Just wondering how everyone else handles fixing icing cracks once a cake is set up? For example: Most brides want smoothed buttercream with very little decoration on the side right now. Once you set the cake up at a reception....there is little to do to cover cracks. I usually smooth a small amount of the icing on crack,let it crust, then VIVA smooth it back out. What is your way of fixing cracks???
I am a bit lost on this, I have never had a cake crack in the icing. Most of the folks that I hear from that have cracking get it for one of two reasons. They are using the all shortening icing recipe with water or they are using water as their liquid in their icing. The water in the icing tends to evaporate so if the cake is iced more than a day or two in advance, they get cracking. To help minimize this, bag your boxed cakes as soon as the cakes are iced and do not ice more than a day or so ahead. Otherwise you may want to try a recipe that uses butter and milk or cream as this has yet to happen to me and this is the kind of icing I use. Oh yes use the same consistency of icing for both the crumbcoat and the final icing coat. Otherwise the layer with less moisture in it will try to absorb some of the moisture from the layer with more moisture in it and cause cracking.
The only other cracking issue is caused by cakes not being on strong enough boards or a strong enough base. So use a heavier corrugated cardboard for the cakes in a stacked cake design or double to triple board the cakes if you are using the Wilton boards. Make sure your base is strong enough to support all of the cakes too.
When you carry your cakes, have them in boxes and support the boxed boarded cakes underneath. When the cakes are out of the box always support them underneath when moving them.
I normally crumbcoat and ice cakes either the Thursday night or Friday before a Saturday wedding.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes
I do use the Criscoe recipe with water, always been afraid to use milk since cakes are out for at least 2 days. What is the exact recipe you use Squirrelly? I have adequate support, using 2-3 cake boards that are wrapped in contact paper. For bases, I have thick plywood or the cake plateaus. Maybe it is the water, I don't experience a lot of cracking in the icing, but sometimes I do need to repair a little. Thanks for your advice!
Haha, yes, I am not one much for posting pictures and on the rare occasion when I do, I post it in a post, not the separate picture site. I do post the odd picture on www.r-bdesigns.com but only because I got bullied into it, haha.
Well first of all, if you use an icing with butter in it you need to know that butter will melt at 83F, shortening melts between 89F and 99F. According to Wilton, the recipe they have on the site using butter and cream is fine for the same length of time that the all shortening class icing is at room temperature, which is 2-3 days. Room temperature is below 75F. According to them also, you can make this other buttercream up to two weeks in advance and refrigerate it. I prefer to make it up about the Monday or so before a Saturday wedding. I rarely keep this icing for more than 1 week before using it. I find it holds up just fine at room temperature for about 4-5 days which is the maximum I have ever had a cake last around here anyway. Just make sure the expiry date of your butter, cream and milk are all well within the timeframe you will be making the cake, icing it and serving it.
Between the salt in the butter and the fact that sugar has been used for centuries as a preservative, because the amount of milk and cream is so limited in this icing, the dairy is not an issue at the temperatures recommended. If temperatures are above, you should refrigerated iced cakes. If the cake is served outside, limit it to how long it is out there and keep it out of the sun. Again, anything around 83F, you could have melting. Keep cakes out of the sun, the same as you should for cakes iced with any icing.
I made up a variation of the Wilton buttercream. Also, Cali-4Dawn's icing would be another good choice.
1/2 cup salted butter - I use salted because of the preserving qualities of butter, you can use unsalted
1/2 cup Crisco or a high-ratio shortening
1 1/2 tsp. of flavouring - I use regular pure brown vanilla because I like the taste, but you can use the equivalent of whatever flavourings you like
5 cups of sifted before you measure it, icing (powdered) sugar
2 tbsp. of unwhipped whipping cream
Whole milk to thin, start with about 2 tsp. and add more to your liking
With paddle attachment on a low speed, whip butter. Add shortening and whip until blended. Add flavouring and whip until blended. Add one cup at a time, icing (powdered) sugar. When all icing sugar is incorporated, add cream and whip until mixed in again on low and only enough to make it blended well. Then add milk until reaching desired consistency. I sometimes whip at medium for about 30 seconds but I find the less you mix the better, to avoid air bubbles. I used to use all whipping cream but switched to part milk because I found you get less air bubbles. SOme folks prefer to make the class buttercream for their roses but other than that you can make any decorations you want with this icing.
This icing sets rather than crusts but can be smoothed using any of the traditional methods after about 25 minutes setting time on the cakes.
If you prefer using water in your icing, don't ice your cakes so far in advance, make sure that there is the same amount of water in both the crumbcoat and the final icing. Bag your iced cakes as soon as you box them and box them as soon as you ice them. Avoid icing cakes for more than a day to two days before the event.
Hope that helps,
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes
Well, you are most welcome.
Hugs Squirrelly
I went to http://www.r-bdesigns.com/ to have a look.. I haven't figured the site out yet but I will in a view visits. Thanks for the tip about the site.
Well, pictures are posted in the Cakes area, under cooking, not in a special area like here.
I could never get pictures to attach on the Wilton site, even with their help. I can attach pictures on that site easily so I do so sometimes. For me it is just easier to attach with posts when I have to, haha!
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes
Thanks Squirrelly....I will give this recipe a try!
Hi Rexy,
First of all, it isn't my site, it may seem like it because I post a lot, haha! Tomorrow has the site set up where she has her own personal site which also includes her cakes and some recipes. You were possibly in that area and those cakes are hers and some of them her sister or Martin helped with. She is very talented and imaginative isn't she? They may be working on it at the moment, I will check. Then there are forums and in the forums there are recipes in separate posting areas.
Actually it is a rather simple format for a site, once you are used to it and in the right place, haha! They changed servers a couple of months ago and are still working on things.
I got to know Tomorrow when she was posting on the Wilton site. She did an amazing Shrek likeness cake.
See if you were in the correct area for the recipes.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes
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