1. How long have you been decorating cakes? Approx 1 1/2 yrs2. How many cakes do you make a week or a month? 3-4 a month3. Who do you most admire as a cake decorator? Jackie Butler - her sugar flowers are unbelievable
4. What type of buttercream are you using? The regular kind?? haha I'm not sure what other kinds there are, lol. I just use 1/2 butter, 1/2 shortening & PS, normally only for filling, I use ganache for crumb coat5. How do you level your cakes? Wilton leveler for now... saving for an Agbay!!
6. What type of fondant are you using? Fondariffic
7. Do you use cornstarch, powdered sugar or just shortening when working with fondant? Mostly corn starch
8. Do you refrigerate your fondant-covered cakes? No
9. What do you use as a support system in tiered cakes? If it's a two tiered cake, I use bubble tea straws, anything bigger than that I use dowels.
10. Do you travel with tiered cakes already stacked or stack on site? They're stacked and ready to go before I leave on delivery. Even my Jimmy Buffet cak ewas delivered completely stacked, and I just added the flowers and limes at the party.

I love this thread really interesting & I loved reading all the replies




1. How long have you been decorating cakes? A year & a bit
2. How many cakes do you make a week or a month? Lol Cupcakes 2-3 times a month
3. Who do you most admire as a cake decorator? I cant pick one
4. What type of buttercream are you using? lol The normal one ... crisco based....
5. How do you level your cakes? tap the pan on the floor lool
6. What type of fondant are you using? Satin Ice
7. Do you use cornstarch, powdered sugar or just shortening when working with fondant? Shortening
8. Do you refrigerate your fondant-covered cakes? (cupcakes)Nope
9. What do you use as a support system in tiered cakes? ___
10. Do you travel with tiered cakes already stacked or stack on site?___

1. How long have you been decorating cakes? since I was about 12 and I am 30 now umm so that makes it 18 years.

2. How many cakes do you make a week or a month? On a good week 2 to 3, on a bad week 0 to 1. Sometimes I have a bad week or two with no cake orders, as I just started my business, then all of sudden I'll get a bunch of orders in a row.

3. Who do you most admire as a cake decorator? my grandmother in law, god rest her soul, who taught me so much about decorating and other things.

4. What type of buttercream are you using? I use a recipe that includes shortening, butter, powdered sugar and almond extract

5. How do you level your cakes? free hand, with a knife, my eyes, my husband's eyes my eyes again and a small level.

6. What type of fondant are you using? I have used MMF, but I really suck at making it, so for now good ol' store bought until I rejuvenate my patience enough to try MMF again.

7. Do you use cornstarch, powdered sugar or just shortening when working with fondant? I use very little cornstarch on my rolling mat.

8. Do you refrigerate your fondant-covered cakes? Sometimes, but I try not to, as there's been times it has ruined it.

9. What do you use as a support system in tiered cakes? the whole shabang. I've used straws, wooden dowels and plastic dowels. Not particularly all in one cake though.

10. Do you travel with tiered cakes already stacked or stack on site? I travel with them already stacked, but I've never made a cake more than 3 tiers.

1. How long have you been decorating cakes? For 10 years. I only wanted to make my daughters 1st b'day cake, and here I am, ten years later.

2. How many cakes do you make a week or a month? 2-4 per month.

3. Who do you most admire as a cake decorator? Too many to list them all, but I absolutely love Edna and Sharon, not only for their crazy-ninja cake skills, but because any time I've EVER asked either of them a question, they were over the top helpful.

4. What type of buttercream are you using? Sharons recipe. Love love love it.

5. How do you level your cakes? If it's just for my fam, push-down. If it's leaving my house, a large knife. I've used the Wilton leveler in the past and it's a pain. Putting an Agbay on my Christmas list!

6. What type of fondant are you using? MMF. It's not hard to make, and I can throw together a big batch in just about 10 min. It's the only fondant my husband will eat.

7. Do you use cornstarch, powdered sugar or just shortening when working with fondant? If it's just small pieces for decoration, I'll use cornstarch. If it's to cover a cake, nothing beats my Mat!!!

8. Do you refrigerate your fondant-covered cakes? Nope. I do refrig BC cakes.

9. What do you use as a support system in tiered cakes? If it's not leaving my house, bubble tea straws. If it has to travel, SPS. Once I tried it, there was no going back!

