OK, I don't think I use excessive amounts of BC. When I smooth my icing on the sides sometimes I go too far so taht I start to see the cake and I have to reapply more to cover... but I seem to use more than most directions say - I think.
OK, so yesterday I made a huge batch of BC in my big mixer. I mixed 4 lbs of butter and 8 lbs of powdered sugar plus flavorings, etc.
With that icing, I iced and filled one 9x13 and did the borders, did the icing and borders of another 9x13. I think I have enough icing for one more cake (icing and borders) of about the 9x13 size... hard to tell for sure since I didn't measure... but shouldn't I be able to do more cakes that THAT?
That's like more than one 2 lbs bag of powdered sugar per cake!
Melissa
That's a lot of icing! I never measured what I use on a cake I know I make a recipe that calls for 2 sticks of butter and 1 cup shortening and about 8 cups of sugar and I can ice, fill and add borders and probably have a little left over just to do a 10" round hope this helps you
In general, I use 7 cake mixes for a wedding cake for 100 and probably use 3, maybe 4 two-pound bags of p.sugar. Sounds like you used more icing for two 2-mix cakes than I use for a 7-mix wedding cake for 100.
I never measure my icing either and I never even LOOK at whatever the "directions" say I need. It's all dependent on how decorated the cake is. I make up a number of batches of icing and put it in a big container. Then when I'm doing the cake, I just work out of the big container. If I run out, I make more. If there's any left, I store it.
OK, did some math, a two layer 10" cake, if not torted, but iced between the two layers, is the same surface area as a 9x13. The surface area of a 9x13x2 is 205 inches. If I tort that, add another 117, so, 325 total surface area needed for icing.
A 10" round cake has a surface area of 204, with it just iced between the two layers, that's 280 total surface area.
My 2 9x13 cakes used quadruple batch of the Cake Bibles American Chocolate cake. It was FULL, the sides were to the rim and the middle was over the top (9x13 cakes use more cake than 2 8" rounds for the same height). So, that is 4 cake mixes there. Another cake would make it 6 cake mixes that I would use for that amount of buttercream.
9x13x2 equal a volume of 234 cubic inches. An 8" round (doubled for two layers) total volume is 200 cubic inches. So, if I just make a single cake mix for the 9x13, it will be shorter than if I were using 2 8" rounds. Specifically, the author states that her cakes are more dense and don't rise as high, which is why I used a quadruple batch to ensure I got a full 2" (plus) for the height of this cake.
I don't use box mixes.
I also have to remember, I didn't use all the icing I had colored, so I probably threw away or stored another cup of icing at least.
Like Indydebi, I don't measure and I always make a big batch as my mixer can handle four bags of sugar at one time. I just store the rest and use it the next time I make a cake. I was just SHOCKED at how much I used for these two cakes!!! and the icing was NOT thick!!!! I swear because I can't STAND thick icing. When I using that piping tip, I don't just smooth, but I remove a TON of it to put back in the "pot" unless it got crumbs (which I didn't this time).
Melissa
ETA: Ok, I measured what I have left. I have 5 cups of clean, fresh buttercream (now stored). I measured what I was throwing away of the other buttercream (the colors) and I threw away another cup. So, I have 6 cups unused from that big batch. Looked it up and that's the same as 2lbs of powdered sugar and one pound of fat... so a "double" wilton recipe.
Hmmm... that's the same then as making 3 double layer 10" cakes. Which means I must be heavy handed with the frosting... I should be able to make 4 of such cakes... I did have to tort the one, so that's part of the reason, but still... Now, how do I learn to use LESS icing? Where is the "too much" going? As I totally spread the sides thing - sometimes too thin - weird!!!
Melissa
Are you sure it's not 2 lbs of powdered sugar? that's the standard recipe - 2lbs sugar to 1 lb fat - most powdered sugar bags are 2 lbs. Boxes are 1 lb (if you can find those).
Melissa
When ever I make a cake, no matter the size I make/have helper hubby make 2 batches at first because we buy 2 lb bags instead of 1 lb boxes...
Wilton recipe (now been changed due to crisco changes) states what I've always used... 1 lb powdered sugar (1 box) 1/2 cup crisco, 1/2 cup butter, vanilla, and milk... so making 2 I just double it all....
Anyway 2lbs of powdered, 1 cup crisco, 1 cup butter, vanilla, milk, all works out to cover a 10" round cake, 2 layers, not torted, just bc as a filling to stick the layers together, icing it, doing a border, on top and bottom, and then writting on it if needed. (I don't know how to make roses so I don't use it for that.) But I don't measure it out either... I have the Wilton bowl set and a double batch of icing fits in the middle sized bowl... perfectly coming to the top. I normally don't have very much left maybe a cup or so left over when I'm done icing a cake. And I may have a cup or a cup and a half worth colored still in piping bags that gets thrown away.
I understand I'm wasting alot but I've also learned the hard way it's easier to start out with too much then not enough and have to stop in the middle of decorating to make another batch of icing. And I've also learned the hard way that it's not ALWAYS easy to match colors a second time lol so I'll color a little more then I end up needing.. But as a beginner I think I'll learn to judge the amount needed for coloring say the border icing and not waste so much but have just enough left over for emergency touch ups lol....
Currently I have entire bowl/batch worth of icing in the fridge left over from the last cake I made which I wanna say was the cupcakes I made lol but not sure anyway I planned on using that to practice roses... but haven't gotten around to it lol...
