I have finally decided the direction I want to go with this hobby, and I feel so happy with it. I want to stay with all buttercream frosting instead of using fondant. (Love the look of fondant, but not the taste). I will continue to use fondant/gum paste accents, but I want to learn piping and piping flowers. I just purchased the old Wilton Way to Decorating Vol 3, and am SO AMAZED at the flowers that can be piped.

Does anyone know of anyone who teaches this? Don't say the Wilton classes, as I did take that Wilton class. (not what I was looking for). Any help would be appreciated.........Thanks...............Kay

BTT. Anyone have ideas?

It probably depends where you're located. There aren't any classes around here to speak of, I've started teaching some but other than the Wilton classes it's few and far between. Some cities have more classes than others.

You might need to do some traveling to find someone offering classes like that. Or look at Youtube for some video.

I have heard of some people on here who found some really cool Lambeth method books...

I am a lot like you...I'd love to be able to get away with just buttercream and not have to do much fondant. I love to pipe.

Buttercream only cakes can be phenomenal. I was watching Food Network Challenge last night. The theme was a wedding cake at least 6 ft. tall (or taller). Bronwen Webber won with a 6 ft 7 inch ALL BUTTERCREAM cake. I think that may be a first for "Challenge"
Her piping was outstanding. Buddy Velastro is also one of the best at piping buttercream on cakes.

You will probably have to do some real searching to find a class, but don't give up.

Good Luck to you.

I think it may just be a dying art, especially with the craze over fondant. I started with a Wilton class 13 years ago, and had a phenomenal instructor. I took class 2 with her too. Fast forward 10 years, I took class 3 just to have all 3, so I could teach a Wilton class, and the instructor stunk so bad, it was sad. I didn't want to be better at buttercream than my teacher, I wanted to learn more.

For me, I learned the most from old Wilton books and trial and error. I know you said not Wilton, but the older stuff, from the 70's, wow, there was technique there! The Wilton Way Of Decorating volumes 1,2 & 3 are expensive, (used, they're out of print) but I taught myself so much from them. There's a lot of buttercream things you can do by just seeing a close up pic, you can get the idea of what you're supposed to do. And there's so many more tips than just the stars and leaf tips and a few others that a lot of current Wilton yearbooks show. I have all the yearbooks from the 70's and the ones from the last 10 years are, for me, a waste of space on my shelf. Even if the cake style itself was ugly or weird colors in the 70's and 80's, the different techniques are in there, neat borders, layering of different tips, it's just neat. I'd say a great start would be the WIlton volume that was for tips. It shows the hundreds of tips and what you can do with them. Stuff Wilton hasn't shown how to do in forever.

I just got that old Wilton Way vol 3 book, and I am IN LOVE! I'm hoping to learn all that's in there, but I think you also need the pattern book that goes with each one. I can't find the pattern book to volume 3.

EIEIO, did you have the associated pattern books that went w/ the Wilton Way encyclopedias?

I want to search for some classes like this. I think this piping art is phenomenal.

Don't know where you are located. But Earlene Moore who is in Amarillo, TX teaches a BC course that is amazing. I took a one day mini course from her and absolutely loved it. Keep hoping I can get the money and find the time to go to her 4 day class in Amarillo for the extended version of her BC class. She is an amazing cake decorator and teacher.

When I started "decorating cakes" I won't say how many years ago, just several. With not much money I bought a micky mouse pan from JC Penny's and decorated it with stars. that was for my oldests son's 5th birthday.
From there I went to the libriary and checked out books and with the wilton books started practicing. I have to say I threw many buttercream roses away before I felt they were good enough to place on a cake.
I have done many royal icing flowers over the years for many cakes and then I took the advanced course through wilton. I found I was basically doing the flowers the correct way.
Sorry so long but practice makes perfect. Good luck.

Kay, I never bought the pattern books for any of Wilton's books.

I don't remember which Wilton Encyclopedia is which, but do you have the one with all the tips and what they do?? I LOVE that book.

KayMc, as far as the pattern books, look at the Wilton site first and go to the Pattern Locater link. They have patterns for everything from about 1976 or so to the present. If you want a specific pattern that is older than that, go to the Wilton site, or CC, and post a very specific thread title "Need pattern from 1966 Celebration book, Mermaid" and see if someone can scan and email the pattern.

Teachers: Call the cake clubs in your area and ask if they or someone in your area has been doing cakes for 20-30 years and do they teach classes? (Any decorator doing cakes for 20-30 years learned with BC!) Also you can go to the ICES website link for cake decorators and find one near you. Here's the link: http://www.ices.org/links/confectioneryartists.html

Here's a copy of a recent post where I gave the ISBN's for the 3 Vol. Wilton Encyclopedias:
A great suggestion that I found on line when I began cake decorating in the Wilton courses in March 2010: Find the old 1970's Wilton encyclopedias on half.com or eBay or Alibris.com and buy them! There are 3 volumes, 1, 2 and 3 and they illustrate all the "old" techniques, which of course, were mostly BC They show how to pipe people and animals and all sorts of stuff!

The Wilton Way of Cake Decorating, Volume One
ISBN 0912696044
Originally published in 1974.

The Wilton Way of Cake Decorating, Volume Two
ISBN 0 912696 11 7
Originally published 1977

The Wilton Way of Cake Decorating, Volume Three
ISBN 0 912696 16 8
Originally published 1979

If you search online to purchase, BE VERY SURE they are the Encyclopedia Volumes 1, 2 or 3. Many book sellers list the wrong books! (They will list any of a number of old Wilton books that will not be what you want.) My versions say on the cover of each book "Volume 1, A complete encyclopedia" (and so on for Vol 2 and 3).

I don't know about classes, but look up Roland Winblecker. (Someone please correct me if I spelled that wrong.) He has some books that use just buttercream, flowers and figure piping.

Yes! Roland and his wife are amazing BC artists as well!

Thank you to everyone for your assistance. I'm going to work on these now!

where are you located at?

When you say you took the Wilton class, are you referring to the craft store class, or the Master Class they offer outside of Chicago?

The Master Class used to teach a lot of piping skills.

Theresa

I live in central PA. I've taken the local wilton class, not their Master class. That's an idea looking into, as well. Thanks!