So I've been doing cakes now for about 13 years...and I am still running into this problem which makes me want to slam my head into the counter/refrigerator/window/any available hard surface. I can get smooth sides on my cake-no problem. But a LEVEL iced top? No way. The actual cake is level, but I am seriously having difficulties when it comes to getting the top level and smooth.

Usually I crumb coat, then put a giant blob on the top and work it onto the sides, go around it with a scraper a thousand times, then take the "collar" of icing around the edges over the top.

Am I missing something? Luckily I put a bunch of crap on top and on the ledges of my cakes (when they are stacked), borders, etc. to hide the unevenness, but I have a cake coming up where the top edges should really look smooth and crisp (with no borders-eek!). I read about the upside down method which I was thinking about trying, but it seems so cumbersome and time-consuming.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Annie

You could try icing the cake upside down. Here's a link to a tutorial on how to do that.

http://cakecentral.com/articles/69/upside-down-icing-technique-for-perfectly-smooth-icing

Yeah I had looked at that method, but it seems like it's very time consuming and from what I've read it only works about half the time.

I was just wondering what the tricks were for those who get those perfectly level even iced tops.

Thanks!

I use Linda McClure's method and cut off my icing with the agbay... works like a charm.

I've used the upside down method but I'm too chicken to try it on anything larger than an 8". Once I did a bit of practising with it, I've found it less time consuming than repeatedly fiddling with trying to get the top even and the edges sharp the usual way...and the upside down method never fails. It's the larger sizes that stump me.

Yeah, I know what you mean about not doing it on large cakes. The problem is, the biggest tier is 14 inches so I will definitely need to be able to flip it.

Pink Piggie, do you have any info about the Linda McClure method? I don't have an Agbay but I'm sure that would make my life easier in more ways than one!

Thanks again!

Annie

You pretty much set the agbay to the low point on your cake and then slowly work it through, scraping off the extra icing as you go. You do this about halfway and then start on the other side. Then you just smooth the cake with a small amount of buttercream and your preferred smoothing method.

Oh ok. That sounds like it would be good if I had an Agbay-you are so lucky to have one! I was just checking out Sharon Z's video about buttercream and it looks like she may have some good tips in there. I have been wanting that video for a while now so I may go ahead and pick it up.

I may give the upside down method a try and see if I can get it to work.

Thanks!

Annie

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31ikXWTjQGL._SL500_AA300_.jpg That.

Checking out Sharron's DVD is a MUST!! She has the neatest little trick I NEVER would have thought of, and never heard any one suggest! My cakes come out with perfectly level and smooth tops (and sides!)

I've also starting using the Agbay for getting a level top. I build up a good bit of icing on the top and then "slice" it off. Easy and quick.

Just another reason to buy the Agbay!

I tried the upside down method for the first time last week - the pic is in my photos, it's the chocolate 4th of July cake. I was THRILLED with the results and will probably use this method from here on out. For everything. It really didn't take me much longer with this method because I usually crumb coat then chill then frost then chill again - same steps exactly except for the time to flip it and wait to peal back the wax paper - and the perfect results are SO worth it. With larger size cakes, I think it wouldn't be too hard to flip it as long as you had something large enough and sturdy on the top and bottom. =)

Thanks for this info, I'm having the same trouble.

Thanks a lot for all of your suggestions. I am now racking up more reasons to buy an Agbay!! Woot!

I just bought the Sharon Z video. Hopefully I can learn something before this damn cake on the 30th.

http://blog.pinkcakebox.com/4-tier-wedding-cake-5-2007-07-21.htm

This is similar to what I think she is looking for. She sent me 23 pictures and all of them had a couple of things in common-no flowers, Swiss dots, and ribbon around each tier. I really like PCB's designs and I was lucky enough to find one buttercream cake in the mix of wedding designs to show her. I don't know if she's going with the dots yet. But I really like the edges on that cake!

Thanks again ya'll!

I use the method I learnd from Linda McClure and use my Agbay leveler. I can level the icing on the top of any cake in a matter of a few minutes. I cover my cakes with fondant, so extra smoothing is not necessary.

Jeff!

Thanks for chiming in! I thought I had seen your cakes a while back and you had mentioned something about that method. I didn't know you developed it!

I was planning on using a recipe with half butter/half shortening. Do you think that would work?

I am a pretty strong girl so I think I can handle larger tiers. I think as long as you have a cookie sheet or something to help you with the flipping then the upside down method can work for larger tiers.

When I mentioned about it working half the time, it was because I had done a Google search and found some older threads where it worked great for some people but not so great for others. I think it had a lot to do with whether or not they were using waxed paper or parchment, and how long they were letting the cake chill.

Jeff, do you have a buttercream recipe you can share? I trust a recipe from the creator dude, but if you can't share I understand.

Thanks so much everyone for keeping this thread going with your awesome ideas!

Annie

Jeff,

Thanks so much for your help and for sharing that recipe. I am definitely going to try this method. Hopefully I can get plenty of practice in before this cake on the 30th!

Thanks again!

Annie