viva towels on SMBC

Paper towels won't work on meringue buttercreams.  You just need to practice with a straight edge.  Get yourself a good scraper and practice.  I have been decorating with buttercream for 15 years now and it's all I use.  I think next month will be the first time I am ever covering a cake in fondant.  Yep. 

I use the "Bash and Chop" scraper from Bed Bath and Beyond.  It has a nice rolled handle which keeps your hand close to the blade, so you have maximum control as you are moving it around the cake.  Also, you NEED a turntable.  I have a Fat Daddio turntable which is nice.  Good and heavy.

Remember that getting a cake smooth has nothing to do with adding and everything to do with subtracting icing.  Put on twice as much as you think you need and then go around the whole cake with the scraper without stopping.  If your recipe is crusting then you can let it crust and smooth out your spatula lift mark with a piece of waxed or parchment paper (I never use Vivas on a cake-the one time I did it left a TON of lint on my buttercream, and it was a new roll fresh out of the packaging).  The American recipe I use doesn't crust but it doesn't need to, as I don't rely on that to get a cake smooth.  A scraper is all you need trust me.  You just have to practice.

For the meringue buttercream, and really, for any buttercream, you will get a lot of air incorporated if you beat it too much.  Especially if you use the whisk attachment, you will incorporate too much air.  All you have to do is smash the buttercream against the side of the bowl if it gets too airy, and in the future, don't beat it so much.  If I'm making ABC I add all my powdered sugar at once, followed by some cream, and then I let the mixer run for maybe another 3 minutes.  No more than that.  If I'm making IMBC it's about 5 minutes.

To smooth meringue buttercreams, use your scraper and get it as smooth as you can.  Then pop it in the fridge or freezer and let it get good and cold.  Then go back over it with your scraper, shaving off the very top layer. 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnnieCahill 
 Then pop it in the fridge or freezer and let it get good and cold.  Then go back over it with your scraper, shaving off the very top layer. 

 

That's it, right there! It's like a piece of glass when you get done with it. 

If it's under-mixed, it won't be properly emulsified and it may end up chunky.  I make IMBC (same taste, just a different method).  I use the whip attachment for the meringue and sugar syrup stage, then I switch to the paddle when I add the butter.

To answer one of your previous questions, the crusting has to do with the ratio of fat to sugar.  So not all ABCs crust if the fat content is higher.  The ABC recipe I use doesn't crust.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPCOhio 

I've recently started finessing my SMBC smoothing skills. I could NEVER get American Buttercream smooth whether I was hot knifing or using Viva towels. I am having some luck with Cup a Dee's method of popping it n and out of the freezer (see http://cupadeecakes.blogspot.com/2012/04/new-tutorial-smooth-square-cakes-with.html?m=1). I am going to try the upside down method this weekend and I have high hopes for success! The paper towel method is usually touted for crusting buttercreams, but it seems like it could help on SMBC popped out of the freezer too... The combination of cold buttercream, heat from your hand and a smooth paper towel seems like a good trifecta. I am preparing an all-buttercream tiered square cake (God help me) for a March wedding so I am right there with you. Good luck!

Aww!  I'm glad one of my videos has been helping!  Have you also watched my Smooth Buttercream Tutorial?  ( http://tinyurl.com/buttercreamtut ) I have tried the hot knife technique, but I have found that my trusty benchscraper and a blowtorch works SO much better!