Im wanting to attempt a Frozen Buttercream Transfer or Reverse Buttercream Transfer (whatever its called!), but have a couple (way too many! ) questions...

Would acetate work better than parchment/greaseproof paper? And would the acetate need to be greased lightly for the transfer to release easily?

I was hoping to use IMBC...would this work?

How thick should it be? If I pipe with a fine tip then should I spread an extra BC layer straight over the top of the piping?

From memory I think you freeze the transfer 15 minutes before inverting it onto the cake, then freeze another 15 minutes before removing the backing does that sound about right?

Apologies for what are probably daft questions, but Im a bit buttercream-challenged! (I normally work with fondant & gumpaste) If anyone knows of a link to a good How To, thatd be great (I need all the help I can get! LOL)

Thanks!

(I did try a search, but didnt find any particularly helpful threads)

I've used wax paper and plastic wrap with crusting BC. The only time I ever had problems was when the icing was too thin, it stuck.

I've never used IMBC, so I don't know if it will work. I'd play with it and do something simple like a heart and see what happens. The keys are you need it to get hard and release from the backing.

I don't not spread any more icing on the back of mine. I usually outline with a tip 3. Sometimes I will pipe a second outline on top of it if I need things to be a little thicker. I fill in with a various round tips, usually the biggest being 8. If I have spots that are thinner than others I'll just pipe a little more icing on it. They don't have to be super thick.

I will put mine in the fridge for about 30 or so mins then flip it out onto the cake, and peal the backing away. You want to peal it as soon as it is on the cake. If you have problems you can stick it back in the freezer, but if you work quickly you shouldn't need to do that at all.

I want to say there is a how to in the article section of the site.

The Harley Davidson in my pics is FBCT. I just used wax paper taped over my mirror image I made. I figured out what was going to have the most color (which ended up being the black) so I did the white lettering first, stuck it in the freezer, then the orange, stuck it in the freezer, then piped the blace over top everthing so it filled in the nooks and crannies, then popped it in the freezer. When your hands touch it it warms pretty easy so I wear my vinyl gloves, flip it on the cake, and immediately take the wax paper off. This one was the first one I ever did and it really isnt hard at all! Good luck!!

I've let me outlines and other little lines crust before (like on the FFA emblem) but have never frozen it between steps. It thaws so quickly that to me it seems like before I even got the piping bag in my hand the outlines would be thawed.

Here's a great video ..

The graduation cake I did had two fbct's. Easy, peasy. Only thing I did wrong was I forgot to do mirror image on my first attempt. My "C" (Cougars) was backwards

I used Acetate once and it was a flop! Sucked because it looked so good. I froze it over night and it still stuck. I'm doing another cake next week (Mario Bros) and I'm going to attempt another FBCT. This time I'll use wax paper

I've used plastic wrap and wax paper for mine. I like the wax paper better personally.

Thanks Texas! I'll try the wax paper. I'm going to do a trial run this weekend to make sure it's a go.

Good luck!

Hmmm...I went and bought clear acetate sheets the other day, thinking that would be my best bet. I don't think we have 'wax paper' here in Australia, (well, not that I've come across anyway - but perhaps I could look a bit harder for it) we only have what is called 'baking'/'greaseproof' paper, which I think would be your 'parchment'.

Thanks for the tips everyone. I think I'll do as TexasSugar suggested and just try something simple first...I'd hate to spend ages piping something fancy only to have it stick & get ruined! I might try lightly greasing the acetate to see if that helps.