I'm very new and tried to do my first cake this weekend. I baked, filled and crumb coated (with a coco buttercream) on Monday night and wrapped it lightly with clear wrap. Yesterday afternoon I went to frost the cake and was having some trouble. The crumb coat was crunchy so I just did a thick layer over it but I couldn't get the frosting to look smooth. Every time I tried to smooth it out I would see cake at the bottom so I kept adding/subtracting the frosting. In the end the cake was a little smooth but still looked pretty bad.

I've watch the videos and see that they let the frosting sit and then take a Viva towel and smooth it out but I don't see how that works because my frosting gets hard and crumby so I don't know how I can smooth it out without it falling apart. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong? This is a lot harder than it looks

What is the recipe you are working with?

When using the viva method you want to do it just after your cake crusts. Usually 5-15 mins after icing the cake depending on how fast your recipes crusts for you.

I used a recipe I found on here. It's called "Buttercream Dream" and I just added 3/4 cups of coco to make it chocolate flavored.

So, am I suppose to lightly wrap the cake after the "crumb coating" (if I'm frosting the next day) and after I frost, let it air dry for the 5-15 min before I use the paper towel?

Have you tried the melva foam roller? It gets the cake icing super smooth. It is my favorite tool.

Your buttercream should be smooth right out of the mixer. If it isn't smooth in the bowl to begin with, it's going to be a lot harder to try to fix it once it's on the cake with other methods. Make sure your bowl is filled to the top and the beater/paddle is completely covered or else you'll whip air into it causing it to have too many air bubbles.