Okay, this is why I hate buttercream (except to eat it!). This cake is for my dear Mum. I wanted to make her a wedding cake for her birthday. She hated hers and while sitting at the head table during her wedding she had to watch heaps of ants start to crawl out of the fresh flowers and go walkies all over the cake! Well it was 44 years ago, Im sure that doesnt happen now!

First of all I had to add all the squiggly lines as my icing job was so terrible and secondly this is supposed to be white! I added nearly a whole bottle of Americolor white but still I get this ivory icing. Ive tried the violet and as our butter is so yellow I get a dirty grey/brownish colour.

Any ideas from you All-Butter Icing Users?

Sometimes we are our worse critics.

The cake is beautiful. And, usually they don't look as good in the picture as they do in person.

I wished I could find a recipe for a frosting that crust besides buttercream. My family doesn't like buttercream but I need to use it for decorating.

The effect of the lines is lovely! What a beautiful cake!! (never seen one like this before) I am sure your Mom loved it!

Your cake is beautiful as well as flawless. I like how it looks, IMO, you shouldn't change a thing.

I saw your cake and posted on it before I saw this post...it is GORGEOUS and I think you did an outstanding job on the roses!
Even if the cream wasn't the colour you were going for, it looks great with the flowers!
Sometimes I use 1/2 crisco (veg shortening) and 1/2 butter so that the icing is a little less yellow but still has the taste of butter...

I think your cakes are fantastic...you have a fan here!

Same here! I LOVE that cake!!!! It is beautiful!

What kind of piping is that? Katharry piping method? It's very unique and I'd never seen it before!

I just think its gorgeous!

I think the cake looks great!And I agree,we are usually our worst critics.

Emily

It's beautiful just the way it is!

Sorry I don't really have any advice for buttercream icing...I've always used the shortening bc. My family loves it...I can't eat it anymore cause I know how much shortening there is in it!

Cakegirl,

I'm the same way. When I'm eating cake I can't stop thinking about all the shortening. Maybe that's why my family doesn't like it.

Anyone out there - is there another frosting that you can use that crust for decorating?

When I saw the pictue I was stunned. It looked AWESOME. I think you were your worst critic also. I think the colors look great together. GREAT CAKE

Thank you all! Dont get me wrong, I like how the cake turned out but its just way different from what I wanted (or intended ) to do. Those squiggly lines are hiding quite a mess underneath . You might see that little design on future buttercream cakes I do .

Mum was thrilled, we didnt even get to eat any as she has put it in the lounge on display!

Sweet_as_Tisse has just sent me a link for a supplier in Australia that has shortening. Thanks Kylie!!!

On all butter imbc, once I whipped the meringue longer and then also the butter longer than usual, and I'd swear that was the whitest I ever got that recipe...usually it's definitely ivory, depending on the butter color.

Try whipping the butter for awhile first before adding it.

I won't use shortening in icing unless forced to, and I can't stand eating or serving any cake with a crust on it, plus I find crusting icing hard to work with, but I'm used to imbc...ymmv

Your cake is beautiful, by the way! And plenty white enough, from the picture. Great job.

umm... it loooks.. AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kathy I just love this cake. It reminds me of the wonderful wedding cake magazines from Australia. I use Italian meringue buttercream and it is a bit of an ivory shade. It helps to cut the amount of butter to 12 oz. rather than 16 0z. as called for in Martha Stewart's recipe. My problem with this icing, as much as I love it, is that it is so difficult to get it to accept color. I am guessing it must be the powdered sugar that soaks up the color in regular buttercream, or maybe the Crisco shortening, and maybe it's the amount of butter in IMBC that keeps it from accepting it.

Anyway, I'll bet this cake made your Mom cry when she saw it. It is so sweet and so special.

I think your cake is beautiful, you did a great job with thte flowers.

There are some fabulous recipes on this site. One I really like is Cointreau Buttercream & Shirley's IMBC. I do not like anything made with Crisco & anyway I know you don't get it in NZ. I much prefer using 1/2 salted butter & 1/2 unsalted. or totally unsalted. There is also Toba Garretts Vanilla Buttercream. Beating the butter a lot will alwways whiten it more.
I love your cake it is so pretty. If there are flaws! I certainly can't see them.
June

your welcome for the link, kathryn

i new everyone would love this cake, exspecially you mum...

are you ready to try your next style of flower yet?.....lol

While your buying up big when you get to queensland dont forget the franipani and lily cutters..

ohh...and you need lots of luster and petal dust to make them really pretty.....lol

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

cheers

No way Kylie, Im leaving the flowers and the weddings for that matter to the pros like yourself.

My next cake project is the shoe. So when you see 2456 private messages, they will all be from me

Oh and by the way I did buy a glue gun today

Your cake is gorgeous - your mum is one lucky lady. As for the buttercream I dont know if they sell it in NZ but I use Copha instead of butter. It makes my buttercream snow white and still tastes mighty fine. I just replace the butter with the copha.

HTH - happy baking

Angela