Help! How Do I Get Sharp Butter Cream Edges On Square Cake!

Decorating By poogie Updated 19 Feb 2010 , 4:52pm by Lita829

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poogie Posted 17 Jan 2010 , 3:50am
post #1 of 28

I have tried several attempts at buttercream frosting on a square cake. I just can't seem to get the edges sharp or you can see the cake because I am removing to much icing to get the edges sharp. I have been asked by my neice to to make her a square 3 tiered wedding cake and I so don't want to disapoint her. They say practice makes perfect but I just can't seem to get it right. Am I not getting the right angle on the scraper?Any information would help! Thanks!!!!

27 replies
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amytracy1981 Posted 17 Jan 2010 , 4:01am
post #2 of 28

I would also like to know. I hate making sqaure cakes because I can't get the corners & edges straight.

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UpAt2am Posted 17 Jan 2010 , 4:17am
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for me, sharp edges aren't necessarily done at the icing stage. i bake my square cakes in the square brownie/cake pans (they're dark grey), not in the light silver pans. i find that the dark pans have sharp edges, not semi rounded ones like the silver wilton type pans. then after i've frozen them for a bit, i trim if need be til they're perfectly straight and have nice corners. when i crumbcoat, i make sure to do it very neatly and have sharp corners even then. finally when i do my top coat of bc, it's as simple as following the edges you made while crumb coating. i also make sure to have plenty of icing on my spatula and smooth it past the edge, then when i rotate i have icing already at the corner to smooth on the next side right away (i hope that makes sense). this way i can make a 90 angle, instead of putting icing only to the edge and then having to touch up when i enevitably get icing on the already done side b/c the BC overlaps at the corner (again, hoping i make sense). after that i wait for it to crust, viva and then stick right in the fridge to harden the edges. if i need to do any touch up, i wait til it's hard and i'll "sand" any spots that need it, or fill in any spots/cracks that need it.


HTH!

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Lita829 Posted 17 Jan 2010 , 4:38am
post #4 of 28

Thanks for the tips, Upat2am! I was wondering the same thing.

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metria Posted 17 Jan 2010 , 4:42am
post #5 of 28

there's a CC article that might help too:

http://cakecentral.com/articles/109/how-to-frost-a-square-cake

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dandelion56602 Posted 17 Jan 2010 , 4:44am
post #6 of 28

For the future I would suggest investing in Sugarshack's buttercream dvd!!!!!! It has really made a difference in my square tiers!

If you need something for right now, here's an article http://cakecentral.com/articles/109/how-to-frost-a-square-cake . For my corners I have a problem icing the corners high enough so I usually pipe icing up both sides of the corner w/a bag that has a coupler or a round tip.

HTH

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Lita829 Posted 17 Jan 2010 , 4:59am
post #7 of 28

Thank you, too, Dandelion and Metria! That article went right into my favs. I'm going to try the technique on Monday.

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Donnabugg Posted 17 Jan 2010 , 5:38am
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YouTube also has how-to videos on achieveing this. Good luck! thumbs_up.gif

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poogie Posted 17 Jan 2010 , 6:02am
post #9 of 28

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I guess its back to giving it one last shot!

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Mug-a-Bug Posted 20 Jan 2010 , 4:53pm
post #10 of 28

The biggest tip is scrape your icing from the corners to the CENTER. HTH icon_biggrin.gif

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djs328 Posted 20 Jan 2010 , 5:23pm
post #11 of 28

I stressed so much about the wedding cake I did a while back, and posted an almost identical '911' style question about the edges...mine came out ok in the end, still more practice to do, but I used the Viva method, and the fondant smoother to sort of form the corners...probably not the most technical method, but it came out ok...hang in there and keep trying!!! icon_wink.gif
http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1403399

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tiggy2 Posted 20 Jan 2010 , 5:42pm
post #12 of 28

The best thing you can do is invest in sugarshack's butter cream DVD. Her website is www.sugaredproductions.com It will be the best money you have ever spent!

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joyfullysweet Posted 20 Jan 2010 , 5:46pm
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This isn't square, but love this video!

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_Jamie_ Posted 20 Jan 2010 , 5:58pm
post #14 of 28
Quote:
Originally Posted by SinCityCakes

The biggest tip is scrape your icing from the corners to the CENTER. HTH icon_biggrin.gif




Bingo! And a handleless bench scraper...NOT a putty knife, not a spackling knife...a bench scraper with NO handle. And boiling hot water.

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confectionsofahousewife Posted 20 Jan 2010 , 6:12pm
post #15 of 28
Quote:
Originally Posted by _Jamie_

Quote:
Originally Posted by SinCityCakes

The biggest tip is scrape your icing from the corners to the CENTER. HTH icon_biggrin.gif



Bingo! And a handleless bench scraper...NOT a putty knife, not a spackling knife...a bench scraper with NO handle. And boiling hot water.




