Hi you guys,

I know by now I sound like a true novice, but really I'm not that bad. I have a cake that I am icing and the chocolate buttercream is NOT sticking to the cake. I have never had this problem. It seems like its too oily. Too creamy perhaps. I don't know. The cake is due tomorrow at 11 am CDT. I don't know what to do. Any suggestions from you all? It seems the only way that I can smooth it is to cornstarch my fingers and press down on it. It just looks like crud.

Help me please! Thanks again guys.


shinerjax

Well, usually when a buttercream icing will not stick to a cake, it is because it is too thick and needs to be thinned down with more liquid. What recipe did you use?
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

I used the "Dream Whip Whipped BC" that i saw posted a few wks ago. I added 3 oz of melted bittersweet chocolate to the recipe and beat it in. It seemes to be to oily, it did not smooth on nicely at all. It had a lot of air pockets that made it unable to smoothe. I put the cake in the fridge last night and it crusted a bit, but now that its at room temp, its back to that weird consistancy.

The cake weighs a ton. I couldn't scrape any icing off, so theres a thick 1/2 to 3/4 inch layer of icing on it.

I feel horrible that I'm charging the same price for I cake that I am not proud of. I wonder if i should knock off 5 bucks.


Oh well, i suppose. Won't do that again. I'll have to find a better b/c recipe.

PS: We're having alot of humidity this week in Houston, so maybe thats a cause as well. Tomorrow, I have a huge order, that I hope the BC doesn't do the same thing. Do you know of a good BC recipe that holds well to humid weather?

thank you for responding.

shinerjax

Was the frosting okay before you added the chocolate in?

I would just scrape it off if possible and start over with a different recipe.

unfortunatley I don't have time to scrape it off and start over. The cake is finished to the best of my ability. Fortunalty the people I'm making it for don't know the diff., but its just got a lot of icing. They scrape it off i guess. I'll have to show a picture to you guys of it, later on.

Wish me luck!

Shinerjax

Sorry don't remember which recipe that is, there are a few using Dream Whip, but I suspect you shouldn't have added that chocolate to it, if you were going to try chocolate, adding cocoa powder is likely the way to go. There is an oil in chocolate that doesn't necessarily do well with all recipes, sounds like this was the problem.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

We have a lot of humidity here, I use half butter, half shortening and milk and cream, pretty much the Wilton recipe but I use 5 cups icing sugar and 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla. However cake decorated with this recipe should be kept at a room temperature of below 75F and at 83F the butter starts to break down and melt.
Have you tried the Whimsical Bakehouse Buttercream, not the Meringue one, the one with the high fat ratio/ Again, since there is butter in it, you need to make sure your temperature is not above 83F.
Jeanne G's chocolate buttercream recipe from the Wilton site, is well liked.
Here is a copy of her post:
This is my all-purpose chocolate frosting, and I use it when I am going to smooth the frosting, and to pipe stars, and when I am going to spatula swirl it. I use it as a base for black frosting, too.

I have no qualms about a cake with this frosting sitting out a few days, but I store leftover frosting in the refrigerator for maximum freshness. If I havent used it up within about two weeks I think up a project for it. Recently I used up some leftovers by filling a layer cake with it, and then frosting the cake white. (I have happy grandchildren.) This recipe works in a 4.5 quart KitchenAid stand mixer.

First, about the ingredients

Butter: I use unsalted because I really prefer its taste on bread and in many recipes. (I dont know whether I could tell the difference in this recipe because Ive never had salted on hand when Ive made it.) I keep butter refrigerated until Im ready to use it. In my microwave 15 seconds on full power is just right to soften a pat for my morning toast or a stick and half for this recipe.

Powdered sugar: To avoid sifting and measuring, all my frosting recipes use a 2 pound bag. I buy what is on sale, without regard to whether the sugar started life in canes or in beets.

Cocoa: I have made many successful batches of this recipe using Hersheys cocoa. One of my sons worked in Chicago a couple of years, where he fell in love with Chicago-style pizza, blues, and Bloomers chocolate supply store. Whenever he is back in Chicago he has pizza, visits a blues bar, and makes a chocolate run. Last time he brought me back 2-pound bags of each of the three kinds of cocoa they carry. Oh my! Each is wonderful and has its own flavor and color nuances. If you dont have someone to make chocolate runs for you and youd like to venture beyond Hersheys, try the web site: www.blommerstore.com. I measure cocoa first and then put it through a sieve into my mixing bowl, to eliminate any lumps.

Liquid: I make this with water, but you may use milk if you prefer. I start with ½ cup measured out, and add almost all of it. If necessary I add the remainder after mixing. Sometimes it takes more than the ½ cup total. I find that chocolate frosting takes more fiddling with the water content than white buttercream does.

Tip: It is hard to get the exact same shade of brown in different batches of frosting. If youll need more than one, make them all upfront and stir them together in some huge container (I use a stock pot) so the color is uniform.

Now, the simple recipe

3/4 cup Crisco
3/4 cup butter, softened (6 ounces, 1 & 1/2 American sticks)
1 1/4 cups cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 pounds powdered sugar
about 1/2 cup of water, give or take a little

(If you have a splash guard for your bowl, this is a good recipe to use it with.)

Mix the Crisco and butter at a slow speed until creamy.
Add the cocoa. Mix again until the cocoa is all incorporated.
Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and most of the water. Beat at medium speed for a few minutes.
Test the spreadability and add water if necessary.

Wow Squirrleycakes, you really impress me! Thanks for all the great tips. I will def. try these for my next chocolate bc cake.

Ironically, eveyone loved the cake. And the icing was not as thick as I had thought. It tasted good, but just not all that attractive. It looked like a novice cake.

Anyhow, I did use melted chocolate rather than cocoa, I think that made the problem. Also, for some reason it was quite warm in my kitchen last night, and I'm 8 mos preggo and my body temp (especially hands) are quite warm. So all these factors must have made my disaster.

I'm off to making a 12X18 single layer for another client. Finally I'm getting business.

Thanks a bunch. Pray that I don't run into anymore disasters tonight!!!!


shinerjax

Yes your body temperature and hand temperature will have an effect along with the temperature of the room.
I hope all goes well for you for this next cake! I must say, when I was eight month's pregnant, getting close enough to the cake to decorate, without half of the icing being on my tummy would have been my biggest problem, haha! Not to mention the backache from standing and bending and such. Kudos to you for continuing to bake and decorate!
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes