Smoothing out buttercream

The best tool for straight edges is a bench scraper.  Works wonders!

Go to Home Depot (or your local hardware store) and go to the grouting/tile aisle. Find a 90 degree scraper used for grouting or tiling and use the 90 degree angle to create those perfect sides. I hope that helps :)

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Originally Posted by Norasmom 

The best tool for straight edges is a bench scraper.  Works wonders!

Yes, and they are meant for food, unlike trowels and grout equipment from the hardware story. Sorry, but some of those things are coated with chemicals, and aren't a good food safe option. The bench scraper I use is about $6, and they have them at Bed and Bath and Beyond. They're called "Bash and Chop".

a trick i used is Viva paper towel (make sure its the one without a pattern on it). After the buttercream has been refrigerated for a few hrs, i take the paper towel, place in on the cake and smooth out and wrinkles in the butter cream. Very easy!

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Originally Posted by AZCouture 

Yes, and they are meant for food, unlike trowels and grout equipment from the hardware story. Sorry, but some of those things are coated with chemicals, and aren't a good food safe option. The bench scraper I use is about $6, and they have them at Bed and Bath and Beyond. They're called "Bash and Chop".

I got a bash and chop for Sweetest Day ;-) I LOVE it!

Love the Viva paper towel method - I use it on all my buttercream cakes!  Bench scrapers are awesome but I always find myself doing a final smoothing with the Viva towel regardless.

:O Thats a cool idea. And I suppose if you did have a paper towel with a design in it, that would look pretty neat too!

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Originally Posted by AsheyBear 

:O Thats a cool idea. And I suppose if you did have a paper towel with a design in it, that would look pretty neat too!

I think it would depend on the print, and the cake. The cakes I have seen with paper towel print on them are just embarrassing. Though the place I use to work saved their Viva for weddings and used Bounty for everyday cakes, lol! It is too cheap for my blood, and I will wash out my larger freezer bags and use them again ;-)

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Originally Posted by ByLeslieAnn 

Starting out and having hard time smoothing out buttercream. How do you get your edges nice and straight. Especially before covering with fondant.

Make sure your buttercream is soft enough that you can smooth it with a metal spatula.  Add more liquid (very gradually) until you can spread a nice flat smear onto the clean back of a cake pan.

Take out a cup of icing and thin it some more to do the crumb coat.  Chill the cake with that first layer for an hour.  

Then add the final layer of buttercream which should be at least 1/4" thick. Use a metal tool (spatula or scraper) dipped into boiling hot water and dried off to do the final smoothing.

I wouldn't try a tool from the hardware store...they get rusty.

I've had good experiences with the viva paper towel method, but when I do a non crusting butter cream, I use a hot angled spatula.