Hello,

My daughter's birthday is next month and she loves Dora so I'm going to make her a Dora themed cake. I was debating between fondant or a FBT and finally decided on the FBT only because some of the details are a bit small so I'm worried I'll have trouble with cutting them out the fondant... plus mixing colors into buttercream is much easier then fondant and my wrist is killng me lately...

it's going to be a 10x10 or 12 x 12 cake with a flat image.... one of Dora and Boots holding up balloons and my Daughter's name written on the balloons.

I have never done a FBT and am looking for some pointers. I know there is a 'how-to' on here and that is what inspired me. I'm looking for any additional information anyone has for things that will help - things that work, things that don't work, things that make it easier or look better...

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!

I've only done FBCT twice so far, but here's what Ive picked up. When I used medium consistency icing for filling in the design, the lines were visible when I put it on the cake. I redid it with thin consistency, and it looked alot better. I also read that you can take a small paint brush and push down the icing to avoid air bubbles. Good luck!

definitely don't hesitate to use a super tiny tip for those small details either. and i've had better luck using parchment paper as opposed to wax paper... i've never had one transfer break or stick before.

you can also make them pretty far in advance in my experience. i think the most i've done is a week. i'd say, the longer they are in the freezer, the better.

if you put them on the cake early enough, you can also use a viva paper towel to smooth out any lines once all of the condensation is gone. be careful not to do this too early though, because it can smear your colors if the transfer is still wet.

good luck!

I am going to try this technique this week and in my search for advice, I came across this tutorial:

http://cakecentral.com/articles/73/how-to-create-a-frozen-buttercream-transfer
HTH!

Thanks everyone for the advice! Yes i had found that CC tutorial too! It helps a lot!

I was playing around with a cake yesterday for Valentine's day and had some extra icing so gave it a try.... i really didn't like the results! But i think it was more because the icing wasn't as thin as it needed to be... I could see the lines and it was impossible to do details - even though the icing wasn't thin it sort of smeared together.... it was a buttercream cream cheese icing so I think that had something to do with it.

I'm going to try it one more time and see how it goes.... if I don't like the results I'll need to plan something else. I think I'll make some black icing - make it thin and try to do the outlines and freeze. If I like the results then I will continue, if it doesn't look good i'm in trouble ;(

The cake is for a birthday at the end of March and I had a cute Dora and Boots image I wanted to do but Dora is only about 8 inches tall and has a lot of small details - like the eyes and fingers etc... not sure what my alternative will be....

I tried the FBCT this weekend and am not really that happy with the results. I think I used to thick of buttercream icing. I am going to try it again with thinner icing but if not completely satisfied still then I think I will go with Color Flow instead. You might also consider the color flow.

I tried the FBCT this weekend and am not really that happy with the results. I think I used to thick of buttercream icing. I am going to try it again with thinner icing but if not completely satisfied still then I think I will go with Color Flow instead. You might also consider the color flow.

For the FBCT I use a soft medium icing. I have found that too thin for me sticks to the backing and doesn't want to let go when I need it to.

For little details you will use a 1 or 2 tip. Usually what I do is pipe it all then let it set and let the icing crust over a little. I know some people pop it in the freezer, but since it thaws so fast I never saw the point in that.

I then pipe over and around the outlines. For bigger sections (that don't have details under it I have found that if I let the icing build out around the tip, instead of piping the lines (which causes the wormy look.)

I don't smooth over the back with a spatula or pipe a 'backing' icing on it. I'll put it in the oven for a bit then pull it out and flip it over (top up) and run my finger over it pressing down a little

Also don't forget once it comes out of the freezer and onto the cake, the icing will crust over like normal. When it crusts you can come back over it with a paper towel and smooth it.

The most detailed one I have done is the FFA emblem (in my photos). I've done it three times and have said next time it will cost dearly, just because all those little lines take me forever.