i have seearced on this, but I am trying to find out what the consitancy should be for icing buttercream to get it super smooth. My wilton instructor (the greates!) was telling me my thin isn't thin enough if I am smoothign more than i want to be.... she was telling me about the consistancy of whipping cream (after it's whipped), but lil thinner than cool whip LOL
anyone else have any tips/what to look for?
i want it SMOOTH like ya know smooth LOL
i use 1/2 crisco 1/2 butter BC and it crusts just like i like it.. LOL
I recently discovered this recipe on this site and I just love it! (sorry, I can't remember who to give credit to).
4 cups confectioners sugar
1 envelope dream whip mix
2 cups crisco
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup boiling water
Beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes ... light, fluffy, crusting and perfect for icing a cake.
thank you for the recipe..
I love my recipe though.. its just that adding "this much water" makes it medium and then "this much more" makes it thin lol.. Im trying to get the this much part down.
does that make sense or am i dense?
Isn't it a 1/4 tablespoon per 1 cup of stiff for medium, and 1/2 tablespoon per cup of stiff for thin?
I'll have to check my book.
I always use medium to ice my cake, but I was told to use thin.
I'm reviving this thread because I think I have a fear of thin icing. LOL I just had done well with my icing but it seems like I am just afraid of adding too much water.
any tips, anyone as to what my icing should look like before I spread it on the cake
edited: or maybe it is thin enought already and I have air bubles... sheesh.. too much going on
I've been lurking for weeks here, and I love this site! Anyway, coming out of my shell to help out a fellow cake decorator. I just started course one two weeks ago. Our instructor told us that it was 1 teaspoon water/cup of stiff to get medium, and 2 teaspoons/cup stiff to get thin. HTH!
Edited for sp.
If you want to make the whole batch of it thin right from the start, to ice your cake with, just add 4 tablespoons of water (2 extra). That's what I do, then I add around one to two teaspoons of light corn syrup to it also, the corn syrup just seems to make it a little more creamy and I think it smooths out alot better on the cake with that added 
For a single batch of BC (1 c fat/1 lb sugar) you get 3 c stiff icing. You add 1 tsp per cup to get 1 step down consistency. So for the whole batch, you would use 3 tsp (1 T) for medium or 6 t (2 T).
Cakesbgood, your numbers are good for a double batch (which is usually what I make)
Lil - don't worry too much about it being too thin - as long as it doesn't slide off the spoon you should still be able to ice with it. And if you've got bubbles, it's just from beating too much with the mixer. Stirring it really well with a spoon or spatula will usually get most of them out.
IMO - the consistencies are the hardest thing to learn. There is not really a true "measure" that will work perfectly every time - it depends on what the humidity is, what powdered sugar you are using.....there are a lot of variables. I just use the 3 consistencies in class and I make sure to let the students all check them out (I pass the bowl of icing around for them to stir and give them toothpicks to taste it so they can tell what it is supposed to be)
i kinda figured as much about the measurements becasue if u use butter u generally use less liquid right? also summer vs. winter.
I mean, am i looking for marshmallow fluff? am I looking for cool whip? am i just thinking too much and I need to gain 20 more pounds by practicing more than I already do? LOL
Actually I only make a single batch. I meant a total of four including the 2 extra not plus those making 6. I'm not explaining myself well am I? lol sorry. I just throw in 4 tablespoons of water right from the start and cream it with the crisco and flavoring, then add my other ingredients and a teaspoon or two of corn syrup, when I want the entire batch to be thin consistency. If I need to divide it up into different consistencies then I do the one/two teaspoons of water to get where I need to be with it. But yes, alot of things effect it so no one can really tell you exactly. Our instructor passed the bowl of icing around also, when I took the courses, so we could all give it a stir to see what each consistency should feel like. If it hadn't been for that I don't know if I would have ever got the stuff right!! 
I agree with the other person who said this is just something you learn with time. I haven't been decorating long, but I made batches and batches of icing when I started to practice with. With each one I got to be a little better judge of what is right. I'm still not perfect-sometimes I start piping a rose and realize it's too soft and have to go back and add more sugar, but that is happening less often these days.
In general...what I use for a guideline is very thin icing-like for crumb coating should be about the consistancy of mayo.
Thin-I don't know -I never use it!
Medium is when it starts to climb up my beaters a bit in the mixer. A blob dropped will squash some when dropped but mostly hold it's shape.
Stiff is when a blob is dropped and it doesn't move.
Definitally not scientific, but it works for me.
Thin-I don't know -I never use it!
what do u ice with?
This is something you just have to keep trying til you get it the right consistancy.
Well I suppose you are right. I use my medium icing to ice, but I forgot that I do often thin it down just a bit so you might call it thin-although sometimes if I have a good crumb coat I just use the medium as is. It does work better when I remember to thin it a bit. Maybe I would describe it as a very thick milkshake consistance?
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