Help With Fbct I Need It For A Cake Today Sos
Decorating By ninaross Updated 15 Aug 2006 , 1:45am by sugarspice
please help
No you don't flip it. Just press on the back of the image (still face down) to try and make sure that there are no holes in the icing and to give the top a smooth finish. I do peek underneath at the picture to see if there are any places where I need to "smoosh" the icing in better so there are no gaps. HTH!
i dont understand 
I don't know if I'll be much help, I've only done a couple of FBCTs.
1.You are always working on your image from the back.
2.I would not use piping gel. I'm not sure it will get hard in the freezer.
3. first out line the image. (remember you are working from the back)
4. after outlining begin to fill in with your colors. Your icing needs to be soft enough to flow into the areas nicely.
5. make sure you fill in all areas completely. It helps if you take your waxed paper or parchment paper to a piece of glass. that allows you to take a look at what your image will look like when it is flipped over onto your cake.
5. You can take your finger and gently press on the icing to help to get it smoothed in. Be careful though. If you press too hard, it will flatten out your outlines and you won't have a good sharp image.
6. After everything is filled in, place in the freezer for icing to harden.
7. After icing has hardened you can take you image out of the freezer. Flip it over onto your cake and carefully pull the paper off.
Don't know if that's clear, but hope it helps.
Don't forget your FBCT is going to be a mirror image of what you are working on, so if you want it to face a certain direction, make sure you put it the opposite direction to start with. Here are some step by step photos I did for someone else to see. Maybe they will help? The finished cakes are in my gallery.
I do mine exactly like the step by step photos (Great job with those!), but I also put a thin layer of white frosting around and ontop of the image (which would be the back when you flip it) before I freeze it. This is supposed to help with colors running I think.
I usually put my entire background in the FBCT, but I didn't for this one. Then I fill in under each area w/the color on top so it looks 3D. The white boarder makes it stand out more IMO and I like it to look more natural? Not sure that's a good explination. It's the artist in me I guess.....
Looking at the thickness of your transfer when you started, I assume the picture is raised above the rest of the cake. That is why you said you usually also put the entire background in frosting too? Now, how much background? It has to end some time. If it's going on a 12x18 sheetcake, you can't make your FBCT that large! And , in the case of the cake in the picture; did you pipe an edging around the FBCT? That's what I'm still not catching on to.
Actually, yes. I would make the whole 12X18 thing a transfer if that's what needed to be done. this entire cake top is a transfer. I start by outlining the cake pan so I know how big the top of the cake will be and then center the image where I want it
http://images1.snapfish.com/34782%3A%3B37%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E2327%3D%3C%3A%3B%3D%3C8%3A%3DXROQDF%3E23238%3A46792%3C8ot1lsi
Placed on the cake
http://images1.snapfish.com/34782%3A%3B37%7Ffp45%3Dot%3E2327%3D%3C%3A%3B%3D%3C8%3A%3DXROQDF%3E23238%3A4679399ot1lsi
Finished cake is in my photos......
And no, the image is not raised above the background when I do it this way. That's the whole reason I do it that way (so it'll be flush with the background). Several cakes in my photos are done that way. The pokemon cake is actually 13 separate transfers with the background included all put on one cake and blended together.
SheilaF, I love the bridge cake. Beautiful. How do you handle a FBCT that large? I did a rather large one and had a devil of a time getting it on the the cake. I was so paranoid that it would break as I flipped it over. I kept attempting to put it on the cake, then I would chicken out and put it back in the freezer for a while. After about an hour, my DH told me that I needed to do something quick because it was getting late. In fact, he grabbed it from me and threw it on the cake! He almost got it centered. 
I love this technique and would love some tips on safe handling of large FBCTs.
Welcome to CC, Caketopper! You will learn tons of stuff here and the people are awesome!
I've been lurking for several months and have already learned lots! And you're right, the people are great.
CakeTopper, I guess ignorance is bliss. I just never really thought about the image breaking. I did make it a bit thicker than I would a regular FBCT, but not by much. And then just worked quickly when I went to transfer it over to the cake. I've only ever had one FBCT crack and it was a really small one (not a big FBCT).
I haven't done one that covers the whole top of the cake. I have 2 FBCT 's in my pics -- the cars cake and the werewolf. The cars cake transfer was my first, and it was too thick. They stuck out off the cake, but I didn't want them to break. The werewolf was next, and I made it super thin, and it was fine. It didn't stick out above the cake. It just depends on how thick you make them on how far out they stick.
Good luck!
Another Option: One of my most recent projects, I did a FBCT, then pressed the sides of it down into the cake (it was actually a cup cake cake) and put the outline flush with the cake, but the center was still above the cake. Gave it a 3D effect on the cake, but it still sort of looked like it was flush with the background. that's another option as well. I generally just play with the techniques till I find what I like that works for me. This was tweety and it's in my album as well.....
Thanks SheilaF. Maybe the trick is to not worry about so much! I'll just go for it next time and not over think it.
Sheila, that is really impressive that you do the entire top of a cake even if it's 12x18 on the FBCT. I'd be afraid handling a transfer that large. I have only done ONE FBCT in my life. And that's becuse the design was so complicated I was afraid I couldn't do it any other way.
So, in the first place are you "less generous" when frosting the top of the cake knowing that you'll be adding another 1/4 inch or so of frosting with the FBCT?
The one FBCT that I did to cover an entire 11 x 15, I basically only had a crumb coat of icing because I knew I was adding almost 1/4 inch to it. They freeze so rock-hard, I haven't had one break either. Maybe the thicker they are, the less chance of breakage there is. (?)
Linda, yes, I generally use less frosting for my base coating when I do the entire top as a transfer. Otherwise the frosting is a tad overwhelming for the people eating the cake 
Like mgdqueen said, they freeze pretty rock hard.
atkin600, your welcome. They really are very easy. I'm usually one who likes to watch a technique before I try it. But this is one that I did without anything more than the instructions that came from this site. And I was literally jumping up and down like a school girl squeeling when it worked! LOL. I've been hooked ever since
No. I've left them in there overnight. "I" would cover it with plastic after it freezes to prevent ice crystals from forming on it. Just to be on the safe side.
In a book I have by Carol Deacon, she does her FBCT on plastic wrap, then covers it (before freezing it) with more plastic wrap and a cardboard and presses down to level the whole thing. She freezes it with plastic wrap on both sides.
Oh, Sheila, thank you for calling me Linda. It's in my signature line, but most people just call me "TheVienneaus".
The posted step by step pictures are helpful!! I have not tried one of these yet and have a question...I noticed the colors that you put on after the outline-they go overtop of the outlines instead of "next to" or inbetween them. Is this right?? Thanks!
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