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Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Simple Cake Decorating Tip: Smoothing Butter Cream Icing






Simple Cake Decorating tip #2. 
If you missed my first tip you can check it out here.  After we have Iced our cake with out crumbs we need to smooth the cake out. I have included some photos I took of a cake I made quickly today. I need to apologize on how dark the photos are. The camera was not working so these are the best I could get from my phone. Again  I am sorry!

A few photos of the crumb layer and then the finishing layer.

Dust off the crumbs first. 

Drop a large amount of icing in the middle.

Smooth the icing from the center to the sides. 

I know this one looks pretty bad but it will get better I promise!
Put lots of frosting on the sides.

Now spread the icing on the sides.  
The crumb layer will need to air dry for a few minutes.
Repeat the process from step one for the finishing layer.

On to smoothing out the rough edges!

What's this? A paper towel. It is a Viva paper towel by the way!
Place a Viva Paper towel carefully on top. When placing the paper 
towel make sure you place the smooth side of the towel on the icing.

Use a spatula and smooth in one direction. 
Either from the center out or from one side to the other.

The top is a little smoother. Keep smoothing until you are happy with the look.

Use the paper towel on the sides also.
What do you think? Much better?

Add some trim.

Note: When smoothing the top of a round cake it works well if you move from the center to the edges. On a square or rectangle I like to smooth from one side to the other. It works best not to lift the spatula until you reach the edge of the cake.  Also, the Viva paper towel is the only paper towel I know of that does not stick to homemade (decorators) butter cream icing or leave texture marks. I do not know who came up with the paper towel trick to smooth the icing on a cake. I learned this trick while searching the web for cake decorating tips many years ago.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Please let me know what you think. The next tip I plan to share will be an Easy Butter Cream Icing Recipe that is great for cake decorating.

36 comments:

  1. Holy cow!! you are a pro at this, that cake looks amazingly smooth.

    Can't wait for the Butter Cream Icing Recipe. My Hubs remembers one from when he was a kid and I have not got it right yet.

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  2. Great tip! Goodness :) Looks perfect!

    <3-Cami from First Day of My Life

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  3. Wow, I would have never known this! Thanks for the great tips. Keep them coming!!!

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  4. That is just so pretty but I don't know if mine will look that pretty! I'm going to try and try again until it does!!
    Thank you for the tip, I've always wanted to decorate a cake pretty!!

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  5. Thank you for this detailed instruction:)Smooth as;)

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  6. Ah man, now I want some of that cake! Yum! You made it look so easy too. I can do some cute cupcakes, but I am horrible with cakes. Go figure! :)

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  7. yummmieeeeeeeeeeeee :)
    em hungry right now and have nothing to eat :D

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  8. Oh my goodness, that is SO cool! I always wondered how cakes in the bakery looked so nice and mine always look like a two year old iced them. Now I get it. It's all in the paper towel trick. Thank you for sharing this! Now I think I'll make a cake soon and test it out for myself. :-)

    Blessings,
    Rosann

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  9. Cool! I'll have to try this! First, I have to find those kind of paper towels...and get motivated...

    :) Thanks for sharing and also for stopping by my blog!!!

    Brie @ Breezy Pink Daisies

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  10. Using a paper towel is a great tip...thanks for sharing this. I always wondered how the made cakes so smooth!

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  11. Wow this is a great tip! I always have trouble icing a cake. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

    Christine @ Projects Around the House

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  12. That is such an awesome tip! I had no idea! Thanks for letting us in on that. :)

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  13. Wow - I never have ever would have thought of this! Thanks for the great tip. I am going to pass it on to my cake loving daughter! Thanks for sharing :)

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  14. This is an amazing tip and really did wonders for the cake. Genius! I am stumbling this post. Vicky from Mess For Less

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  15. Wow! Great tip!! I need to remember this one!

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  16. That's an amazing top with the paper towel. Had never heard of it. I am going to put it my links of the week which will be published tomorrow. Thanks! Maybe I will try if I ever get back to baking cakes again.

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  17. What is the difference between using this and parchment paper?

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    Replies
    1. I have not tried parchment paper. I would think it should give the same results.

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  18. Just stumbled across this. Such a great tip. I will have to try it.

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  19. Viva!! and you have the perfect frosted cake. I just want to tell you. Your camera on your phone works fantastic. I have an old LG and everyone complains when I send them a picture.

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  20. Oh my goodness. I had always wondered how people did this. I had no idea about the paper towel. Thanks so much for sharing.

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  21. I've never iced a cake before but you make it look so simple and easy. Love the cake by the way. What kind of cake is that? Looks delicious!

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  22. Oh, I could of used this this last weekend! Thanks!

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  23. Wow! That paper towel trick works like magic! :D Love the appearance that it looks like a fondant cake instead of butter cream icing.. :D

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  24. Wow wow wow what a simple but great idea - I am useless at getting anyting looking smooth so I will have to give this a try :) x

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  25. Oh my gosh the tip about using the paper towel is awesome! I never thought of that before. I am going to have to try that the next time I make a cake. My cakes never look that good when I frost them so I am certainly going to try it next time.

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  26. How clever! I need to remember this. I can never get frosting to look that smooth.

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  27. What a great tip, it looks smooth as fondant like that!!! Amazing!

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  28. I so never would have thought to try that with a paper towel of all things! I have to ask...do we get to see your butter cream icing recipe?

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  29. These are some great tips. I love baking and have been wanting to take my cake decorating to the next level.

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  30. What a great tip! You make this look so simple. Next time I make a cake, I will have to remember this!

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  31. awesome tip! i love to bake and have never thought of this before. I will be trying it next time :) when i have my time back!

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  32. I don't cook a whole lot but have decided I want to bake more... will definitely have to remember this when I decide to try cakes! :)

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  33. Genius! I would have never thought about that, ever!

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  34. Great idea. And thanks for sharing... will definitely use the technique.

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