http://CakeCentral.com/articles/69/upside-down-icing-technique-for-perfectly-smooth-icing

these are the upside down instructions. I'm trying it today! I'm excited! =)

I looked at the viedo of the upside down method and I wanna try but I'm afraid of not getting it smooth. I did try a different buttercream this past week and a different paper towel and it worked alot better.

A little trick that I use is to use flavored nondairy coffee creamers. You can add the powdered with your powdered sugar, but I've always used the liquid to thin my butter cream out instead of milk or water. The flavor is subtle, but there.

I saw a post that said to use 1/3 cup water with 1/3 cup powdered coffee creamer for the liquid in the buttercream recipe. It said to heat the water in the microwave, add the creamer and mix well.
Has anyone tried this?

Tammies_Cakes - how many cups/pounds of powdered sugar are you using to add 14 tsps of popcorn salt?

bridal1 - are you adding cornstartch in place of powdered sugar to cut down on the sweetness?

Can anyone please tell me if SMBC has to be refrigerated or if anyone has a recipe that does not need to be refrigerated?

The OP was about writing a BC article. Was the BC article ever wriitten?

-Practice icing cakes. Nothing makes up for hands-on training.

-Thin with water, not milk, this way your all-shortening bc will be stable under any weather/temperature condition

-Use fruit juice in bc recipe instead of water/milk to give a subtle flavor. I freeze all left-over juice for this purpose (pineapple, orange, lime, coconut, etc.)

-Always use a crumb coat!!!

-Finish icing with a plastic or metal paddle that's been run under hot water and dried. This gives a very nice appearance.

-After chilling iced cake, go over bumps and lines with a piece of wax or parchment paper. This step minimizes/eliminates imperfections

...

Im gonna make a cream cheese buttercream for a cake instead of making both cream cheese frosting AND buttercream... Is that a good idea? Does it taste good? Im gonna frost it on a strawberry cake, and have it under the fondant...

I just made this buttercream for the first time and I added too much milk or sugar. What can I add to thicken this up some?

Where is that tutorial that shows you how to smooth buttercream with a waxed paper, but "upside down"? I haven't tried the Viva paper towel method, but I bought a whole package of them hoping that I will achieve a smooth buttercream look.

Never mind! Found it on the other page.

This topic is fantastic! im new to all this and compleatly self taught so im a little confused, i did not realise that there was so many ways to make bc! the only recipe i have ever found and used is butter mixed with double the amount of icing sugar. and i must admit i am having problems with it. can anyone give me a better recipe?
Im just off to look at the VIVA towel link, i have always wished for a smooth effect on my bc cakes. thankyou all. x

I am still new at this but so far I have not had any luck with a stable buttercream cream cheese recipe. Any suggestions? Thanks!

My tip for smoothing cakes is to use a foam paint roller on your final coat of icing. Start with a crumb coat and let it crust over either at room temperature or in the fridge if you want to speed up the process. Then put your top layer of buttercream on the cake. Take the foam roller and run it across the sides first to get them smooth, then do the top. Be careful not to roll too hard as it'll pull the icing off the cake and ruin the integrity of your roller. After you're done, wash the roller completely and be sure it's completely dry before using again.

What is the difference between Franch and regular butter cream?

I have a question...............
Should I really go with High ratio shortening?
And does your blender make a difference? I don't have a kitchen aid

I find that dipping the spaula in hot water does wonders in smoothing the cake. I however want to know how to reduce the sweetness of the butter cream. Som of my customers have been complaining that the buttercream is too sweet. I follow the recipe I have and I am concerned that if I reduce the amount of sugar the consistency will change. Any suggestions?

After I get the icing on my cake, I microwave a glass of water to dunk
my spatula in to make it hot and then I use wax paper. That way the icing doesn't stick to your spatula and it smooths at the same time.

I JUST TRIED A RECIPE WITH WHIPPING CREAM IN IT AND THE TASTE IS GREAT, BETTER THEN ANY BC RECIPE I EVER TRIED.

I HAVE TRIED A LOT OF BC RECIPES AND THIS ONE IS NOT TOO SWEET LIKE ALL THE OTHERS..

Would the bc need to be refrigerated? Hoe much cream do you add? Please do share, you sound so excited, good for you.

my standard white b/c recipe is 1 stick of white crisco, 2 pounds sifted PS, 1 tbs meringue powder, 1 ts clear vanilla extract, 1 ts clear butter flavor, 5 tbs water or other flavoring.
the wilton ratio is 1 cup shortening to 4 cups sugar and that has way too much grease for the mouth feel. I will use it for roses, but since i stink at roses and all other flowers dont need to be so stiff, i use the b/c recipe above.

I bought the foam paint roller and it was super-easy-peasy!

I have an unconventional tip.... I am not a fan of sweet sweet buttercream - so I substitute a small amount of the icing sugar with white flour. You can't melt it after (ie to dip cupcakes) because of the flour but it makes a nice icing.

My recipe (this is the basic one - and I substitute flavours etc.):
2 cups butter (1 lb)
6 tsp vanilla
8 tbsp milk
7 cups icing sugar (1 kg less 1 cup)
1 cup flour (or more)

Would the flour not leave a grainy taste in the mouth? Do you cook it first making it like a thick paste? I think Magnolia bakery does that I saw it on you tube.

Anyone use Wilton pre mix buttercream? Is there a way to make it crusting?

This is will great. I know I will use it..


Thanks

I'd like to know what the top 3 buttercream recipies are, whether it's Italian Meringue, butter+shortening+icing sugar, etc etc. I've been experimenting, and I really truly cant decide which will give me the best results, and look the best, and cost the least so I can give my customers a little bit of a break.

I have a question about crusting buttercream... I've read that it keeps in the fridge for a few weeks. So I get that it should go in the fridge if you're storing it (because of the butter). But, when making cakes with fondant, if I refrigerate them, they sweat really bad and they get super shiny.

After I crumb coat and cover with fondant, do I need to refrigerate my cake because of the buttercream?
If I leave it out overnight will it get gross or go bad??