Hi All~
There is a lady in my area that has the website below.
She advertises the fondant look with the buttercream taste. Now, I've worked with rolled buttercream, and was not impressed. Looking at her cakes, what do you think she's using? Its clear that the cakes have a rolled icing on some of them, and aside from the fact that she obviously needs a new camera, they look fairly smooth. What say you?
http://www.cakeanatomy.com/Default.aspx
You can make a buttercream iced cake looked like a rolled icing cake. Just lop off that top edge and smoothie smooth it all out. Kinda takes a little getting used to but after a few it's easy peasy.
K8- I agree, I've done that before, but if you look at the photos, this is clearly a rolled icing, (or at least to my eyes it looks that way). There are even some pock-marks where this person rolled it out on a mat, and I see a few seams here and there.
i know some people do it with viva and a roller too, but again, I'm pretty sure this is not what is happening here.
On nearly all of the cakes, I absolutely see crusting buttercream smoothed with either a Viva paper towel or a sponge roller.
Her website states on the homepage that they use buttercream and make it look like fondant.
Rae
Maybe.
But naw I don't think it is rb. If you can't get rolled buttercream to do it and I can't get it to do it...I mean you gotta add gelatine and the g-stuff (glycerine or glucose) to get it to hold together and then you've got fondant--RB just doesn't hold up.
I think she's got a real real nice buttercream formula huh.
It doesn't have to be gritty but it could be done with gritty.
The ultimate g-word--grit.
Where did that come from??? 
"I'll have what she's having!! Make it a double!!!"
However, my thought that if its just viva-d buttercream, its gotta be really gritty, wouldn't it?
NOPE.
I can smooth my buttercream with Viva and it's never, ever gritty. I wouldn't use the recipe if it was.
Rae
Sorry, that's the only experience I've had with that method- someone I know used the method and the icing was terrible- more sugar than anything else. Glad to know it doesn't have to be so.
I'm still a little skeptical though. But since I'm not a viva/roller method expert, I'll accept the opinion of those who are....
All the ones i see are definetly buttercream iced and smoothed. Some are like mine, could be smoothed a little more. She has nice cakes on her site. the ball cap , fools me. if that is buttercream and smoothed (WOW!) looks like fondant covered. Nice site.
the bakery I used to work for used to make really good "fondant look" buttercream cakes. They would use water in a spray bottle then smooth it with a thin bendy piece of plastic like a piece cut out of the front of one of those folders with a clear front. It's amazing how fondant like you can make buttercream look that way.
I'm not actually planning on learning the technique, I just like to know my competition. Its fun to see how everyone in the area operates, and it also helps when doing tastings- I then know what the bride is talking about when she says, "well there was a bakery I heard of that does buttercream that looks like fondant, have you heard of that?"
Although you never know, the bottom could fall out and I might have the time to learn something
new... there are many times I would love to go back to just playing!
If this is the viva method, it does look like it takes a LOT of practice, and I do admire those with the patience to do it. I fully admit that I lack the patience gene when it comes to stuff like this!
Here's a tutorial on that method:
http://cakecentral.com/articles/71/how-to-create-faux-fondant-the-paper-smoothing-towel-method-viva
I ice all my cakes in buttercream and in the past year I have starting using a 6 inch stainless steel putty knife (Kobalt at Lowes) and a high density foam roller. No crusting required and the roller can be washed out and reused, I even cleared it with my health inspector.
I hope to never be near rolled buttercream again. I looked like a monkey doing math trying to work with that stuff.
That is totally a crusting BC that cane be smoothed.... I do it on occasion, I don't use VIVA though, I use a FOAM paint roller. The trick is in your final coat, getting it as smooth as possible, then allowing it to crust and going over it. It's not hard and a lot easier to work with than fondant in my opinion. Now if only my BC came out that smooth w/o air bubbles lol...
Maybe you're right. However, my thought that if its just viva-d buttercream, its gotta be really gritty, wouldn't it? Maybe not?
I'm curious on why you would think if it's "just" buttercream, then it must be gritty? 
Sorry, that's the only experience I've had with that method- someone I know used the method and the icing was terrible- more sugar than anything else. Glad to know it doesn't have to be so.
I'm still a little skeptical though. But since I'm not a viva/roller method expert, I'll accept the opinion of those who are....
I'm confused on why you think the method (rather than the recipe) would make an icing gritty?
I smooth with viva, and can get it to look like fondant, and I am only a hobby baker.........it is not that hard at all
Debi~
I was told (by this person afore mentioned) that in order to use the viva method, you must use a very firm, thick icing. Like I said, that is my only interaction with it. I'm glad to hear that it is not the case, as I have never really looked into it, I really like working with fondant.
I may have to go grab a roller (a new one
and try it myself sometime!
you don't need a roller...viva and my hand works
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