10. Do you travel with tiered cakes already stacked or stack on site? I prefer to travel with them stacked. It depends.

1. A year
2. Approximately 2 a month
3. Rylan, Mich Turner, Eddie Spence, Ron Ben Isreal and lots more!
4. I use Italian meringue buttercream for fillings. Ganache under fondant.
5. Agbay and spirit level when decorated
6. Jennifer Dontz's semi homemade fondant
7. All 3
8. No
9. Straws
10. Stacked

1. How long have you been decorating cakes? That's a jaded question. I took a class 20 years and did some simple ones for about 2 years, then stopped. I just recently picked it back up in 2010
2. How many cakes do you make a week or a month? sometimes 10 but mostly just low numbers
3. Who do you most admire as a cake decorator? Hmmm, I like Sharon Z's Creations and also Christopher Garren's.
4. What type of buttercream are you using? Usually Wilton recipe, but I have been experimenting with others recently.
5. How do you level your cakes? Wilton's large cake leveler, I don't trust my eyes
6. What type of fondant are you using? Sometimes Fondex, Wilton or MMF
7. Do you use cornstarch, powdered sugar or just shortening when working with fondant? combineation of cornstarch and PS depending on what I am doing.
8. Do you refrigerate your fondant-covered cakes? No.
9. What do you use as a support system in tiered cakes? Dowels, either wooden or plastic, or straws. It depends on the cake.
10. Do you travel with tiered cakes already stacked or stack on site? Small ones I carry together but larger I carry seperate.

1. A little over 4 years.
2. 1 - 2 wedding cakes/weekend...4 - 8 wedding cakes/month.
3. Too many to list.
4. Sugar Shack buttercream.
5. Agbay
6. Fondarific
7. Cornstarch
8. If the filling needs refrigeration, then yes. I always refrigerate my buttercream cakes though.
9. Bubble Tea Straws and 2 dowels offset through the entire cake.
10. I can fit a stacked 3 tier cake in the trunk of my car. If the cake is more than 3 tiers, the rest of the tiers are stacked on site.

1. 3-4 yrs
2. hmm, maybe 6-7 cakes a month
3. i love them all, they are all an inspiration
4. from scratch italian buttercream
5. with a long serrated knife
6. Carma- massa ticino (for tropical climates)
7. it depends on how my fondant is acting that day
8. Once covered in fondant, we chill them down before delivering and sometimes overnight
9. PVC and chopsticks for top tier
10. I work at a hotel, so we usually stack then deliver to the site of the reception, but it depends on the cake style.

1. How long have you been decorating cakes? For about 4 years2. How many cakes do you make a week or a month? I average about 4 cakes a week. Last week, I did 8!!
3. Who do you most admire as a cake decorator? I LOVE Toba Garrett, Cake Boss, Mike McCrary, Debbie Does Cakes, Tonedna, SugarShack, FromScratch
4. What type of buttercream are you using? Buttercream Dream or Toba Garrett's BC
5. How do you level your cakes? Wilton wire leveler
6. What type of fondant are you using? Fondx
7. Do you use cornstarch, powdered sugar or just shortening when working with fondant? powdered sugar. I use shortening when I'm mixing in colors.
8. Do you refrigerate your fondant-covered cakes? yep
9. What do you use as a support system in tiered cakes? Bubble straws
10. Do you travel with tiered cakes already stacked or stack on site? Already stacked.

1. How long have you been decorating cakes? Off and on for about 13 years, but got serious about 4 years ago. Steadily been doing cakes for 4 yrs.

2. How many cakes do you make a week or a month? It varies, but the most I've ever made in a month is 6 cakes. It has gotten busier lately.

3. Who do you most admire as a cake decorator? My mom, She is the one who taught me the basics. Many of the CC'ers here like tonedna, indydebi, khalstead, kitagrl, catlharper, and sugarshack. I also like Norman Davis and Collette Peters.

4. What type of buttercream are you using? 50/50 butter/shortening recipe. French vanilla buttercream here lately.

5. How do you level your cakes? Freehand with a serrated knife.

6. What type of fondant are you using? Homemade MMF

7. Do you use cornstarch, powdered sugar or just shortening when working with fondant? I have used them all.

8. Do you refrigerate your fondant-covered cakes? No

9. What do you use as a support system in tiered cakes? Wooden dowels, bubble straws

10. Do you travel with tiered cakes already stacked or stack on site? Already stacked, but I"ve never done anything over a 3 tier.

Thanks for sharing all your info! And especially for the info on the "compression" method. I can't wait to try it!