I've never done a FBCT and am excited to try the technique. But I"m wondering if:

1) I can re-freeze the cake after I've completed the transfer? Is this a "no no"?
2) Do I have to wait until it thaws, then freeze?
I like to work ahead, so I have some cushioning....
3)When you fill in the design, do you use a star tip?? Is that the most common? What size?
4) How to I get a reverse image? That may seem stupid, but I have no idea?
5) Do many people make their own designs for FBCT? I'm looking for an alternative to cutting out fondant and painting (which I currently do and it's LOTS of work)?

Any other tips would be greatly appreciated. I did look at the tutorial and it was helpful but didnt' answer all my questions!
TIA

I'm going to try and answer these as best I can... until someone can come along and offer better wisdom for you:

1. Yes you can, but I believe everyone says you might have an issue with the cake sweating as it thaws.
2. I'm not understanding too well... are you talking about the cake? And do you mean if the cake is frozen prior to the FBCT? If that is what you mean, no. I would take the frozen cake out, put the FBCT on the cake and stick it back in the freezer. About a day before hand, I'd thaw it slow and controlled by putting it in the fridge.
3. I'd just use a round tip... like a #2 for fine or outline and then a bigger tip to fill in larger areas if needed. The buttercream should be thin enough to fill in on its own.. not have to dots stars together.
4. If you have a Photoshop (or whatever editting software) for the image, just reverse it before you print it. Lay your parchment on it and trace. When you put the FBCT on the cake it will be right side up. Or trace the image on parchment, flip it over and pipe it on the backside of the tracing.
5. No reason why you can't use your own designs... if you can draw it, you can make a FBCT of it. Do like above, draw it, flip the parchment and pipe.

HTH for now.

Hi thanks for the response... by #2 what I meant was: if I'm using a BC decorated cake (not frozen) and I put the FBCT on, do I have to wait for the FBCT to thaw before freezing the entire cake? And should I even be freezing the cake with the FBCT on it??

I'm leery because I saw a post by someone on the tutorial page, where she had left the FBCT in the freezer for 2 days before applying to the cake and it didn't wouldn't work. I hear 24 hours max for the FBCT .

But maybe that rule only applies to freezing the FBCT BEFORE you actually put it on the cake???
TIA

The FBCT will actually thaw with in minutes of coming out of the freezer. That is why you have to work fast to get it on the cake.

Once it is on the cake I treat it like any other decorations, so I can't see an issue of freezing it again if the cake needs to be frozen since you can freeze a decorate cake. The only issue would be condensation, which would be an issue with any frozen cake. Just keep the cake completely wrapped until it is thawed and that shouldn't be a problem.

I don't leave my transfers in the freezer that long. Mine are usually in there 20-40 mins unless it is taking me longer to ice the cake or something. One of the things I love about them is that I don't have to do them hours or days ahead of time.

I use a soft medium icing and use round tips. I out line in a 1, 2 or 3 depending on the image and how thin the outline needs to be. I fill in with a 3-8 round tip. Smaller tips for smaller spaces and large tips if I have a larger area to fill in.

Make sure your transfer is about a quarter of an inch thick. If it is too thin it will thaw before you can get it on the cake and there for will stick and not want to come off the backing.

I don't see why you can't do your own design for these. I use them when I have to do something specific since I can't free hand things. There should be several pictures of them in my photos.