I just finished my first cake and I used a BC icing recipe on here I think it's by deb... I cut the recipe in half because I made a small cake, but when I made it it tasted like straight crisco. I used salted butter as I didn't have any unsalted and I'm wondering if that has something to do with it, or maybe I just messed up on my measurements? Also I made the bow on top with fondant and I have no clue if I should have let the ribbons set longer because once i put it together they started to flatten... I made some things for the cake out of royal icing but didn't use them, as they didn't dry, how long does it usually take for royal icing to dry completely? I am a cake dummy and have no CLUE how any of it works so if you have any basic tips I'd appreciate them! Thanks ahead of time for taking the time to answer a cake dummy's questions! :]

Welcome Jaefamous! There's no cake dummies on this site unless cc sells the styrofoam kind. lol Let me see if I can help with some of your concerns. Are you referring to Indydebi's recipe? If so, I've never used it and I'm not saying that the salted butter was the villian in your bc. I've only used unsalted butter and I do know that salt can cut sweetness and it can also enhance flavors. (maybe the salt enhanced the crisco). If that's the recipe you used, did you use the dream whip not it adding might be the reason you got the crisco taste. What was the recipe you used and how much crisco did it say to use?

As far as the fondant bow, again I haven't tried one yet. Did you use all fondant, fondant w/tylose or 50/50 fondant gumpaste.? From my understanding, if you use all fondant it would take longer to dry (days). Did you use anything to hold the bows shape? Not doing this and using all fondant and not drying long enough would result in the problems you had.

What did you make out of royal icing? Royal icing when used to decorate cookies dries hard within 24-48 hrs (don't quote me on this) but that's for covering cookies or for small decorating details on cookies. I'm not sure how long it takes for it to dry when piping or stenciling a design on cakes. It sounds like you made something out of RI that was to be applied onto the cake after it dried; in that case I really couldn't tell you how long that takes to dry because I don't know exactly what you were making; how big it was or how long you allowed it to dry before you needed it. I probably didn't help much; but it gives you a starting point until someone more knowledgeable about RI comes along. Be careful this site is very addictive!!!!!!

I kinda have a rule.....never change a recipe you have never tried! And salted butter makes a HUGE diff in taste. JMO Try making exactly as the recipe states it should be and try it...see if it is any better.
Sometimes it takes a few times to work out the kinks.
I make my fondant bows with a 50/50 mix of fondant and gumpaste....while the bow is drying I keep a soft roll of papertowel in the loop to keep it pretty while it dries.
Royal Icing has a huge enemy....humidity! If it is rainy or humid it takes forever to set....could be the problem.
Welcome to CC....I hope you get your problems solved here....we are a goofy bunch with lots of info!!

It was deb's buttercream, by dmhart. I will definitely make the WHOLE recipe next time, and use unsalted butter! For the ribbon I did use only fondant, next time i will try 50/50, do I need to do 50/50 on any decorations I use? And voila, it was disgustingly wet outside today! I suppose that's why the royal icing was giving me a hard time! :] I was making little dots to put on the cake, btw. As for this site being addictive, I AM ALREADY! hehe I can't wait to start taking the Wilton classes, my cake was so easy I'm sure once I start to figure out the basics I will love it even more! Thank you!!

JLsheik, while waiting for Jaefamous to respond to our replies, I looked in your photos. I love your cakes and I wanted to ask you about the funky letter cutters you used on your Super Mario cake. How thin do you have to roll your fondant to be able to cut and handle the letters without them loosing their shape when applying to the cake. They look so perfect on the tops and sides of cakes, it makes it seem like it's easy to handle. Did you use the new mexican paste from Global Sugar art.

Jaefamous, so you used RI to make dots to be placed on the cakes after they dried. If you feel like you don't want to risk that again because of weather you might want to pipe the royal icing on the cake. (don't know if this solution would work in humid weather) Fondant or mmf (marshmallow fondant) is another way to go. Use round cutters or any shape cutters you like preferable mini cutters (wilton makes fondant cutters it sets of three or four) if you want real small dots, you could use the end of round tips maybe #4 and up.

I just use fondant for my bows, but I let them dry for a day at least. I hang the loops over a 1" dowel.

Humidity can affect fondant just like it can affect royal icing.

I will definitely try a round tip for my royal icing dots and do them at least a day in advance! and hanging the ribbons on a dowel seems like it would work PERFECTLY! :]

I think you have misunderstood what I said about the round tip. If you didn't then I apologize and please disregard. You can either pipe the RI or bc dots straight onto the cake with the round tip or if you want dots but not RI or bc you can use the narrow end of round tips like a cookie cutter for small dots using fondant or mmf. Like I said if you didn't misunderstand me I apologize.