Okay, so I just did my first frozen bc transfer and I had a couple of minor problems that I am hoping to get fixed before I really have to do it in Jan.

Here were my two issues:

1. When I went to smooth out the frosting before freezing it just kept pulling up from the wax paper.

2. After frozen, it broke in a couple of places

How think are your bc transfers? Maybe mine was too thin and that's why it broke...but what's the deal with it coming up from the paper. Would parchement paper work better?

Please...any advice or tips for me.

Thanks

It sounds like your BCI was a little too thick. You need a thin/med consistency. Right under medium is what I use. Also, don't press with the spatula when you are spreading the icing. If it broke after you froze it it might be because it was in the freezer too long. But I'm not sure about that. I think you can keep them in the freezer as long as needed.

The biggest thing is using a thin/medium consistency BCI~ Hope that helps some.

I agree that you need to have your icing thin/medium and not stiff. I do have a suggestion about the smoothing the transfer on the wax paper. Whenever I tried to do it like the instructions with smoothing with the spatula, mine always came up too. I dip my spatula in cornstarch and dab/pat the back of the color. This way the icing doesn't stick to the spatula. I even do it this way on the final layer of background icing. Hope this helps!

Wendy -

I'm new to this as well. I had the same problem when trying to smooth out my icing with the spatula. Now I don't use the spatula at all. I put another piece of waxed paper on top of the icing and gently push down on that to smooth the image. It works wonderfully! When I take the image out of the freezer, I just make sure I work quickly and get the waxed paper off asap.

As far as the image breaking, I don't have any advice there. Good luck and keep practicing!

Wow, Flur your FBCT's are excellent! I'd use your advice any day!!

After I finish my image, I freeze it, then put on the last coat of icing to seal it all together. I dont' use a spatula to apply this back coating, but rather pipe it on. Then I use the spatula to pat it down and smooth it out to make the entire emblem even. My final BCT is about 1/8" thick.

I've had problems with the transfer sticking to waxed paper. IMHO, waxed paper is the worst possible foundation for this process. I wish the online directions would be edited to remove waxed paper from them. I think it causes many first-time users major headaches needlessly. I use either plastic sheets (like laminating pouches or transparency sheets...or clear report covers)...or I smooth plastic wrap over the design and tape it down securely.

I had breakage when using all-Crisco frosting. Once I went to a butter/Crisco frosting...no problem. Be sure to add a final layer of reinforcement before popping it into the freezer. I make that final layer the same color as the top of the cake, but you could also just repeat with the colors of your design.

well, i did use 1/2 butter, 1/2 crisco so i get points for that. but i didn't do a top coat of frosting cuz i was too annoyed with it all coming up. i think the frosting was around a med consistency so next time i will thin it a bit more.

so how thick are your transfers they look thick in the pics, but pics can be decieving...

thanks for all your help

My final transfer is about 1/4" thick. I do details, dry, next layer of details, dry, flooding, dry, then pipe a backing on. Cover, smoosh flat, then freeze.

I do FBCT almost weekly. I even teach a class about the method. If you go to my website, www.crawfordscreations.com, you will find complete instructions in my FAQ section.

As for freezing them too long, I have class demo samples in my freezer that are almost 5 years old!! One of the wonderful things about this art form is that you can do it in advance. I use pizza boxes of varying sizes to store them in. However, once frozen if you slip them into a zip bag they'll be just fine.

Please feel free to email me if you need any additional help.

well, i only had it in the freezer for an hour, so maybe it wasn't long enough and it probably wasn't thick enough...

I do mine by first brushing some Crisco onto the waxed paper, very thinly with a piece of paper towel.

Then, using thin consistency bc (I used the faux fondant II--not "flowable" out of the bag, but VERY easy to squeeze consistencty) tracing the outline and filling in. At that point, I pat everything down with an old, clean brush. I bought a 1/2 inch makeup brush with a short tip especially for this, but using your finger to pat lightly works just as well.

I then pipe a background all over the FBCT evenly, and freeze it up for about 40 minutes to 1 hour.

Mine pop right off, don't have any "worm" lines, and ('til now) haven't broken.

I was really apprehensive before I tried them, but they're second nature to me now. I really don't see what all the fuss is over. (I'm not trying to sound ugly there.)

Waxed paper works fine--just try the crisco trick--it just takes a thin film. As for the icing coming up, sounds like maybe it was too thick? It broke most likely because it was an uneven thickness to the rest. Try putting a level back coating of icing on it?

--Knox--

I don't make mine thick at all. You can leave it in the freezer but once you are ready to use it move fast- they thaw incredibly fast so get it onto the cake and remove the wax paper right away. If it break put the pieces against each other and it will be fine..once it thaws it will be soft and you can smoothe it and noone will ever know it broke..I've done that and you could never find the spot that broke. I will often press them onto the cake and then smoothe them after they are on and crust. I don't add the extra layer of icing to seal the design in at all...I prefer that they look more thin and uniform with the cake myself

I've never had problems with wax paper, but I've only done a few. The best tips I got were the following: 1) use thin icing 2) let the icing crust a bit before trying to smooth it (wait about 5-10 minutes) and 3) use your finger dipped in cornstarch for smoothing (that way the icing doesn't stick). I've found that works best for smoothing.

I always do the extra layer in the same icing as the base layer of my cake. My buttercream transfers have been pretty thick - I'd like to work on getting them a bit thinner. One key thing is keep them even - if you have them thicker in one part and thinner in the other, when you transfer them on your cake, they won't lay flat, and when they defrost they will warp - so the back layer is critical for making everything nice and even. When you place it on the cake, you can push it into the icing to hide some of the thickness, but they are often about 1/4" thick, or even slightly thicker.

Good luck!

I only get breakage when the transfer is too thin (meaning not enough layer height to it) in certain spots. You need the icing to be fairly thin to get it to work right but you should build it up a little at a time so that the whole transfer is the same thickness. I don't think it matters what the thickness is as much as that the whole thing is the same thickness.

Good luck!

this is all very good advice. i'll be doing my first fbct in a few weeks for a birthday cake. (of course, i am hoping to practice first).

thanks much for this thread!