How do all of you DO it? I haven't worked with a crusting bc in probably 8 years. It's so hard to smooth.

OK, the second cake was easier. Still . . .

PS, not really looking for advice. I have the hi-density roller. I'm doing better with a hot, damp bench scrapper.

Just complainin'.

I agree! I always have a hard time smoothing my crusting BC, so I always "cheat" and cover it in fondant!! haha maybe one of these days I'll get good enough to do a buttercream cake with NO fondant!

what bc do you usually use Leah?

I use a variation of the whipped cream buttercream recipe.

do try IndyDebi's -- and I find Viva w/ fondant smoother easier to do (well until I dig in the smoother)

I'm using Indydebi's!!! In fact I've committed 10 pounds of ps to this.

I don't think I'll ever try this again. so far, in four hours, I've got two tiers base iced and have scraped down a total of three times.

I'm 30 minutes from throwing this out and starting over

Anybody want a whole bunch of bc?

Nope not waiting another 30 minutes. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome, right?

Edna has a great youtube video on smoothing it and it works very well.

I used to think "why do people do fondant, the taste isn't too good and it's expensive" then I did a couple fondant cakes out of curiosity and I'm hooked on fondant for decorations. Now I understand because I make myself nuts trying to get my buttercream nice. I just keep kicking myself over the little imperfections because I know that other people can get it soooo much smoother.

Here's the deal..... my next trip to Louisville, you can show me how to deal wiht non-crusting icing and I'll show you how to smooth my icing!

Hello everyone, I'm a newbie to CC, but an oldie with baking and decorating cakes. For now, It's just a hobby and I'm having a blast. I live in the mile high city of Denver; basically no humidity and I've had tremendous success with every BC recipe I've gotten from CC. My decorating style is probably considered old school by the phenomenal cakes I've seen here, but my point is I've never used fondant (yet, it terrifies me), and I've had all my BC result in really good smoothing, using a variation of all the suggested techniques. Thanks to all of you for your great tips and photos, and maybe someday I'll make it to the fondant stage.

Thanks, Indy. I've even seen you do your icing that time I drove up to your place. You made it look so easy!

How long can I hold this stuff? It's fine for filling.

Leah, it's so refreshing to hear you complain about something you can't do quite right! It restores my faith in being able to get really good some day even though I still have lots of shortcomings! Hope you finally get to lick this problem!

takes me no less that 2 hours each tier to ice and smooth. i use sharon z's (sugarshack's) crusting bc recipe and techniques: icer tip to apply, hot but dry bench scraper, viva then comp paper. yep, all day to do a 3 tier. that's why i only do 1 wedding cake per wknd. fondant is not much faster for me and i rarely get an order for one. they still have to be iced, scraped and viva'd or fondant will look lumpy bumpy. i'm still sore from rolling out all that fondant for a 4 tier last weekend. used shoulder, arm and tummy muscles i haven't used in a loooong time lol

Well, I've *only* got four wedding cakes this weekend. 3 for Sat and 1 for Sun, + 1 party cake. I certainly can't spend 2 hours per tier!

Making my tried and true icing now.

boy do i wish i could get faster!!! i often wonder how long it takes other's to ice and smooth their cakes

In my world, non-crusting buttercream is crusting buttercream gone wrong.