Please Look To See What I'm Doing Wrong?!?
Decorating By nancylee61 Updated 26 Feb 2014 , 2:48am by nancylee61
AI don't have any occasions coming up where people want smooth buttercream, but I AM going to,learn this. The problem is that it is next to impossible! I am following the craftsy tutorial, plus help from some kind people here, and when I get the cake smooth, there are patches. When it's thick enough to hide the patches, it's not smooth.
I am refrigerating after the crumb coat, trying the hot scraper. I have done everything advised, but still - either not smooth or patches.
Can you look at my pic and help? I would be very grateful, Nancy
[IMG ALT=""]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3191251/width/350/height/700[/IMG] [IMG ALT=""]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3191252/width/350/height/700[/IMG]
Not enough frosting on your cake. You literally have to start out with A TON of butter-cream and with the bench scraper use very light pressure.
It looks like a combination of not enough butter cream on the cake and too much pressure with the bench scrapper.
Could it be that your top tier was slightly larger than your bottom tier. Sometimes this happens when you use two different 8" or 10" pans, in other words, one 8" made by Wilton and another 8" made by Fat Daddio's. There's always a slight difference in the sizes of the pans. Why I say this is because your "show through" seems to be on the top tier only. Also, it looks like you might be scraping off too much icing in an attempt to smooth it. Sometimes you need to put on two to three thin coats..
AI think this is it. I thought Imhad enough buttercream, but actually ran out siding the cake, so was really trying to make do.
Thank you!!!
Nancy
AThank you - I think that is it! Too much pressure, it enough frosting, Nancy
Google the upside down method....it uses ganache and you do this turn it over thing...which I don't do either of those.
I use buttercream and don't turn it upside down.
With the buttercream, I have found that I HAVE to freeze it for about 2 hrs...you may have some gaps on the top once you remove the top board, but you can spatula right over those things. I have tried refrigerating for even up to 8 hrs and the top icing STILL stuck to the top board and ruined the top of the cake. So freezing it is!
Here are some tips:
1) use 2 of the same size board for the top and bottom, and they should be the same diameter as your baking pans.
2) go to a store that sells plastic drafting triangles and buy yourself 2 10" triangles. These smooth your sides perfectly and will work on all height cakes. Unless, of course, they are over 10" tall.
3) buy a small level, mine is plastic and about 9-10" long.
4) go to jessicakes blog and see if she has a tutorial on there about icing cakes smooth using the above method. She's the reason I bought the triangles. Now I never want to use anything else!
Good luck! I love your determination! I am not even kidding you...11 years doing cakes and I am just NOW learning to love icing the cakes! I always hated that part. Better to learn now than 11 years from now.
APile on the buttercream. It's not about patching and spackling, it's about removing excess.
AThank you! I'm goin to go look at that video. I actually covered it, but I really want to get this!
AThank you! I checked them both out, my issue was not enough icing. nancy
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