I'm doing a harley davidson cake that is shaped like the decal and the writing. This cake will be for a groomsmen cake and I'm soo frustrated on how to get my lines straight and perfect(orange ones and writing). I'm doing a practice cake and I want this to look darn good,,so I went slowly and the line is squiqqily. So then I try to start line and pull up like if you are doing swags on side of cake, but when it comes down, it's all out of line..errr..SO then I tried to put 2 pieces of paper as my guide and run the icing down the middle so when I lift papers, the line will be straighter..that DIDN"T work..so anybody have an idea on how the heck I can master this??? It has to be buttercream as bride strictly stated no fondant.. I let the icing dry and went back to try and straigten it too but it won't get straight or aligned perfectly! Frustrated sorry and I'm soo glad I'm doing a practice one here.

Please help me master this somehow!
Thanks

I'm sure the pros will chime in soon but I had a thought. Sugarshack uses a thickened buttercream to make the dam for her cakes. She adds enough PS to make the BC thick, almost moldable that it has the consistency of soft fondant. I'm wondering if you could push that through a clay gun or work it as you would fondant. Just a random though. Not sure if it would work.

Squiggily lines can be from using a tip that has a seam or from damage to the opening of the tip.

Have you tried drawing an outline with a toothpick so you can "trace" over it when you pipe your writing?

Also, it helps if your icing is soupy so it flows without breaks and air bubbles. I use buttercream thinned with 50% piping gel, but you can thin with water instead.

I know my tip is not damaged at all, so that isn't it and I can tell when I squeeze, my arm moves a little to get out of proportion. I can try the toothpick stragety.

Also, maybe if I do thicken it a lot and then squeeze, I can get it straighter or even use piping gel to avoid the bubbles/breaks?

Anyone else know ?

Thanks a bunch!

You can do a buttercream transfer. Print out a mirror image of the the logo, tape the image to a piece of cardboard cover the image in wax paper then outline and fill in regular buttercream icing, place in the freezer for about 30 minutes to an hour. Remove from freezer and immediately ice over image and surrounding area with regular buttercream, return to freezer for another 30 minutes to an hour. Make sure your cardboard and wax paper are the same size as the cake. Before removing image from freezer have your cake iced completely. Remove the tape from cardboard then lift wax paper off and place icing side down onto the cake top, peel back wax paper carefully and quickly.

Or you can do it in royal icing and let dry for a day then place it on the cake.

And if all else fails talk to the bride and see if she would be okay with the letters and outline be cut out of fondant and placed on a buttercream iced cake.

Just some thoughts. I hope they help.

I'm not good with buttercream transfers..did it before and blah..so idk

It's really easy:

"Dear bride, I understand your concern about not liking fondant and that you'd rather not use it. However, in order for me to provide you with a beautiful cake, and not something sloppy, I need to use it. Just peel it off. Really, get over it."

Maybe not the last part, but this fondant hysteria gets old.

any other ideas any anyone? I seen cakes with perfect lines, so I know this can be mastered if I have the right advice and not have to do fondant. It's not too late to ask bride, but seeing other's have done this perfectly nice, I know it can be done..so therefore, I'd like to keep asking if anyone else has any other advice at all? Thanks so much!

Really? I'd love to see some that weren't hand cut or done on a Cricut, that are spot on. I haven't seen any yet, but I'm sure I just haven't looked in the right places.

Sorry I agree with AZcouture. If you can't do it, you don't want to deliver a cake that isn't up to her standards especially on her wedding day! When I have a client who doesn't want fondant but wants something I know needs to have "perfect" details, I suggest making the entire cake buttercream but the "logo" or "character" in fondant. Works SO much better than trying to make perfect lines or even doing the star piping thing. Good luck with that.

Or if she still insists on not having any fondant on her cake, ask her if she's willing to tolerate edible image. It sort of 'melts' into buttercream and a really good printout will give you a perfect logo minus the headaches.

OK! GOOD NEWS! Since her wedding is not till next month, I asked her if she'd be ok if I do the logo only, in fondant, so i can make sure that it looks as best possible for her big day! She said, NO problem!! YAY!! I'm soo excited!! See this cake is being displayed on same table with wedding cake, on her big day, so this is why it was a little stressful for me! NOW, I can relax and practice a fondant logo , since my practice cake is still sitting aside waiting to be finished! YAY!

Thanks to all and a lesson learned! To not go out of my comfort zone on big days like these and just state only what I'm confident of doing to make it really beautiful and special for them! I like challenges,,but I think this one would've been too much of one after I proved myself on my practice.

Anyone have any idea on how to practice/master this so that I can eventually get it down one day? Tutorials, DVD's, or whatever? Thanks!

Smiles
Jenifer

Hmm. Now if I needed to put a perfect representation of a logo on a cake, I'd be inclined to go with an edible ink printer.

This in spite of the fact that I've never owned an inkjet printer of any kind, don't like the technology, will not permit one in the house, and do own two "inkjet killer" printers (an Alps MicroDry that may or may not outlast my hoard of consumables, and one of those little Samsung color lasers).