Can anyone give me tips on making a quilted look on a buttercream cake? I want it to be as even and perfect as I can because it is for a wedding cake. I bought an impression mat that says it can be used on fondant or buttercream, however the owner of the cake store says that it won't work well. Any advice would be appreciated.

When I use an impression mat on buttercream, I make sure my cake is nice and cold before using. I also use an all-butter buttercream, so I'm not sure how this will work on other recipes.

While the cake is nice and cold and the icing is nice and stiff I will roll the impression mat against the cake. It will just leave an indentation of the lines. I then go back with a quilting roller (or even a knife if I want a nice deep grove) and just follow the lines. HTH!

I've done it with a good crusting buttercream. I put a Viva paper towel over the cake, then place the mat up against the paper towel and use a rolling pin (the little one that looks like a paint roller) to roll over the mat, pressing firmly, but don't go all the way to the edge or you'll have a line where it ends. Works great.

This Toy Story cake had quilting done in buttercream....I used a good crusting buttercream, then taped a viva paper towel over the edge of a ruler and used that to add in the "stitching"

http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1780870

Id freeze it then try it if the viva don't work

I use the diamond cutter from Sugar Delites for quilting . It works both for fondant and buttercream.
Make sure your cake is super cold and it works great.

Great tip Nancy!

Great tip Nancy!

I'm OCD about not having a start/stop point. I divide it evenly and mark each starting point at the top with a dot. I then make a 45 degree angle (or any angle degree) out of cardstock. I round it on a counter to bend it a little to conform to the round cake. Attach a Viva paper towel to the cardstock. Now start going around the cake with a tool and using the edge as a guide. Turn the cardstock around, bend it to curve the other way and go around again.

To measure the distance, pull a tape measure around the cake. If it is 19" and you want it about 1 1/2" apart, divide 19 by 1 1/2. You get 12.6, so you will need to go slightly over 1.5 inch or you will come up short. 1.6 x 12 lines equals 19.2. If you are worried about the math, plot the dots out on graph paper and pull it around the cake. Use this guide to mark the cake.

Using this method, you don't need a mat, your lines will be clean, and you have the freedom to do anything from squares to elongated harlequins just by adjusting the angle and going from the same space marking plan.

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