i tried the bct twice in the last couple of days. The first was of Elmo and he looked good considering it was the first time. A few pieces of the border came off and a little of his mouth came off too but i just piped some more icing onto it (since it was my first time) after i had already laid him on the cake. i noticed that Elmo was sitting up off the cake some (not level with the icing on the cake), including the border. What is that? Wheni did a bct the second time on a Chinese symbol, again, a few pieces came off but was able to fill in after i put it on the cake. I noticed again, that the image was sitting up off the cake some. However, the next night after people had already eaten it i noticed that the image (what was left of it) seemed to have sunken dowm some and was now level witht the rest of the icing. Isn't that the way it is suppose to look? WHat do i do to make it sit level with the rest of the cake? IF that doesn't work, how can i cover up any parts that are sitting up from the cake? And how do I keep little pieces from tearing off when the rest of it goes on fine? Please help i'm making a birthday cake for someone that i have to do the bct elmo again and i want him to look great!!

Thanks,

Well, the little tears in the icing picture are probably from the icing sticking to the waxed paper, right? If thats the case then the picture is thawing out before you get it on the cake, may just be spots where your hot hands touch the waxed paper. What i do is place the image on the cake then pop the cake with the image and waxed paper still attached back in the fridge until the whole thing is solid then (if its really hot i'll do this with the cake in the fridge) i pull the paper off.

As far as the image sitting up so high, this was the one draw back to this tecnique that i didn't like. So to fix that i do the whole top of the cake as a transfer. Then you don't have any thing sitting up higher then the rest of the cake.

"What do i do to make it sit level with the rest of the cake? " christiancaker

Usually as the image thaws, it settles on the cake. It may be sitting high since it's frozen. That's my guess.


kos

The other thing that i have found is that if you don't "squoosh" the image before you freeze it the final time, it will sit too high as well.

Now, don't get me wrong -- I'm not saying to smear the whole thing flat, but if you have sections that are higher than the others due to the way that you have piped in the frosting, it will sit high like that.

Lastly -- I wonder if the pieces are coming off the edges because they aren't "attached" to the rest of the transfer. That is, if you aren't blending in the frosting well enough to attach the different colors.

Are you checking the image from underneath to make sure that you don't have any air gaps or spaces?

I do agree, though, that if it is melting too fast, the edges will come off.

I have found, though, that even if you have a part that is sitting too high, if you flip the image over and then press it down slightly (as long as it is really good and solid), you shouldn't have too many problems.

I've done a few transfers (two of them are in my profile -- Sailor Moon and Thomas the Tank & Friends) so I hope you find some of this helpful.

The other thing that i have found is that if you don't "squoosh" the image before you freeze it the final time, it will sit too high as well.

Now, don't get me wrong -- I'm not saying to smear the whole thing flat, but if you have sections that are higher than the others due to the way that you have piped in the frosting, it will sit high like that.

Lastly -- I wonder if the pieces are coming off the edges because they aren't "attached" to the rest of the transfer. That is, if you aren't blending in the frosting well enough to attach the different colors.

Are you checking the image from underneath to make sure that you don't have any air gaps or spaces?

I do agree, though, that if it is melting too fast, the edges will come off.

I have found, though, that even if you have a part that is sitting too high, if you flip the image over and then press it down slightly (as long as it is really good and solid), you shouldn't have too many problems.

I've done a few transfers (two of them are in my profile -- Sailor Moon and Thomas the Tank & Friends) so I hope you find some of this helpful.

okay, so i need to make sure i smooth both sides while it is still on the wax paper, give gravity time to let it settle, and make sure my filler icing goes all the way to the border. Cross your fingers!!