hi, i heard a lot about people doing buttercream transfers, what's that? is it easy to do?
diana

I think they are easy to do. In a nutshell: a BCT is taking a picture (usually a coloring book type picture)and tracing it with buttercream.

Here are instructions:

http://community.webshots.com/user/cali4dawn

Look toward the bottom for "Buttercream Transfer Instructions."

If you look through my cakes, you will find many transfers on cakes as examples.

Hi Dawn, my name is Lisa. I am just starting out to decorating cakes. i always loved it, but now people are starting to ask me to make them cakes. I started with the shaped pans 4 years ago. I only started because I wanted to make a special cake for my son's birthday. I did Elmo, a fire truck, Thomas etc. But the problem I always had was that I have such a big family and was always forced to not only make the shaped pan which took me forever, but 5 other things to compensate for the rest of my family. The shaped pans are adding up and becoming useless because my son does not want the same cake as the year before. Now he wants things along with my daughter. in which there is no shaped pan for.
I posted something on Wilton's website and someone wrote in about a paper transfer. My son wanted a Hot Wheels car from his coloring book, I tried it and it did not work. I ended up buying a shaped car pan and faking it, thank goodness he did not remember. Now, my nephew has personally asked me to make him a star wars cake. First I checked the stores for a shaped pan and was not successful. Then I came accross your post about a frozen bittercream transfer. I am so afraid to try it. It looks fairly explicit, but easier said then done. I do not understand how you smear it and the black doesn't get ruined. I live in N.Y. and do not have a Von's . I used the Wilton black decorating gel for the paper transfer that I tried and it slipped all over. Theonly other one we have in our stores is Cakemate gel or icing. I went on the star wars web site and printed off a colored page of darth vader. I could not find anything that was black and white like a coloring page, so already I am off to a bad start. Do you have any ideas for me or any extra tricks up your sleeve. I looked at all of your pictures of your work and you are awesome. My nephew thinks the world of me and I do not want to let him down. Thanks Lisa

It does not have to be a black and white coloring picture. I've even used jackets off of videos and DVD's!! All in color.

Walmart brand icing does a great job. If all else fails make some homemade fudge icing or use really really thick buttercream.

If you want to stay away from BCTs, do a chocolate transfer or a glaze transfer. For Star Wars, I would probably go with either of the last two. It will give you shinier results than a BCT. And with Star Wars... shiny is it!!

You can find Chocolate Transfer Instructions on my website. If you want to do a glaze transfer, I'll have to give you instructions. I haven't done a tutorial yet.

Hi Dawn thanks for getting back to me. OK, let me see, I think I will try to do the buttercream transfer. I have never worked with chocolate before, and do not wnat to try when doing it for someone else. So, of course I do not have a walmart in Staten Island. What do I use for the black outline and what do I use to fill it in. I have the traditional wilton buttercream icing is that any good for the fill in? If I do Darth Vader it will be mostly black, do I still use a black outline? Thanks Lisa

what is a glaze transfer?

Debbie

Hi Dawn-Your buddy Toya here! So you can use the Wal-Mart canned frosting for BCT's???

Lisa:

I am sure Cali4Dawn will have instrcutions for you (hers are always excellent), but the glaze transfers are really simple. It's basically royal icing that has been watered down to a "flowing " consistency. Am I right Ladies??? It that's what Dawn is talking about, I think you might mave a better experience with that.. and best of all you can make the glaze ahead and play with it to get the feel of it........ Just a thought...

OK- lots of questions.. .let's see if I have plausible answers.

elverton- Use a medium to soft buttercream for the fill-in. I prefer a butter recipe. If you use an all-shortening recipe, use parchment paper instead of wax paper to do the BCT on.

I would still uses the outlines for the black sections. It just helps you stay within your areas and keeps other colors from bleeding into each other. No WalMart. huh? The bottom line is you need a thick/stiff icing for the lining. Make your buttercream as thick as you can stand it since you're not using a fudge icing. Once I used the Wilton black. It was too thick! I cut off the top of the tube it came in, I mixed it with my buttercream (just a hint of mine) I'm sure I needed to add a hint of coloring and used it. It was fine.

thecakemaker- My version of a glaze transfer is a but different than described by mari, although hers IS correct, also.

I print out my transfer picture. I go over the lines with wax paper. I turn this over onto my crusted iced cake and gently brush over it to adhere the piping gel to the cake. I remove the wax paper.

I go over outlines in black or whatever color I need.

Here's the glaze part: I take my buttercream icing (already tinted with color) and add equal part Karo or corn syrup to it. I add enough until it flows like honey. It should NOT keep it's shape when piped. I pipe this into the outlines. And like Mari said, you can play with it to get the feel. It also saves just as well as buttercream. I have some different colors I've had in storage for a couple of weeks I've used on several cakes. AND, it's nice and shiny!

I also use this method for writing, except I don't add as much corn syrup. Lettering, obviously, has to retain it's shape.

Here is the most recent cake I did with this method:

Dash made with my glaze method

prettytoya- Yep, WalMart FUDGE icing works great for the lining. I've never used their other icing for anything. I make all my own icing with the exception of the fudge icing for BCTs and CTs.


