Hi again, first let me say thank you again to everyone on this forum for all of the wonderful advice and for helping me so much with this cake! I've posted several times already! I have a birthday cake due tomorrow in red velvet with cream cheese icing. I've never decorated with cc icing before, so I'm just looking for some tips. I made the recipe that calls for half butter, half cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla. It's tasty, but not very stiff. I only plan to do corneli lace and shells, so it's probably fine. If I add merengue powder will that make it more workable? And can the decorated cake be left out, or does it have to be refrigerated? I usually decorate my cakes the night before and leave them out. Maybe I need to ice this one right before the party? I don't want to have to refrigerate it, it's too big. Thanks again! I love this website!!!!! I have been spending WAY too much time on my computer!

Cream cheese icing does require refrigeration. Meringue will only form a crust, it really doesn't help thicken the icing. There is a crusting cream cheese icing recipe in the recipe forum. It includes some shortening. If you look at the ratio, and add some to what you have, it may hold the shells. It will certainly be fine for the cornelli lace.

The crusting cream cheese icing on here is great for decorating you just have to make sure everything is at room temp when you start or it doesn't crust.

Also make sure that there is enough powdered sugar in it or else your shells will not hold the form. This I know from experience!

Cheers,
Darci

I had to do my first CC Icing cake for Easter. My icing was soft so I put it in the fridge for a little while and it thickened up when it got cold. I put a little in the bag at a time and decorated quickly, but I left the remaining icing in the fridge to keep it cold. It really helped to keep it cold. Everything seemed to hold shape.
Good Luck.

Thanks for the tips. I'll try to keep it cold while decorating. Do I really need to refrigerate it before serving? If it sits out for 4 hours or so, is it okay? I guess that I can refrigerate it until the party, but won't it condense? I've never done this kind of cake before, and I hate to try something new without testing it out first. I should have done a trial run, I know. The trouble is that it's for a surprise party, so I need to sneak the decorated cake in to the room without the birthday girl knowing, so I'm unsure of how long it will be out. Maybe I'm better off just doing a buttercream? How about if I put cc just in between the layers so it's protected and would maybe stay fresher?

I have read about many people who leave a cake out with cream cheese icing for days and it's fine. I was planning on using it on my large wedding cake this weekend and leaving it out the day before the reception. Anyone out there who leaves out cream cheese icing more than a few hours- help?

I wouldn't take a chance leaving it out the day before but a few hours before the reception should be ok. I keep my cakes like that in the fridge and then transport with cold packs in a cooler so it stays as cold as possible for as long as possible.

Do you ever have a problem with condensation? I probably can refrigerate the cake prior to delivery, but won't it be sort of wet on top or affect the flavor?

I have made red velvet with cream cheese frosting for a work event. (A big hit) - I added enough powedered sugar so that the frosting would hold shape while decorating (somewhere between stiff and medium). I actualy left the cake out overnight - but it was winter and our house was cool (probably low 50's). The cake stayed out at room temperture at work until the lunch event and there was no problem (I did make sure there was no direct sunlight on it, tryed to keep it in the cooler part of the office and it was not a warm day)

I would have refrigerated any leftovers - but there were none!

You may get minor condensation, but it won't be a problem unless you have lots of bright colors on the cake.

You need to have this cold as long as possible. Heat will melt you icing. You don't want the borders falling off as the cake warms.

I just made a wedding cake with the basketweave last weekend (see it in my pics).

I CC icing recipe found on this site. I didn't mind it going soft. What I did mind was that I couldn't smooth it like regular buttercream. I made an additional 1/4" sheet cake for extras. It was frosted plain with just a shell border. Let me tell you I tried everything to smooth it- spatula in hot water, my warms hands, parchment paper, etc.- nothing worked.

I felt like it was the first cake I'd ever frosted. I finally just gave up and left it. Not sure I'll want to use it on a cake that's either larger than this or with very little decoration.

One thing I did like is that it wasn't too sweet. The flavor was just right.

ksgirl,
was it the crusting cream cheese recipe? I think your cake is beautiful! I am worried, though about mine, because I am going to smooth the tops and sides of the cake and place white chocolate seashells in various sizes all over the cake and a simple border piped at the base. If I can't get the icing smooth, yikes! Also, what sizes of seperator plates did you use? I am also using the hidden pillars, but am not sure If I use the same size plates as the cake or a little bigger? Oh, I am soo nervous now!

i work in a restaurant that uses cream cheese icing on 3 of 5 cakes that we display on the counter for slicing. they will stay on the counter day and night until they are gone, or the cake drys out. the recipie is 1 part margarine to 2 parts cream cheese, and we do it pretty stiff. i've decorated with it at home, too. leaving them out ends up with a slight crust, but that is usually what i want. as far as decorating, i have only used it once. it doesn't smooth great, but it was just for a family shower so i didn't try very hard. the only thing i would worry about is if it gets very warm, it will start to sag or fall off the cake. but i wouldn't worry about using it if you're going to be in a airconditioned building