I haven't seen this around yet but I had my 1st Wilton class several nights ago. Our instructor quickly smoothed a bc cake using a spray bottle. She generously sprayed water all over the cake and then used her spatula to smooth. She said the water evaporates and if you mess up, just spray again and start over. It turned out pretty well for being in a warm room (where bc didn't crust all the way) and for doing it in a short amount of time.

Never heard of that before...interesting.

I friend of mine who learned to decorate back in the 70s does that, too. I've yet to try it but may give it a whirl on my next cake.

I've heard that a lot of people do this. I do this too. If I dip my spatula in hot water to smooth, I don't wipe the water off. The water helps lubricate the surface of the icing so you get less resistance and fewer spatula marks.

I only do this with American buttercream, because when I use a hot spatula with IMBC it makes the buttercream brown and spotty in areas for some reason.

I wonder if it's an old trick...

I'm going to try it in class next Monday and see how it comes out. Her spatula wasn't hot or anything either...

Funny story, when I heard her say "I'm going to show you a trick. You won't see this in tv. How to smooth your cake with a spray bottle".

So I'm imagining her using the actual bottle and rolling it on the cake (sorta like the roller method).

She then proceeds to take out a spray bottle that was hanging out in her little cake tool box. It looked used and dirty. I know my eyes went: . But atlas, she used it to SPRAY the cake not roll it.

That sounds like a great idea. Thanks for sharing! I usually just use a hot spatula (dried of course) but I'm going to give it a spin next time. Does it give the buttercream a shiny effect though? I tend to like mine to look fairly matte.

Thank you for sharing. I'm going to try this next time.

Yeah this is definitely a "what once was old is new again" thing that I also learned back in the 70s. works even better with warm water .... a deviation of the spatula in hot water method. The warm water 'softens' the fat in the icing, like a hot spatula 'melts' the fat in the icing, making it easy to smooth.

Yes it did, it looked shiney but once it dried it just looked like crusted bc and there were no water spots.

And like I said, she sprayed it generously! I would had thought all that misting would had made the bc start running but I guess that's why she let it sit for a bit beforehand. Still, she mentioned how warm the room was (it was hot), so it didn't crust like she wanted it to.

careful using any type of warm/hot water method on colored icing. If the water runs, it can cause runs in the color.

I have been using the spray bottle method for about 30 yrs. It doesn't matter if it is cold or warm it just works. you can wipe up the extra run of the water around the base of the cake but the cake will look like glass... smooth and wonderful

I have a travel bag for repairs with a little spray bottle like for make up and then I have the big industrial plant or kitchen size sprayer for home.

It just depends on the cake if I use the spray bottle method or the VIVA smooth method. I love the smooth method so easy for repairs.. but it is good have options.

Yes try it.. it works great.

Will it help with those pesky air bubbles?

I read about someone using this method and have already bought a spray bottle and will have it to use on the next cake.

That is my method. I use super hot water with my spatula. Doesn't matter to me if the water in the water bottle is hot or not. I spin my cake on the turn table and spray, spray, spray.

Hmmm...I have three cakes to do next week (that's a lot for me) so I'll have to give it a try.

Like Deb said, don't use it on colored icing because it will leave color marks. That's happened to me...

I use the technique on colored icing all the time. I ice it a little lighter then after it dries and all the marks show up, I air brush and it is perfect.