I have a couple of questions about frosting, that I wanted to ask some of you experts out there....

I have such a hard time putting enough frosting on. Then when I think I finally have enough on, and start to level it off, I end up scraping the excess and more besides.

I also have a hard time leveling off the frosting on the sides. I do fine
( Usually ) leveling my cakes off before frosting them. But after I put that frosting on I just have such a hard time scraping the excess off and getting enough on there!!! I have purchased a Buttercream DVD but it wasn't a really good one. I have also taken a beginners decorating class and a couple of workshops. So, I understand the technique, it just doesn't really work for me...

Any one care to share their techniques???

Wish I could help you, but I, too, have the same problem. I would love to hear what others do to get their frosting on evenly.

Edna dela Cruz posted a video on YouTube, which is superb. All of her videos are fantastic!

Yes, Edna's video is great. Sharon Zambito also has great tips.

Can you tell us a bit about how you are removing it. What tool are you using? Sounds like you're using too much pressure when removing the icing. I also find a bench scraper better than using a spatula.

A rubber bench scraper is good. Saw a demo where a woman used a credit card. The flexibility of the plastic really helped me learn the smoothing method, then I "graduated" to the metal scraper.

On smoothing the sides, I use the bench scraper and use the bottom cardboard as a guide (the cardboard sticks out about 1/16" or 1/8" inch from the cake). This helps prevent you from getting the bench scraper too close to the cake and removing too much icing.

Great tip, thanks indydebi. A light bulb just went off with your tip of using the bottom cardboard as a guide. I'm just a hobby baker so when I've frosted a cake for class I place it on a bigger board and it is difficult when taking off excess and make it level and even. I know it may seem really dumb but I'm so excited to frost when I get home!

Great tip, thanks indydebi. A light bulb just went off with your tip of using the bottom cardboard as a guide. I'm just a hobby baker so when I've frosted a cake for class I place it on a bigger board and it is difficult when taking off excess and make it level and even. I know it may seem really dumb but I'm so excited to frost when I get home!

If you like putting your cakes on larger boards (and I do when it's a single tier cake, like for birthdays), then you can still use the cardboard guide just by putting the 10" cake on a 10" board (there's usually a bit of extended cardboard) and then putting that on a 12" board. It's a little extra support AND you still have the board as a guide.