Diamond Impression Mat Vs. 3 Diamond Cutter
Decorating By Rysmom05 Updated 26 Jun 2011 , 7:54am by MaryAnnPriest
I am going to be making my moms 80th birthday cake next month and wanted to do the quilting look on buttercream. I have the diamond impression mat and tried it out once and had some trouble getting the 'impressions' to show up real well, and also some of the frosting stuck to the impression mat. I was considering ordering the 3 diamond cutter, but before I spend that kind of money on it, I was wondering if someone could tell me if the cutter works well with buttercream. How do you keep your frosting from sticking to the cutter each time you pull it away from the cake? Anyone have any advice on which would be better to use with buttercream and/or what the best way to do this would be? Thanks in advance!!!
Out of concern for exactly what you mentioned, icing sticking to the mat, I opted to purchase the diamond quilter from Sugar Delites. I will be using it for the first time on a buttercream iced wedding cake for next weekend and will report back with how it goes.
What I do is to run my quilting impression cutter under hot water every other impression. The warmth keeps the cutter from sticking.
I generally only use the metal quilter on fondant cakes, but you all have some really good ideas for using it on icing.
Jennifer
I found a tutorial on how to make your own inexpensive impression mat. http://cakes.keyartstudio.com/tutorials.html?layout=category. She also has how to make a ribbon cutter. Good luck
Thank you sacakesandbakes for the link. It will be very useful!
I am sorry I can not help the OP but I only have the plastic mat and have only use it on fondant, and it was not easy!
Good luck with whatever medium you use.
CIAO
I have the plastic impression mat, and I just dust it lightly with cornstarch and tap off the excess between impressions. Works fine, but I always go over my lines with a stitching wheel. I'd love to get the diamond quilter, though, because the impressions are just so much sharper.
As promised, here's my report after using the diamond quilter on buttercream icing. Yes, it did work but not nearly as well as on fondant. If I could have made my buttercream a lot stiffer it would have undoubtedly been better, but of course then it would have been impossible to ice the cake!
I was not able to use the little stitching wheel as the buttercream was way too soft, so it wasn't nearly as attractive without it.
Bottom line: I think I will reserve the diamond quilter for fondant only.
I use my plastic diamond mat on buttercream. Make sure it has crusted over really well. And I wipe it with a papertowel after each impression.
I have used the plastic mat on buttercream, but I have to go over it with a stitching wheel. For that reason I prefer the diamond cutter for fondant.
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