Hi can anyone suggest an alternative to viva paper towel for smoothing butter cream...I live in England and think that you can only purchase this in the States????
thanks

You can use parchment or even printer/copier/computer paper.....I prefer the paper.

Oh yeah, also, you can go to the hardware store and buy a paint roller. A "high density foam" roller in the paint section. They come in different sizes, they are thin foam rollers. Just wash it well and air dry. This is AWESOME! I love using it. Cheap too, I think it was about $5. So, I use my bench scraper or palette knife to get it as smooth as I can with that, then go over the cake once it has crusted like you are painting a wall, and it is as smooth as can be.

Any paper towel brand that doesn't have a print on it would do, smooth surface. Or parchment paper. And the roller method works well, but if you have a fondant "iron", that works well too. HTH

Thanks for rapid replies folks, much appreciated