Here's another site for some amazing bc cakes:
www.cakecoquette.com
Looks like they do some fondant too but their piping is insane!! My hand hurts just looking at it!!
*blush* Thank you vstar_pilot and sayhellojana!!
mandifrye-I think you're right about the extra frosting but I haven't tried it yet
ok, going back to my roots, buttercream here's a 6" cake I did today. the flowers was pipe directly on the cake. You just have to get your angel right to pipe the flowers. Also, I tried a new boarder as well and I did not have the viva handtowel so I use another one with ruffles on it. The ruffle pattern looked pretty nice on the cake.
see the link for the cake
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1304349&done=1
Wow!! Thanks for sharing that site too! Actually, I really like some of their stuff, all that piping is sorta "my style". I have nothing against flowers, but I find that my cakes seem to be concentrating more on the piping rather than making flowers. I've been contemplating some designs like that actually, art nouveau, stained glass...
A lady on youtube shared that site with me, thought you guys would like it. I think I'm a cross between the two, I like to do flowers but I also want to do the insane piping! After that swirly cake though my hand was cramping, I know if you do it often enough you could get used to it. lol-I'm in the middle of 3 crochet projects, hopefully that'll toughen up my hands
Ok... so cake isn't enough... you have to play with yarn too??? Sheesh! Ok, wait, maybe I shouldn't talk. I have cake plans, cookie plans, a sewing project in the works AND a 12x14 cross stitch!
Another great way to build up the piping muscles is to do cookies. The snowflakes I did had a TON of piping on them, with very stiff glace. I thought my hand was just going to fall OFF!! But, I think it did strengthen up a little.
lol *poke* I thought I was crazy! No, wait, maybe I am a little, but I've done a big cross-stitch in the past so I know how focussed you need to be for one of those! AND sewing?? I recently came to realize I am just not gifted in that area, I can mend, I can sew a straight line, but clothes? *shudder* I have proven to myself several times that it's best left to people who like doing it
I have recently combined 2 of my passions:
Ok... now THAT is just COOL!!!!! Now, lets see you make the same thing with buttercream... pattern on the sides and all!
Isn't it funny how we all seem to have more than one crafting "problem"????
Nicely done Majormichel!!! The blooms have real personality. I have to say, I agree with what said in your description about not having a top border. I really like not having to do that!
Bumping an old thread. I used to do cakes back in the early 90's. I'm thinking about getting back into it and I'm a buttercream gal. Not a fan of fondant, gum paste, isomalt, etc.
There are some great books and other resources listed in this thread.
Thanks all!!
I am still not very confident when working with BC. I find that I work fast with fondant and can do anything with fondant :). I am however still working hard at my BC skills.
Hello everyone ! I absolutely love decorating in buttercream. In fact, you should check out Don Buciak II on flicker. The man is amazing at using buttercream on 3D cakes. I hope to be as good, or better one day :) I think fondant is beautiful when done correctly, however, I have noticed customer's eyes light up when they come in and say, "I know you can't do this but..." I look at the picture of the fondant cake and say, "Well it wont look exactly like that, but, I can replicate it as close as possible in buttercream" It usually ends up looking pretty darn close. I am teaching myself lace pipe work and eventually Lambeth technique. One day..
Would this thread be open to hobby bakers who enjoy BC but still want to improve their skills? I really want to gain the courage to pipe on the side of cakes. Wondering if any one had this problem: yesterday, my BC was like grainy sand. I scraped it off and added more liquid and re-iced. Both times, it appeared just fine in the bowl but once on the cake, it was terrible. It had fine cracked lines and resembled stained glass. I finally came to the conclusion that it must have been the dry heat in the house. Does this sound correct to you? Looking forward to hearing from the BC experts.
AEdna, your buttercream cakes are what inspiried me to do only buttercream finish. I never cover my cakes in fondant, but I do fondant and gumpaste decorations. I definitely prefer buttercream decorating.
