Bc Not Crusting!! Cake Is Due In One Hour!!!
Decorating By WickedSweetDebbie Updated 22 Jun 2010 , 3:18am by WickedSweetDebbie
I used the recipe from here for the Viva method BC recipt and its NOT CRUSTING!! Well a little bit, but not nealy enough!!! HELP!!!
Yes, if you want it to crust so you can smooth it with Viva, and it won't, there are ways to smooth non-crusted BC. Use a large metal offset spatula, dipped in very hot water, then dried. Run it over the top in log, slow strokes, pulling in from the edges as you go around. Smooth the sides with the same, or use a metal bench scraper standing on its side, resting on your turntable, with the long edge vertically against the side of your cake. spin and smooth.
If you think you need it to crust to apply fondant. Not so if your cake is chilled. just very lightly wet the BC and apply the fondant.
I never use crusting BC unless I'm not using fondant. So I know you can do it.
Hope this covered the reason you wanted it to crust.
Oh I feel for you...I had a wedding cake two weeks ago and I was actually panicking! And, yes, I did basically the hot knife thing...just make sure you dry it well so no water gets on the surface of the cake. I finally just had to accept the fact that the buttercream was not going to smooth completely...and you know what? The client didnt even notice...they were happy as clams at how the cake turned out! SIGH. I beat myself up WAY too much. Cat
try putting it in the ref if you can for about 15min
I'm curious why you're having trouble with your icing crusting. Was your cake frozen when you iced it? The only time I've had trouble like this is when I iced a frozen cake and the ONE time I put it in the fridge. Putting a cake in the fridge to get it to crust DOES NOT work for me. It does just the opposite. I put one in the fridge once after it was iced and it took FOREVER to crust.
@mamarobin, This happened to me yesterday. I put my iced cake in the freezer and i couldnt get it to crust afterward. Is there a reason? I was using the buttercream from sams club. I have gotten the wilton class buttercream to crust nicely after a few mins in the freezer. maybe its the difference in the icings.
As the cake thaws condensation forms on the outside and the moisture doesn't allow the air to get to the buttercream.
@mamarobin, This happened to me yesterday. I put my iced cake in the freezer and i couldnt get it to crust afterward. Is there a reason? I was using the buttercream from sams club. I have gotten the wilton class buttercream to crust nicely after a few mins in the freezer. maybe its the difference in the icings.
Texas is right. "crusting" occurs as your icing "dries" it can't dry when it's wet from condensation. I NEVER refrigerate a cake because for me it causes more harm than good. Don't know why the other icing "crust nicely after a few min in the freezer" 
Maybe it's because it was only in the freezer for "a few minutes".
Maybe there is confusion between stiffening and crusting?
My buttercream gets stiff if refrigerated. When I take it out, it begins to soften. It's not crusted (unless it wasn't sealed and air got to it), it's stiffer because the ingredients are cold.
Maybe there is confusion between stiffening and crusting?
My buttercream gets stiff if refrigerated. When I take it out, it begins to soften. It's not crusted (unless it wasn't sealed and air got to it), it's stiffer because the ingredients are cold.
BINGO!!!
It's a "shake my head" moment everytime I read the suggestion to put it in the freezer to get it to crust ..... AND ..... I then read posts about the FBCT in which the advice is "you have to work fast because it will start to melt as soon as it's removed from the freezer."
Why do some think if the icing is spread on on a cake then it will crust in the freezer and stay that way when removed, but if the icing is piped into a FBCT, then it will get hard in the freezer and melt when removed? The logic is illogical.
Yes, any icing will get "stiff" when put in the cold environment because the fat starts to solidify (put butter in the 'frig and notice how "stiff" it gets). Remove said icing from the cold environment to a room temp environment and it will begin to 'melt' or get soft (as will butter when removed from the 'frig to the dining room table).
If the icing recipe is not prepared with the right fat/sugar ratio that enables it to crust, putting it in the 'frig/freezer is just a temporary fix, not a solution.
I need help from someone my butter cream is so soft to do for an upcoming cake that will be outside. Can someone suggest something to me???? I use 1/2 butter and half Crisco. What can I do different?
Tracy
Butter + Heat = disaster.. i would suggest a buttercream with shortening only.
I need help from someone my butter cream is so soft to do for an upcoming cake that will be outside. Can someone suggest something to me???? I use 1/2 butter and half Crisco. What can I do different?
Tracy
Tracy..I suggest using Indydebi's buttercream for any cake that is going to be outside. It will hold up to temperatures of 100 degrees with 98% humidity and not melt. I made a birthday cake last weekend that withstood those conditions without melting and the cake was outside for a total of four hours between the hours of 2 PM until 6 PM. It held up GREAT!!!
It is an all shortening based buttercream. I wouldn't use butter in any icing that will be in the heat because butter has a much lower melting point than shortening. I just wanted to suggest her recipe because I KNOW that it will hold up and not cause any problems for you.
Sooo it turns out my icing was just fine after all! 
All that drama for nothing!
I wanted it to crust so I could use the paper towel on it
It didn't feel like it was dry enough to me at all, but I said oh well and tried it anyway-and it worked! I couldn't believe it! My cake looked so smooth in the end, I was very happy 
It did start to "sag" a little after about an hour or so went by, but I was still very pleased with the final result. It ended up being very HOT and HUMID out that day so I really can't complain! 
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