I sometimes feel like I'm getting MUCH worse at this instead of improving! Why did the top edges of my frosting sag so much? I tried over and over to smooth it up and onto the top, then it would sink back down. I know that the cake was level, so that wasn't the problem. Also, the BC was nice and stiff, so it should've stayed where it was put. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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From experience I've found that if the buttercream is too thick, even though it's "nice and stiff" the weight of the fondant will cause sagging like that.

Very nice cake btw.

Thanks for the reply and the kind words, mamawrobin. I'm just starting to get discouraged lately, as I seem to have a problem with each cake I do.

Last week, a woman was going to give $250 to my favorite charity for a cake for her family reunion. Well, that one was a total disaster -- I had to call her the night before and steer her to Sam's Club. I felt so bad that the charity missed out!

Then, today, it was me who tried to make navy blue Indydebi's BC and ended up with a mess. I made a graduation cake which was perfectly smooth on top, but now has somehow developed a hairline crack. And, of course, the saggy boy scout cake.

Like I said, I feel like I'm getting worse instead of better.

I know I'm new but I had to look close, very close to find out where the sag was. Try not to give up!!! I decorated my first cake and I'm exasperated at my icing issues with buttercream... Wonder how I would do with fondant!!!! Lololololol. We can't give up!!! Your cake was beautiful!!!! Great job!!!!

JGMB this is a bc cake right? Did you use butter in the recipe?

I had this happen once. I decided that I put too much bc on the top and it had 50/50 butter and shortening. The heat helped it along causing it to droop.

I now use less bc on top and the way I apply it seems to make a difference too. I do the sides first and leave some sticking up above the edge all the way around. Then I put some in the middle and spread it out close to the edge not all the way. Then I come up the side and spread from the edge towards the center of the cake. That keeps it sharp and clean.

I also prefer all hi-ratio shortening and use butter flavoring whenever I can. Sorry if I have typos. Too tired to proof read right now. Hope this gives you some ideas.

Your cakes are wonderful! Sometimes we over think things and that's when we mess up.

JGMB,
I had this exact same problem about 3 months ago. I had several cakes in a row where the bc just would not stay on the cake. It slid, drooped, cracked along the top edge and bulged at the bottom. I had a little pity party on CC, and got just what I needed-some "put on your big girl panties and try again" replies.

So I started analyzing, and I noticed that most of my cakes that had droopy icing were intense colors. I started cutting back on the milk when I made my bc ( Indy's recipe) to compensate for the moisture in the colors. That has seemed to help. I also make sure my cakes are at room temp when I frost, and give them plenty of rest time before the final coat.

So, don't give up. Put on your big girl panties and try again! It worked for me.

Thanks, everyone, for the encouragement and advice. Don't worry -- I wasn't about to quit, I just want to improve. How could I possibly think of quitting after all the money I've sunk into supplies?

I appreciate all of the advice and will keep on trying!

I think your icing to to thin. Try making it a bit stiffer and see if that helps.

Keep your chin up, it does get better.