I am having trouble keeping the darkness from the chocolate cake from showing through my white, cream cheese frosting! I did a crumb coat, did a regular coat, and then tried to touch up the areas where it is showing through. It seems like trying to touch things up after the frosting has crusted causes it to slide around and uncover new dark areas. Please help!!!


Also, I've been using the Viva paper towel method to smooth and it seems like my buttercream or cream cheese frosting still comes out wrinkly! What am I doing wrong??

I would love to know the answer to the elephant skin buttercream using the viva paper towel method. I don't think I've ever gotten it looking really smooth that way. It's usually okay, but sometimes it's worse than others... like the cake I made today. It's a damn mess.

I use the viva method and never have a problem. How long do you let your buttercream crust before you use the viva? I always wait at least 15-20 mins. Wish I could help with the elephant skin but I've never had that problem.

Is the chocolate cake that is showing thru crumbs or is it the actual cake? If it's the actual cake, are you using wilton pans?

The reason I ask is that wilton pans tend to have a flair to them, which causes a "pointy"ness to the sides of the cake, which is hard to cover with icing. When I have to use my wilton pan, I trim this flair off while the cake is frozen. It helps.

When I do red velvelt cakes, I actualy crumb coat twice, then ice. If re-icing is causing your icing to slide around, it sounds like your icing might be a tad too thick. This could also help explain why it's crusting almost too much before you smooth it.

I usually only have to let the cakes sit 5 minutes give or take. I'll ice one, set it aside, ice the next one, by then the 1st one is ready to smooth.