Jamie, why a handleless bench scraper? Like the big flat thing that you use to scrap crumbs and such up? I use a big metal putty knife but sometimes its not big enough.

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_Jamie_ Posted 20 Jan 2010 , 6:16pm
post #16 of 28

You want something that can absolutely stand straight up and down. That you don't have to force to stay upright and perfectly square. Look here: http://www.cookware.com/asp/show_detail.asp?sku=PRI1060&refid=FR75-PRI1060

No handle. Stands perfectly upright while you're turning your turntable or smoothing square sides.

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_Jamie_ Posted 20 Jan 2010 , 6:17pm
post #17 of 28

http://images.google.com/images?q=putty%20knives&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1&rlz=1I7GGLL_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi

Now look at all those putty/spackle/drywall whatever knives. You can't reliably stand those up perfectly flush and straight.

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lilthorner Posted 20 Jan 2010 , 6:18pm
post #18 of 28

it helps me to trim the cake back some and use the board as my guide..i trim the cake about 1/4 inch then I ice the cake using the edge of the board. smooth a bit, chill smooth some more

it really makes me understand why some people charge more for sqaure cakes.. not that it's harder per se, but it certainly takes me longer

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Mug-a-Bug Posted 20 Jan 2010 , 9:28pm
post #19 of 28

This is the best scraper, IMO http://www.organize.com/basandchopcu.html

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_Jamie_ Posted 20 Jan 2010 , 9:30pm
post #20 of 28
Quote:
Originally Posted by SinCityCakes

This is the best scraper, IMO http://www.organize.com/basandchopcu.html




Yup. My best friend in the studio at smoothing time.

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msnrozier Posted 20 Jan 2010 , 11:02pm
post #21 of 28

...

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cakesrock Posted 21 Jan 2010 , 1:13am
post #22 of 28

Try ganache instead of buttercream - it's great!

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Lita829 Posted 21 Jan 2010 , 2:13am
post #23 of 28
Quote:
Originally Posted by cakesrock

Try ganache instead of buttercream - it's great!




I totally agree. Ganache is soooo much easier to work with.

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lilthorner Posted 21 Jan 2010 , 2:30am
post #24 of 28

mine isnt bake and chop but my scraper like that is what I use.. if I can't find it, the kitchen is on lockdown.. WHO MOVED MY SCRAPER!!!!????

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confectionsofahousewife Posted 21 Jan 2010 , 1:51pm
post #25 of 28
Quote:
Originally Posted by _Jamie_

Quote:
Originally Posted by SinCityCakes

This is the best scraper, IMO http://www.organize.com/basandchopcu.html



Yup. My best friend in the studio at smoothing time.




Yep, that makes sense. Seriously though why did you guys send me to organize.com??? Now I can't get away. I love organizational tools!

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_Jamie_ Posted 19 Feb 2010 , 2:36pm
post #26 of 28
Quote:
Originally Posted by confectionsofahousewife

Quote:
Originally Posted by _Jamie_

Quote:
Originally Posted by SinCityCakes

This is the best scraper, IMO http://www.organize.com/basandchopcu.html



Yup. My best friend in the studio at smoothing time.



Yep, that makes sense. Seriously though why did you guys send me to organize.com??? Now I can't get away. I love organizational tools!




icon_smile.gif When I post a link to a pic for reference, it's only cause it's the first image that popped up in Google. I'm not ever directing anyone to a particular website, just showing the thing I'm talking about. That particular scraper has been seen at Bed Bath and Beyond though. But any scraper that looks like it, from anywhere is just as good.

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diychick Posted 19 Feb 2010 , 3:52pm
post #27 of 28

Lita829 and CakesRock---would you mind sharing your ganache recipe? I have never made this and want to try it.

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Lita829 Posted 19 Feb 2010 , 4:52pm
post #28 of 28
Quote:
Originally Posted by diychick

Lita829 and CakesRock---would you mind sharing your ganache recipe? I have never made this and want to try it.




Sure...I use the same recipe that many here use...

24 oz of dark chocolate to 12 oz of heavy cream for dark chocolate ganache...(2:1 ratio)

OR

24 oz of white chocolate to 8 oz of heavy cream for white chocolate ganache...(3:1 ratio)

I chop the chocolate if using a baker's bar. I then heat the cream just until its about to boil. I pour the cream through a sieve onto the chopped chocolate and let it sit for a few minutes, then I whisk until smooth. I add any flavorings at this point. I let it set until the desired consistancy is reached then frost the cake.

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