I wish there were more pictures of cakes covered in buttercream in the galleries. I've pretty much decided that I feel the same way that Sylvia Weinstock does: I don't like fondant, I don't like to eat it, and won't serve it to my guests. I really love the appearance of the fondant cakes, but I can't bring myself to get into making them, as it ruins the experience of eating the cake. I've tried the "good" fondants, and have made my own MFF. It's just not the same as a good quality buttercream. The problem is that it's pretty limiting.

Am I the only one mourning the loss of designs available for bc frosting?

I prefer buttercream also. I mainly use fondant for accents, because many people request that.

I'm a buttercream mostly gal. I bet there's only 2 cakes in my gallery that are covered in fondant. Now, occastionally I do like to make things out of fondant.

I wish Food Network would do a buttercream challenge--I'm betting a lot of the decorators on there now would struggle with it!

So glad I'm not alone! I think a buttercream challenge is a great idea! Might even get some old-time piping going on there!

buttercream.... buttercream all the way!! I always suggest it first. I add fondant accents, but unless someone insists on fondant, I use it. It is harder to work with but yummy!!! I think there is only one cake in my gallery that is fondant. and it is a dummy cake..LOL

I hear ya! I tried to get into fondant cakes but I just wasn't happy with the end result. It also meant a lot more preparation and cleanup compared to buttercream. Then after all my hard work, people would just pick it off! So I recently switched to buttercream cakes and I'm totally in love with it! I still have a lot to learn but I'm looking forward to practising with it.
I still use fondants for accents, but that's it. Now my cakes taste more like proper desserts rather than cake covered in plastic

Agree!

Three cheers for buttercream! Hip hip...yum-may! Hip hip...yum-may! Hip hip...yum-may!

Look at the older pics, first. Way back in the newborn days of CC, most of us used more bc than fondant.

Theresa

I, too, would like to know how to search for the older cakes. I've realized I need to alter my thoughts on decorating if I'm not going to use fondant. I would love to have some ideas to help me along.

Great idea playingwithsugar!

Click on the gallery you wish to view, and then click on the last page and go backwards through the album that's how I'm doing it anyway.

A great suggestion that I found on line when I began cake decorating in the Wilton courses in March 2010: Find the old 1970's Wilton encyclopedias on half.com or eBay or Alibris.com and buy them! There are 3 volumes, 1, 2 and 3 and they illustrate all the "old" techniques, which of course, were mostly BC! They show how to pipe people and animals and all sorts of stuff!

The Wilton Way of Cake Decorating, Volume One
ISBN 0912696044
Originally published in 1974.

The Wilton Way of Cake Decorating, Volume Two
ISBN 0 912696 11 7
Originally published 1977

The Wilton Way of Cake Decorating, Volume Three
ISBN 0 912696 16 8
Originally published 1979

If you search online to purchase, BE VERY SURE they are the Encyclopedia Volumes 1, 2 or 3. Many book sellers list the wrong books! (They will list any of a number of old Wilton books that will not be what you want.) My versions say on the cover of each book "Volume 1, A complete encyclopedia" (and so on for Vol 2 and 3).

I was a 30 yr BC gal and as I describe it was pulled "kicking and screaming" into fondant world! After reading so much about fondant ... more work, more cost, more effort, more talent .... I was REALLY amazed at how easy it is to work with. My reaction was "We get to charge extra for this? COOL!!!!"

But I've also said before .... I believe those of us who started out in BC, long before fondant was an option .... find it easier to make the transition to fondant, than those who start in fondant do in making the transition to BC.

I also mourn the lack of promotion of good BC skill in the cake books today. I have seen that good 'ole Martha Stewart is bringing a number of BC cakes back to the limelight again, tho.

I'm happy to see this thread and an interest in these skills!!

I don't ever cover cakes in fondant. They are all done in buttercream. The only time I use fondant is just for embellishments or decorations. All the pictures I have posted on CC are done in buttercream.

I too, think there should be a cake challenge for buttercream.

Buttercream tastes so much better, but fondant allows you to do more creative things, so I'm torn. I do buttercream when I can because people tend to eat it more. They are predisposed not to like fondant, and will assume it's fondant even if I use modeling chocolate. But I want to do the cool shaped cakes. Arrrgh!
PS, my daughter loves fondant. Loves the texture. Go figure.

As I decided I wanted to decorate cakes and learn on my own, I came to a place of what I like to call the 'fondant pull'. After much thought on why I would even do fondant I realized that I was not a person who likes to sculpt. I'm a draw-er. So I made the conclusion then that I am going to be strickly a buttercream person and I just do the cakes for fun. I am continually learning how to work with butttercream. By trial and error and alot of reading here on CC and in books it is and has been a such a fun experience. I am like a kid when something comes out right...yelling my Woo Hoo's and getting everyone in the house in an uproar.

I am a Buttercream kind of Guy! Take a look in my photos, that is all you will see! I "think" I have 1 cake in fondant though. I had to give it a try!

Take Care!

Michael

I'm a buttercream girl too... Occasionally I put fondant on my cakes to make it look nice...but I prefer bc more because in the end, my family and friends always ask if you could eat the fondant and I say, yes you can...but some don't. So I see it set aside on the plate and I see $$$ wasted. So, all that hard work on doing something nice sometimes doesn't pay off. I too would like to see more of BC decorating.