Wow, I haven't been on here for several years. So nice to see there are a few buttercream decorators left. I was always about....you bake a cake, ice the cake, and decorate it...all in a couple of hours or less....and of course you could eat the whole thing. Such fun we had and perfection was not our major concern.
Hats off to you BC ladies. I do mostly Fondant and the more I do BC it seems I get worst at it instead of better. The smoothing part is what I have issues with. No matter what BC I use, including Indydebi, I cannot get it to smooth and look like fondant. The BC always has what looks like small tiny holes. What am I doing wrong? I beat it very slowly and I do not us water I use milk.
Hats off to you BC ladies. I do mostly Fondant and the more I do BC it seems I get worst at it instead of better. The smoothing part is what I have issues with. No matter what BC I use, including Indydebi, I cannot get it to smooth and look like fondant. The BC always has what looks like small tiny holes. What am I doing wrong? I beat it very slowly and I do not us water I use milk.
What am I doing wrong? Your trying to turn a sofa into a sedan.
One is not better than the other, just have different properties. I love the sedan when I go shopping. I love the sofa when I get home.
Buttercream is a traditionally loved and adored creamy delicious beauty that everyone buys in their local stores. Grandma and Ma and Auntie made cakes with buttercream for us as kids. Who cares if you have tiny holes in your icing, other than you. I don't think the people getting the cake do.
Maybe I'm wrong, Nah I'm too much in love with Swiss Meringue Buttercream to be wrong about the joys and bliss of it. And you've never ever Ever seen one of those buttercream cakes in any store that does not have tiny holes.
Your cakes are adorable, so bright, colorful, cheerful, how much happiness do you bring to peoples grand joyful celebrations with those cakes.
It's the false expectation that you are beating yourself up over.
- let it go - Love Buttercream for what it is. Love fondant for what it is.
AYes, yes, and yes MB!!! People need to know that clients who get these cakes don't even notice that stuff!!
Do you know who Bob Ross the artist from public network was? He could do an awesome painting in 30 minutes. Was it perfect....probably not but everyone loved his work....and loved to watch him do it. I often think of him when I am decorating. He loved what he was doing.....as do I. I work with buttercream because It is fast, easy and tastes good..... hence my name on here...BC(buttercream)Jean. Some of my favorite cakes to do are what I call my 10 minute cakes....I take a double layer 8inch cake....stand back and look at it for a second...pick up a knife and go to work. I whack off a little cake here.....and attach it over there.....I shift and rearrange....then pick up a spatula with buttercream and smear it around. At the end of my 10 minutes I stand back and smile....yep life is fun. Is my work perfect.....heck no! Does the person the cake was made for care.....not so far, and it has been 35 years of this activity.
Yes, I understand I am not with the times ...that the smooth perfect of fondant is the way to go but sometimes in this busy impersonal life of ours a little buttercream is just plain fun. Check my cake photos and see what I mean.
" It's your world, paint it anyway you want to" he he
Actually I've seen a few cakes that look like they used his methods to paint a cake with buttercream.
@MBalaska Thank you for your kind words and you are absolutely correct. I am a bit of a perfectionist and I do need to let it go! No one sees what I see. Everyone is amazed on what I deliver. I have only been doing this for one year. So there, I am totally beating myself up when I have a long road to learn and get better.
http://cakecentral.com/g/i/3229094/a/3477399/all-smbc-with-gumpaste-details/sort/display_order/
You can also use SMBC (or IMBC) and implement some of the methods from the Sugarshack video as well. And it definitely won't take an hour to do so either, if you want quicker results. Here's an example of SMBC, super smoothed.
AZ you are sooo superb with smoothing buttercream -- Swiss Meringue ButterCream!! That cake is brilliant.
Just wish I could find some cake stands that weren't crooked. No matter what, EVERY single one of my pretty white pedestals has a lean to it. I usually compensate for it and position the stand so it doesn't make the cake look crooked, but sometimes I screw it up. The wedding I did that same day looks crooked and it's NOT. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
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