I am trying to do the 1 M rose cake from iambaker and the edges on my roses look all raggedy! It's my icing and I can't tell whether it's too dry or maybe too soft? What causes the ragged edges? It just makes the rose look dry and uneven. I use a crusting real butter frosting. Any suggestions to make the icing more rose friendly? (I hate piping but this looked simple...ha!)
I know I sound stupid, but I really hate piping and one of the reasons is I never can seem to get the right consistency for anything other than shell borders where it really doesn't matter. This rose thing looked so easy and everyone else seems to make them perfectly but mine look like crap. Chocolate is not forgiving. Thanks for any guidance.
I would say it was too dry too, maybe take a small bit of the buttercream add a small amount of liquid and do some test roses to see if that helps. Sometimes it doesn't take a lot of liquid to make a big difference is ragged edges. Hope you manage to get it done soon x
Do you have a 2D? I think it looks the same as a 1M and takes less icing if you are short. My best guess is too dry. I would take a small amount of icing and add some liquid and give it a try before doing the whole batch. You really only need it stiff enough that it holds it's shape, no need to have it overly stiff. It should flow easily out of the bag/tip. It shouldn't take a lot of force to push it out. And it really is a simple but impressive design. Have you done any of the swirls on cupcakes? Should be just the same on the cake, circling from the inside towards the outside. When you are done, put some comma's of icing in the gaps if your crumbcoat is showing through in spaces between the roses. A consistency that works for a shell border should work for the rose swirl also.
Here's a hint I learned from an old time baker. She said to eliminate ragged rose petals, mix two batches of icing. One with more moisture than the other then "stripe" the bag - first with the moist icing then backfill with the stiffer. Then make sure your tip is pointed in the right direction...............pointed narrorer edge directly on the moist icing - fatter edge on the stiffer. The reason it's breaking is because your icing is too dry and stiff but you need the stiff icing at the base so your rose won't colapse.
Are you using a high-ratio shortening? I know that when I've made BC before without the high-ratio I got the ragged edge. Might make the difference.
Did you put a splash of Kahlua in a glass for you too? Glad you got it to work. The swirls should be an easy thing, make a batch of cupcakes sometime and just do some swirls to get the hang of it when you have more time to play. Your friends/neighbors/kids will love you. And be so impressed. Remember if you add a little liquid at a time you really can't do any harm, you can always add some more powdered sugar. The consistency for a rose swirl is much softer than what is needed for a rose on a nail. You are doing fine! Keep it up.
Did you put a splash of Kahlua in a glass for you too? Glad you got it to work. The swirls should be an easy thing, make a batch of cupcakes sometime and just do some swirls to get the hang of it when you have more time to play. Your friends/neighbors/kids will love you. And be so impressed. Remember if you add a little liquid at a time you really can't do any harm, you can always add some more powdered sugar. The consistency for a rose swirl is much softer than what is needed for a rose on a nail. You are doing fine! Keep it up.
Ha ha! Yes, as a matter of fact I did enjoy my own splash of Kahlua--mixed into a little milk! And the reason I was so worried about adding too much liquid was because I didn't have any more powdered sugar on hand. It turns out I didn't have enough icing to do the whole cake so I made it look more like a 'bouquet' of roses instead. And I mean I used the very last squeeze of the bag to make the last one! I just uploaded a picture. http://cakecentral.com/g/i/2850812/a/3264391/ Thanks again!
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Original message sent by DeniseNH
Have one more drink then upload the photo again,,,,,,,,,,,,,,it didn't take. :-)
Well apparently I am having difficulty pasting links...but I did post my pic! It's in my photos...and on the just posted home page. Hmmmm...one more drink doesn't sound so bad! ;D
I think it turned out well. That's the first cake I made and I thought mine turned out OK. I read this site everyday. Haven't posted any pics yet. Most of my cakes are copycats of someone elses on this site and while I think they are pretty good for a beginner, they are no way as good as the ones you guys make. Glad you got it done and again it looks great.
So I finally found the pic in your gallery. I don't normally spend time in the galleries so it took me a bit. I was looking at some of your cakes along the way and find it funny/ironic that you can make such incredible fondant cakes and figures, so elaborate and beautifully designed and put together yet have trouble with the rose swirl which is like the simplest buttercream piping technique. You did a great job with it. You have so much talent, you shouldn't let piping intimidate you.
So I finally found the pic in your gallery. I don't normally spend time in the galleries so it took me a bit. I was looking at some of your cakes along the way and find it funny/ironic that you can make such incredible fondant cakes and figures, so elaborate and beautifully designed and put together yet have trouble with the rose swirl which is like the simplest buttercream piping technique. You did a great job with it. You have so much talent, you shouldn't let piping intimidate you.
Ha ha! Thank you. Yes, I do let the piping intimidate me. I have never covered a cake with fondant before either...I tried once and it was not a pretty thing so I stick to smoothing buttercream and doing the fondant/gum paste decor. I think it's because I seem to have more control when doing fondant decorations. I get a bag and it never flows out smoothly and even something as simple as the piped rose technique has me second-guessing. I think everyone else's looks better than mine. Ah well...at least no ragged edges on these!
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