anyway :

Oh and what do you think they use to do the swirls round the edging of the cake, the lines seem so straight, do you think they just are very steady or have used a "tool" Im not doing that bit but I was just curious!

Wow, that cake is beautiful.

I'm definately not an expert, but I'd say that the flowers on wires would need to be gumpaste, because I think fondant would be tricky to get that thin. And as for attaching them to the wires, I think if you used a bit of sugar glue and pushed the wires in before the gumpaste hardens then perhaps that would work? I'm guessing!!!

Also, when I cover a board I usually roll out the fondant on the work surface to about 2/3rds of the size of the board and then transfer it onto the board I'm covering and finish rolling it out directly on that. I'm sure that's not how you're supposed to do it (!!) but it works for me!

Good luck, and please post a pic when you're finished!
xx

the number cake is lovely. The lines look as if they have been piped with royal icing. As I am useless at piping I would probably roll out a suasage shaped fondant as thin as I could with my fondant smoother.
the starbursts are made with gumpaste that is rolled out thin but at enough depth to push the wires through. You can use sugar glue on the end of the wire to secure them. You put them into a floral pick that you can buy from cake shops or suppliers. Some people put them in wide straws. you can insert fondant into the pick to help them hold up if you need to. The first time I did it I taped them together with masking tape (was all I had) then wrapped it all in clingfilm and pushed it straight into the cake.
the cake in the picture looks as if the spray is on the outside of the cake or pushed into the edge of th icing.
Covering a board does seem expensive but it looks effective and so much better than silver or gold boards and much better than those covered with foil. If the cake is being paid for you can add it to the overall cost but if like me 99% are freebies than you would need to be more selective when doing it. this cake seems to call for it or you could do as most do and use wrapping paper. There is so much choice in colours and design that seem to fit with cakes. They are usually covered with tacky back paper to prevent them absorbing grease stains.
sares tips on covering it are fine. I wish you well in it. im sure it will come out great.

Rosiepan - I'm in Kent too. Near Bluewater. Where are you?

olsjhs, sorry I meant to say before that I used a Wilton 1M tip (got it in the US when I was on holiday...how sad that my shopping had to include a trip to Michaels, which was like a toy shop for cakers!!!)

And lomfise, I think the marzipan idea sounds yummy. I've never heard of that before!

Goodness me, now I know how it feels to come out of the closet! Two years lurking here, and suddenly...I'm out as a total cake-aholic!!! xx

Sares I am about 9 miles from Sheppey

Rosiepan, do you use the shop in Rochester? I've been buying most of my bits online, but just discovered that little shop. What do you think?

Hello UKers! I've only just found this thread & been on here a couple of wks now. Been read'n a lot of the posts & good advice on buttercream! I thought the same, that it would taste very greasy! Oh well!

Any1 from the Lancs area? I know there's a few cake shops/small bus in my area. People keep telling me to start my own but it's all a bit too scary & costly! Just stick to friends & family for now i think!
So glad I found this thread! It's great!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
lomfise wrote:

I know just how you feel, I'm so glad I found this site. Everyone around me are so tired of hearing about cakes and fondant and buttercream, but I guess they just don't understand. Their loss...


I'll second that! My hubby looks at me weird and rolls his eyes everytime he finds me reading or looking at something cake-related.

LOL!. I third that. My hubby and son have that "oh no beam me up Scotty'' look about them when I am zoned into anything cake related.
But it pays off as I now get gift vouchers or specific decorating tools from my wish list on birthdays and christmas instead of chocolates and smellies.

sares I do not know the one in rochester. I am fortunate enough to have a cake decorating shop in the town where I live just a twenty minute walk away. Or even quicker when I drive.

Same here! I just got the "u on that again" from the hubby!

Ah, to be amongst kindred spirits, it makes me smile everytime I'm here.
Does anyone have a recipe for a good vanilla mousse? I've just tried one, but my cake seems very wobbly and I'm afraid the mousse will fall out throught the sides once I start decorating the cake.

Oh, and another question, how do you transport a two tiered - somewhat wobbly - cake on public transport? My cake is for my colleagues but I go to work by bus.

Thanks Bonjovibabe, I will pm you now with my email address.

What height should a cake normally be? I am planning on attempting a 2 tiered stacked cake next week. The tins that I normally use are 3" in height, but I want to fill the cakes too? Just thought I'd ask everyone roughly how high their cakes are?

Thanks again for all the help!

Pauline

Can I ask, what sugarpaste/fondant does every1 use? I use regalice from my local cake shop. But i was wondering if any1 knew if u could buy in bulk? Would work out a lot cheaper! I googled satin ice, but there doesn't seem to be any uk stockists.