Buttercream!

Decorating By Jeff1978 Updated 6 Jul 2010 , 6:03pm by JaeRodriguez

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Jeff1978 Posted 2 Jul 2010 , 11:12pm
post #1 of 11

How much buttercream do you put on the cake before the fondant? How can you tell when the buttercream has " crusted" enough to apply the fondant? I'm such a beginner!

10 replies
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Aeropanda Posted 2 Jul 2010 , 11:25pm
post #2 of 11

Many people will say that you need to let the buttercream set for at least 3 hours. This allows the cake to settle and helps guard against the "bulge" you find in a lot of fondant covered cakes. I'm not gonna be much help with the amount. I try to not be to stingy with the filling and icing, so I use quite a bit. The Wilton Cake Data chart has some guidelines for how much icing it takes to fill, ice and decorate different size cakes. HTH

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Jeff1978 Posted 2 Jul 2010 , 11:34pm
post #3 of 11

So does this mean I can use a lot of buttercream? 3 hours wow!

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CrumblesConfections Posted 2 Jul 2010 , 11:40pm
post #4 of 11

I'm pretty much a beginner myself and I always do my cakes in a hurry and I just spread a thin layer of icing and put the cake in the freezer for about 20 minutes. It has worked for me so far. HTH

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Jeff1978 Posted 2 Jul 2010 , 11:44pm
post #5 of 11

Doesn't the cake sweat and cause problems wit the fondant?

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artscallion Posted 2 Jul 2010 , 11:46pm
post #6 of 11

Welcome, Jeff!

I ice about 1/4" to 1/3" thick under fondant. I use non-crusting buttercream under fondant. You have to wet the surface to get the fondant to stick anyway, so I'm not sure why some folks bother with crusting? Maybe someone else can speak to that. Maybe they like it to be crusting as that's the way they like to smooth it.

Personally, I torte and fill.
Then I let it sit 4-8 hours to settle (before applying the buttercream)
Then I apply a crumb coat.
Chill for an hour.
Apply my full coat of non-crusting BC.
Smooth with a hot offset spatula and a hot bench scraper.
Let chill in fridge 8 hours to overnight.
Take out of the fridge, run wet hands over to give it a final smooth and get it sticky so the fondant will adhere. Immediately cover with fondant while it's still firm from the fridge.
Let sit in fridge for an hour so fondant will set.
Let sit out at room temp overnight so that any problems surface before I decorate the next day.

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Jeff1978 Posted 3 Jul 2010 , 12:21am
post #7 of 11

I don't have that much time.

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JaeRodriguez Posted 3 Jul 2010 , 2:07am
post #8 of 11

Jeff, There is a thread where Leah_s tells how she uses a tile on top of the cake to cause the 4-8hour settling to happen in about 30 minutes, I think she says it's a 12 inch tile? I can't quite remember I will search and see if I can find the thread for you! But you want it to settle because if it doesnt it could cause air bubbles that just get bigger and bigger under the fondant, and I mean BIG!

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JaeRodriguez Posted 3 Jul 2010 , 2:12am
post #9 of 11

Here is a quote I found from Leah_s on a thread where she mentions the tile but I couldn't find the thread! Sorry, maybe PM her if you need further instructions?

Quote:Torte, fill, wrap in plastic film, then place a ceramic at least as big as the cake on top and let it sit. The ceramic tile is just the right amount of weight. I posted this a month or so ago and other are reporting success. No more bulges.

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artscallion Posted 3 Jul 2010 , 10:47am
post #10 of 11

I Found Leah's thread...

http://tinyurl.com/3ay4gbf

In it she says,

"Put the cake on a board. Fill. Wrap in plastic wrap. Then put a ceramic tile on top. Wait 2 or 3 hours. The ceramic tile should be about the size of the cake..."

While it's not 30 minutes, it will save you some time if it's not too late. Settling is one of the most important steps to covering cakes in fondant. Otherwise you can get the bubbles jae refers to. They can push out the whole side of your cake. So, even if you don't have 2 or 3 hours, I'd do it for as long as you can.

Let us know how everything comes out.

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JaeRodriguez Posted 6 Jul 2010 , 6:03pm
post #11 of 11

I wonder what he decided to do.

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