Soooo Many Questions! Please Help Me

Decorating By jessicacourtney1 Updated 10 Oct 2007 , 2:35pm by MacsMom

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jessicacourtney1 Posted 18 Sep 2007 , 6:43pm
post #1 of 15

I am making a two tier cake for sat. I am wanting to do a wire spray on top, her name is LEXI but i dont know how to get the wire to stay in the cake and not fall over?????? and i also am in desperate need of help w/ buttercream, my buttercream is always the same, 1lb p.sugar 1/3 cup butter and 1/4 milk(or what ever liquid i use) then if it is chocolate buttercream i add 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder. problem is, the birthday girls parents say it is way too sweet, I add a pinch of salt, what else can i do???? thanks for all your help.

14 replies
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ladij153 Posted 18 Sep 2007 , 6:50pm
post #2 of 15

What flavor of cake are you making. When I make lemon or raspberry lemonade cake I always put citric acid crystals in my buttercream and it gives it a bit of a tang without adding any liquid. I a little goes a long way so if you do use citric acid put in a pinch, mix and taste then add more if needed. Helps cut the sweetness. HTH

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Jenni2383 Posted 18 Sep 2007 , 6:51pm
post #3 of 15

2lbs powdered sugar
1 cup crisco
1 cup butter
4 tbs milk
2 tsp vanillia (or half vanillia and half almond)

Hope this helps, I have many friends that say just give me a bowl of this icing for my b-day!icon_smile.gif

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ladij153 Posted 18 Sep 2007 , 6:51pm
post #4 of 15

What flavor of cake are you making?? When I make lemon or raspberry lemonade cake or anything that would be naturally on the tart side I always put citric acid crystals in my buttercream and it gives it a bit of a tang without adding any liquid. I a little goes a long way so if you do use citric acid put in a pinch, mix and taste then add more if needed. Helps cut the sweetness. HTH

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dominique26 Posted 18 Sep 2007 , 6:56pm
post #5 of 15

To make my icing not too sweet I started using salted butter. I also use a combination of helf salted half unsalted butter.
Here is a link to the recipe I use:

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2123-Buttercream-Dream.html

Just last weekend I used wires strung with beads to create a topper, and I used a straw ( the ones you use to stir coffee with). I just put the straw into the cake, and placed the wire topper into it. It held up perfectly.

HTH

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DCHall Posted 18 Sep 2007 , 6:59pm
post #6 of 15

I did some wires on the Hello Kitty cake in my photos. I just coated them with melted candy melts and stuck them into the cake.

As for the icing, check out the buttercream dream recipe here on CC. If it is still too sweet, use all salted butter instead. I made a cake two weeks ago using the buttercream dream recipe with all salted butter and white chocolate raspberry coffee creamer as the liquid. I got a lot of compliments on it.

Hope that helps you some.

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CelebrationCakery Posted 18 Sep 2007 , 7:06pm
post #7 of 15

I have a little different recipe that my mother in law LOVES....and believe me I use it every time I make a cake for that side of the family....LOL
1c. crisco
4 c. confect. sugar (1 lb.)
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. cocoa
3-5 T. water
I always mix crisco and slowly add sugar then vanilla and water 1 Tbsp. at a time until it is the consistancy I want.

I have used wires before too, once I just stick them in and they stayed but since have learned that you should but them into something...many people use straws but I have used flower watering picks, they sell them in white at Michaels.
I hope this helped...if not I know you will get more help in no time at all!
Good luck!

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kidsnurse Posted 18 Sep 2007 , 7:14pm
post #8 of 15

To cut the sweetness of my bc, I add a little FLOUR. No need to up the liquid...

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jessicacourtney1 Posted 19 Sep 2007 , 3:20am
post #9 of 15

thank you all sooooooo very much for the comments! I was outta the house so i couldnt write back sooner, im making milk chocolate cake w. choc BC. ChristianDonovan that BC sounds great! and thank you so much for the wire tips! i bought 20 guage is that right?

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CelebrationCakery Posted 20 Sep 2007 , 11:07am
post #10 of 15

20 gauge is good, I keep 18 and 16 around too, just in case whatever I am putting on them makes them bend more than I like sometimes the weight will make them shift around...

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wgoat5 Posted 20 Sep 2007 , 11:59am
post #11 of 15

I have taken a small ball of fondant and placed it under the bc on top of the cake then covered with fondant...then I just stick the wires into the fondant icon_smile.gif

But you will find everybody does it a little different..just find what works for you icon_biggrin.gif

Have a great day !!!

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barbydoll8 Posted 20 Sep 2007 , 12:08pm
post #12 of 15

I add a pinch of salt, a pinch of lemon juice and a table spoon of powdered coffee creamer. It makes the icing more like whipped cream texture and taste.

Good luck w/ the wires. I haven't attempted them yet.

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Rainybaby Posted 20 Sep 2007 , 12:08pm
post #13 of 15

I have a recipe that a friend gave to me. Its very simple but very very good. Its 2 cups crisco, 2 egg whites and 4 cups 10x....thats it. Whip it until it doubles in volume (about 7 minutes). Its not sweet at all and holds up well.

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Chicklets Posted 20 Sep 2007 , 12:10pm
post #14 of 15

Have you ever tried IMBC? It is very light, not too sweet and very buttery...I personally like it on chocolate cake very much! The experts here could give you the best recipe. I just did a recipe search and found one.

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MacsMom Posted 10 Oct 2007 , 2:35pm
post #15 of 15

I tried a name on a wire spray and found that you have to use a "glue" at the base of the wires to keep the letters from twisting around. Mine was a very last minute ordeal (a quick fix) and I tried sticking them in a fondant stuffed straw, but ultimately had to resort using a hot glue gun to keep the wires in place--I covered the glue with a ball of fondant so it didn't come near the cake.
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=733773
Next time I will try using candy melts as glue!

With another cake I just pushed wire into the bottoms of the letters and stuck them in balls of fondant. http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1042313

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