I am interested in trying smbc since it sounds like the flavor is fantastic but I am afraid of not being able to smooth like a crusting buttercream.

For those of you who use it, how do you smooth it well. I am pretty type A so I would spend forever trying to make it smooth. Is there a trick to it. How about the top edges, those I cant even get sharp using a crusting bc.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated

The SMBC smooths very easily and the top edge gets sharp too. I sometimes use a spatula dipped in warm/hot water, quickly dried with papertowel then smooth over cake to cover little imperfections. A bench scraper maybe all you will need. That gets it very smooth. Since the BC has a lot of butter in it, I have found that smoothing is not so much of a problem compared to the powdered sugar buttercreams; with the exception of Sugar Shack.

Hope this help. It my fav BC.

Jeannie

I frost the cake and do what I like to call a "rough" smoothing with a bench scraper, which is still quite smooth, but I don't go for perfection. Then I chill the cake until the SMBC is completely solid. After that all I need is a bowl of hot water and a mini offset spatula and I work over any the rough spots and make the edges crisp. I get edges so sharp this way you'd swear you could cut yourself lol.

Ice the top first, trying to get it as level as you can. When you ice the sides build up a little wall that stands up over the top of the icing on the top of the cake. Run your bench scraper around the sides to get them smooth. Then sit so the top of the cake is at eye level and push your spatula away from you towards the center of your cake, lifting off the icing you just pushed across the top of the cake. Try to make sure your spatula is level as you do this. Work your way around the cake. This will give help you get those sharp edges.

OMGoodness I am so excited this is the first time that anyone has answered my questions about sharp edges with anything but buy sugarshacks videos (which I know are awesome I am just starting so money is an issue) I cant wait to try. I know it may seem like a no brainer of a technique to everyone who is more experienced but this is new to me. Thank you soooooo much.

When I first started out, I used the upside down technique, which is incredible for super sharp edges and a super flat top. You might want to check it out, too. Its pretty cool! I've found you don't have to follow all of the steps exactly as they describe them. For example, chilling a SMBC or IMBC on the board before you layer the cake on it makes for a ridge you can see from the top after the cake is flipped, so don't bother with that step. Just ice the board and build your cake. Flip it, let it chill really well (easy to do with all butter buttercreams) and peel off the paper. I preferred waxed paper because parchment gets wrinkly from the moisture in the icing.

http://www.cakecentral.com/article6-Upside-Down-Icing-Technique-for-Perfectly-Smooth-Icing.html