If I missed any questions, let me know. Good luck!!

Great! Thank you for your help! Maybe i'll try it on the Charlie Brown cake I was just asked to make.

Debbie

hi,
i am going to try the buttercream transfer. i am having trouble figuring out how to print an image backwards. can you help?
diane

Dear Cali4dawn
It's Lisa (Elverton). The wilton buttercream recipe is 1/2 butter to 1/2 crisco. I read and studied your bct pictures a zillion times. I hope it comes out right. I have no way of driving to NJ to wal mart so I will use the wilton black icing, I have my fingers crossed. I know you said it was thick. One question on the bct picture if pooh. You said to edge the transfer in the same icing as you cake. In the picture it looks like its white and then the cake's icing was brown? Also, did you make that cake with cupcakes put together. That is a great idea if you did, how did you do that. I am still looking for a star wars picture. I went on star wars .com, and I tried to print off a vader mask but it won't let me, and the star wars logo is so small, I do no know what to do. Thanks for all yor time and info. Lisa

Yep- I did a tutorial for that a long time ago.

It's very easy. you just gotta know where to look.


Printing in "Mirror Image" or "Reverse Image"


Everyone should also be stamping their photos with their names or logo. People are out there stealing photos and claiming them as their own. I've said this before but I'm not being taken seriously. Really!! This needs to be done.

Logo on Photos

This tutorial is a very basic, no-frills how-to.[/url]

Dawn its lisa again, really quick question. I just looked at the recipes on the cake central website. I found your recipe for Buttercream icing for transfers. I printed that off and will use that. I also found two fudge icings. 1-Joan's fudge icing, and 2- quick fudge icing. Do you think these are any good for the black outline? Lisa

I honestly don't know. As long as they are nice and thick they should be OK. They can't be what I call creamy dreamy like buttercream. But since they are based on the concept of fudge, I bet they are just fine.

Can you give me the links to these two and I'll check them out for you?

cali4dawn,
hi, i looked at the info on printing in mirror image, however, i have windows xp and it is not the same. was that a different version? do you have directions for xp users?
diane

I only have XP as well-could you forward those instructions if you have them?! Thanks in advance!

I looked at a friends XP computer. Let me say every day I find more reasons I don't like XP. I will never understand why it so popular. It is not at all user friendly. You can no longer play certain game sites any longer. You can't easily print in reverse. Along with many many other features. I had XP for 2 days once. Promptly removed it from my computer when I could no longer do 75% of what I used to do. Makes no sense to me how XP is so great and wonderful.

Anyway, my ranting does not answer your question.

It seems it can't be done. I even got on XP's help site and they say it can't be done. What a crock!!

OK- let's beat the system.

If you're just looking for printing text in reverse, you're going to have to use a Desk Top Publishing program such as Print Shop or one like it (MS Word, MS Publisher and MS Works do not do this).

Make a text box, write your text and flip it.

You can do the same with pictures, insert them and flip.

Most people have a Desk Top Publishing program. if not, go to Office Depot or WalMart or someplace like that and buy one out of the bargain bin for $5-10.

XP sucks big time. I worry about the day I have to use it.

Dear Dawn (Cali4Dawn ) This is elverton (LISA). I just wanted to write you and say thank you for all of your help and great information. I did the buttercream transfer, and it actually worked. I made the star wars cake and it came out awesome. I transferred darth Vader, Cp30 and the Star Wars emblem. I wrote May the force be with you ! I was so excited at least now I feel condident and I feel that I could do any design now, not having to worrry about getting a shaped pan. Thanks again. P.S. I am interested in the glaze transfer can you send me instructions on how to do that. Thanks !!!!!!!!!!!!

make sure you post a picture of the cake!

Debbie

Oh Lisa!!!! I'm so proud of you!!! I can't wait to see the pictures!

I will be doing a glaze tutorial in the next few days. I'll let you know as soon I have it ready@!!!

Go Lisa! Go Lisa! Go Lisa! Go Lisa! Go Lisa!

I would also like to thank cali4dawn for the frozen buttercream directions. I made a care bear cake for my niece's first birthday party on Saturday using this techinique and it was much easier than I thought. Everyone liked the cake and wanted to know how I did it. Thanks again.
Joanie

SHHHH... Don't give away your secrets!!

I just love to read about new ideas. When I joined I was reading about Buttercream Transfer and thought "buttercream what?". What the heck, I was in a rush to make my daughter a Eeyore cake for her birthday. I had already bought a plastic eeyore and thought if all else fails use the plastic. Well what do you know my first buttercream transfer.. It was a hit with all my family and most important my daughter .. (click on my profile and view my cake) I then had a baby shower the next day and thought, hmmmm.. buttercream transfer. I was in love with a cake in the baby shower section called baby toes. So I drew a picture similar to her cake and made a transfer. I think I'm in love...
As far as flipping a picture. Hmm.. without getting technical (comp. confused) I would outline the picture with a marker dark enough to see it from the back. Then trace the back. Then get another paper put it on top and trace again.. I know a long process, but beats trying to figure out this computer.. Good luck!

briansbaker, Hey! Whatever works for you is what is best all the way around! Keep up the good work.