Hi Guys,
Every time I ice a cake with bc, it comes out lumpy!!! I still use the wilton (medium) recipe (I still consider myself a newbie) and the icing comes out good it's just lumpy. I do use the viva paper towel method to smooth and it does help a little bit. I just would like my cakes to come out "flawless" like a bakery cake or even the ones here in our gallery!! Please help, I'll need all the tips I can get!!

Just to make myself clear....the icing itself is not lumpy; it's simply when I ice the cake it doesn't appear smooth. You are able to see bumps.

You should be using the thin consistancy of Wilton's class B'cream to ice a cake.
Add a bit more liquid to the recipe. Don't go overboard You can always add more but it's hard to correct if you get it too thin.

Yes -- to ice a cake you need thin consistency BC.

I think it may be a consistancy issue too...just thin it just a bit. Also, you have to apply a bit of pressure with your spatula or I use a large putty knife. The pressure with the paper towel will help you manipulate that BC to get it where you want it to go.

I said the same thing to my daughter yesterday because she is using the same bowl of BC I was but it was just not smooth... and I realized she was just barely putting any pressure while smoothing. I think she was scared to push it around. But you have to give it a litttle time to crust or you will end up with it stuck to the paper towel...lol

Keep practicing you will get it!!

Thanks guys!! I defiently appreciate all the help!! I will be trying thinning it out and go from there!!

Stay tuned!!

I had the most difficult time w/smoothing my icing as well. However, I hve startd using hi-ration shortening and cannot being to tell you what a difference it has made. It is a little bit more expensive than crisco (or whatever brand they sell at the regular stores). But, it is worth it as it cuts the smoothing time in half. I rarely have issues w/smoothing my cakes now.