I never measure my icing out before applying it to the cake... should I be doing that?? Normally when charging I charge for how many I need to make to cover the cake per the Wilton chart.. if it says I need 5 cups of icing to cover the cake and each batch of BC makes 3 cups I'll need 2 batches so I charge for two batches and if I run out and need more for some reason I charge for the additional batch needed... but don't normally need to do that...
I basically follow Wilton's chart on amount of batter and amount of icing needed to make/decorate the cake and normally it comes out about right with the exception of the batter amounts being a little skimpy but the icing amounts seem to be about right... for instance on a character cake I'll use 1 1/2 batches of icing... a little more then called for but that's because I put about 1/2 thick or maybe more icing on the cake lol.... Am I using too much?? lol
lol I'm not really sure exactly how much it is that's probably way too much more then I normally put... I'll find a ruler and eye ball it lol.....
Ok lookin at the Stanley Fat Max tape measure lol... we put APPROX 1/4 inch thick on the sides and top of the cake (I'm judging by eye of what I see when I cut into them) and maybe the same amount inside for filling between layers....
When I took Wilton class one I noticed that their suggested amount of icing wasn't stretching as far as it should've. There is also a good chart in the whimsical bakehouse book detailing how much batter/filling/icing for each size of cake. I found it after I was all done, or course.
1/2 inch of icing is way too much for my folks! If I put too much on, they scrape it off and complain.
See, that's just it, my icing isn't a 1/2 inch thick. It's about a 1/4 to 1/8 of an inch depending on evenness of the cake surface. I can't STAND thick frosting - ick! that's why I'm surprised I used so much...
But... I do have enough for 3 9x13s and I torted the one and filled the other with BC (as they wanted - they like frosting), so that's really almost like 4 9x13s, just not the sides and piping.... I probably used a little more than I normally would, but maybe that's because I made thicker borders than usual.... Hmmm...
The last time I made this huge batch it was enough for 4 cakes AND for a FBCT and some other small piping things on cupcakes... so I don't usually use too much frosting.
And I too tend to make too much colored frosting for borders and such, because yep, if you have too much - you waste a bit. If you have too little? You're screwed!
I remember when we went to our second wilton class. We all had made a single batch of BC like our instructor had said. Well, NONE of us were able to cover our cake and there was supposed to be extra for practicing? Doy! Later she looked at all of us like we had 4 heads - "why didn't you double it. Didn't you see you wouldn't have enough?" Now.... HOW would all of us newbies know??? And why is a single recipe not enough to cover a basic two layer birthday cake? Ugh... she was an awful instructor all the way around.
Melissa
You are quite a mathematician and engineer!!!
You mentioned you filled the cake with the buttercream. Did you just put enough to stick the layers together, or did you use an actual layer of buttercream? That would make a difference. I assume you are doing a crumb coat. That will make the icing go farther. You also mentioned the evenness of the cake layers affected how much you put on. If your layers are not smooth and even, maybe you could make them more so. Another thing I thought of was whipping the icing up more. It's possible if you add a little more liquid and whipped it with the whip you could get more volume. Maybe because your mixer holds quite a bit, it tends to leave the icing denser.
It is a mystery! Let us know if you figure it out!
I've been thinking alot about this and I'm thinking that maybe you should try making smaller batches of icing. Even though your mixer can hold it and handle it doesn't mean it should lol.. maybe it will be better if you did it in 2-4 batches instead of just one big one.. I make 2 batches of BC at once, have made 3, but I didn't like the texture when making 3 at a time.... so we only make 2 at a time now and it comes out fine.
Are you throwing out the leftover colors? Put them in the freezer (some just use the fridge) when you have enough odd colors, thaw, mix together and add chocolate.
why? lol I don't understand... like this past week I threw away red, purple, and black... mixing them together wouldn't have looked right I don't think.... the black I always throw out because it tastes nasty lol... and why add chocolate? I'm totally lost lol it's probably obvious but I'm lost lol
You mix them all together (yeah, the color will be strange), add cocoa or chocolate, sometimes chocolate syrup depending on the consistancy and taste, and you will have a nice (brown) chocolate buttercream.
Put that on a chocolate cake, the family will go mad...
That's a good idea for saving colors. I used to save them, but I don't have any spare space in my freezer any more, so this time I tossed them.
I'm not thinking my batch size is the issue. My mixer is an 8 quart mixer and it uses a roller and spatula, not a whisk/wire attachment and i think on every other occasion I've used right what the recs are and I always make huge batches because I HATE making buttercream.
I think I will, however, measure the containers out into 5 cup containers. Buttercream is expensive (I use organic butter and real vanilla) so using too much not only makes it too sweet, but it's adding to my overall costs too.
Melissa
OMG... I figured out my problem!!! I just made a quadruple batch of buttercream and when I was getting the butter out earlier today to get to room temperature I realized what I have done wrong the last TWO times I've made buttercream. I have used HALF, yes HALF the butter you are supposed to use!!! I was using 8 lbs of Powdered sugar with four CUPS of butter, not EIGHT CUPS of butter!!! I knew I needed to add a LOT of water to get the right consistency and I made a post the LAST time that my buttercream was too wet... NO WONDER it didn't stretch as far and no wonder I was having either too wet buttercream or way too stiff that crusted way too fast making it impossible to get a really smooth finish. It tasted fine, but WHOA!!!!
Now I have to see if I priced things right or not! I said I spent about $4.50 a cake on buttercream... let's see, is that right? Nope, it's $5.50 to $6.00 a cake.
Good grief, now THAT takes the cake!!!
Melissa
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