Count me in as a BC fan!!! I'm constantly working on my icing and piping skills. I love watching real pros (like Edna) ice a cake smooth in nothing flat. And have you seen the videos by Serious Cakes? She works all in BC....really pretty stuff. In this video, skip ahead to the cake she decorates. And check out all her other videos...I never tire of watching them!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Brvr7Fr_L-c&p=71058ED13A21637B&playnext=1&index=6

Wouldn't that be cool?!!!!!!!! And they would have to ice their cakes really smooth...and demonstrate piping skill......and make their own BC.......and color their BC right there during the challenge....and show us something other than roses......oh, that would be fun to watch, especially since many of the cake artists on food network never seem to work with BC.

The only reason I watch Cake Boss is to see the scenes when Buddy does piping. He's using RI, but still, you just don't see that on the other cake shows.

Oh, and the suggestion about the Wilton encyclopedias is excellent. Also, some of their vintage Celebration books are fun to browse, as well.

I am a buttercream girl here too! Most of my cakes are buttercream. I like the taste of the fondant I make, but I prefer buttercream. It takes a lot of skill to smooth and decorate with it, IMO. I have the 3 Witlon Encyclopedias here (ebay!) And I have been working on my piping skills (classes with Kim Morrison doing extension work!) Fondant is nice - but everyone does it now, and there really isn't a skill involved. If you have the cutters and molds, you can made a cake like a pro pretty easily. I also would LOVE to see a buttercream only challenge - let's see what skills those folks REALLY have!

I'm taking some basic classes with Kathleen Lange of Confectionary Chalet. She said she is being invited to all sorts of places to teach the "old fashioned" way of piping. She recently demonstrated at the San Diego Cake Club and showed them how to pipe acorns, a cornucopia, elephant, bear, baby rattle, etc. and said the club members were fascinated. Then she showed us in class-yippee! I ended up being able to create a gorgeous sheet cake with a cornucopia, grapes, grape vines, mums etc.

When I sent it to my niece's workplace, they said "it doesn't look like one of Chris's cakes". I said "Huh?" and my niece said they were all used to the fondant cakes I'd been sending in.

The cornucopia is REALLY easy! All you do is get a sugar ice cream cone, lay in on the cake and use chocolate BC in a #21 tip. Perfect for Thanksgiving and so much quicker than fondant!

One of the biggest problems I have with fondant is that it is a whole nother material...requiring a whole nother set of tools and equipment. And I don't mean just to use it in general, but if you have a cake started, and already have all your buttercream stuff out...I just want to stick with that. I don't like having all my bags and coupler and colors, and then have to switch to rolling pin, cornstarch, cutters, etc. and clear off a big space on the table and worry about it drying out...

Heaven forbid I ever have to do a cake that uses cake, buttercream, fondant and RKT. Too many materials for my patience. I just want to stick with cake and buttercream if I can.

Buttercream gal here too! Out of 9 pages of pictures in my gallery, I probably have about 5 cakes that are fondant. I'm getting ready to do a 3 tier topys turvy that is also tapered in butter cream in a few weeks!

I'm new to decorating and have never tried fondant. While I think fondant has its place, I also wish there was more buttercream work. Since I mainly bake for my family, I hate the idea of wasting a portion of the cake. I don't love the taste of all buttercreams but I love the handiwork.

Yay Buttercream!! Man I would LOVE to see a buttercream challenge, no fondant allowed! I just watched a recent episode of 'Bake, Decorate, Celebrate' by Wilton and they said they had a cake that could only be done in fondant. Ooooo, challenge!

I'm thinking maybe we should have a gallery here devoted to buttercream?

Hey, I'm a old Buttercream girl too! Most of my cakes a covered with BC. Just in the past 2 years have I been playing around with fondant. I love making fondant decorations for cake, but I love BC for taste and texture! Butter Cream Frosting, OH YEAH BABY!

I'm most comfortable working with fondant because it's what I started out with, but I would LOVE to learn more buttercream techniques.

I wonder if we took a poll, age verses fondant or buttercream, if most of us who choose buttercream would be more *cough, cough* mature decorators.

I started working with buttercream over 27 years ago (OUCH!).
(I'll be 50 next summer for inquiring minds)
It's only been the last 6 months I have been working with Fondant, and like indydebi said before, fondant wasn't an option back in the day.

My personal opinion (who cares really!) is that I like a mixture of both. I appreciate the skill and practice it takes to get really good with buttercream. I also appreciate the hard work that goes into fondant decorating.
Fondant cakes seem to take twice as long to make as plain buttercream cakes. Fondant cakes are after all, for the most part, a buttercream cake with another layer of sugar rolled on top of it.

Personally, mmf has given me a new spark for the craft of cake decorating. I like the 'WOW' it can add to a cake. I've enjoyed working with it but care little for the taste/texture. I tell people, It's appealing, but not appetizing. If you don't care for it, peel it off, there is some good cake underneath it!
I predict we will see a swing in cake decorating trends, back to the old buttercream style, but with some new twists.