Hi all.... I was reading something on sugarcraft.com I think it was.... that said you can spread your icing smooth with a spatula & then use a hair-dryer & the slight "melting" will leave a smooth finish on the cake. I had never heard of this, just wondering if anyone has tried it & how it turns out?

~Katie

Well, since using a hot spatula has this effect of smoothing, I cannot see why this wouldn't work. I don't use a wet hot spatula but have been known to dip the spatula in boiling water and dry it off and then smooth. I would think that as long as you don't have the hair blower on the cake for too long, it should work. I would make sure the filter and the nozzle are really clean before trying it out.
Incidentally, a hair blower also works great for getting rid of those glue spider webs or threads that you always end up with when you use a gluegun. It just blows or melts them away!
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

that is somthing to try one day maybe try after a crumb coat so it can be covered in the event it don't work
Blessed baking

Haha, true, that would be a good way to go! Haha, and don't use too powerful a hairblower either, can you just see the icing flying all over the walls, haha!
Hugs Squirrelly

like squirrellycakes, i use the clean, heated-spatula method on buttercream, that way i can control the "melting".

a heat gun is one thing, but a hairdryer is another entirely. a hair dryer blows more than just hot air -- i'd be very concerned about blowing dust or anything else floating in the air onto the cake surface (i have a VERY plush kitty who likes to decorate our apartment in a soft, downy layer of himself).

Heehee, perhaps it is a heat gun they are using? They do look similar and it didn't dawn on me that may be it? I think you would have to use a dedicated hairdryer, strictly for this use.
Oh heavens, I can relate to kitty fluff, haha! I insist that anyone I make a cake for understands that I have two cats.
Hugs Squirrelly

squirrelly: i have only one guy, but at 15+ pounds of plush-lusciousness, i think he counts as two!

Very good points everyone.... I can see the heat gun working better than the hair dryer... I would be very concerned about dust, hair, etc. also. Thanks for all the responses... I knew the folks here at CC would analyze this technique & give great feedback!!

Buddy is just gorgeous, what a beautiful cat! Doesn't look overweight at all! My make is over 17 pounds, he does look overweight, haha, but then maybe if he had fluffier fur, he wouldn't look so chubby, haha!
Thanks for sharing that wonderful picture!
Hugs Squirrelly

Squirrelly: merci for your comments. mr. buddy chou (his full name) is quite the beauty-boy, though he has a big white splooch on his belly and tabby stripes on his arms which i think are pretty, but apparently would disqualify him for show in his breed category (somali). which suits him just fine: he's a very skittish indoor cat with no ambitions beyond the next tin of tuna -- he freaked out so much during his last visit at the vet that they told me that so long as he's healthy he never has to come back. my partner found buddy when he was 5 months old (and a mere 8 pounds), all alone under a bush on U of T campus 9 years ago. we never saw any "lost cat" posters, so we kept him and fattened him up (pretty good return on our investment: we have almost twice as much cat now!). he's quite big boned, but he does have the jelly-belly from being neutered (it's tucked away in that photo of him). when he was little he liked to sleep in the pie boxes i brought home with my day's work from college.
p.s. do you have a cat dancer toy for your little ones? it is the BEST! great cardio for kitties!
http://www.catdancer.com/products.htm