Everytime I frost my cake I get pieces of cake in my frosting and it is driving me nuts. How long are you suppose to let the cake cool? I have let it cool over night and even a few hours and get the same results. 
What am I doing wrong???? Any help would be appreciated.
Everytime I frost my cake I get pieces of cake in my frosting and it is driving me nuts. How long are you suppose to let the cake cool? I have let it cool over night and even a few hours and get the same results.
What am I doing wrong???? Any help would be appreciated.
You need to crumb coat the cake then apply a thicker icing layer once the crumb coat has set.
Also make sure your icing is the proper consistancy for icing a cake. It maybe too stiff.
As for how long to let the cake cool. Until it's no longer warm.
This weekend I did four cakes. The first two I did without doing a crumb coat and I had many crumbs showing through the icing. Especially near the corners where the icing would often not stick. The second two cakes I put a crumb coat on and you would not believe the difference. And one was even a chocolate cake. So, I would try the crumb coat!
Yep, you need to crumb coat for sure. It will definetely get rid of the crumbs!
I mostly let mine cool all night. Then I put a crumb coad on it. This is a very thin layer of frosting. When its crusted, or dry to the touch (about 10-15 minutes) I frost it like I would regulary do. Also when I dont do a crumb coat I dont pull my spatula up off the cake, and I put the amount of icing I need on the top of my cake so I dont keep going back & forth to the icing bowl. I rub my icing, back & forth, like you would pet cat or dog. Gosh I hope this makes since. 
Some people say only let it cool 10 minutes before taking it out of the pan. I say it doesn't matter how long it sits in the pan. It should be completely cool before you start icing, though.
You probably just need more practice icing in order to keep the crumbs out. Try pre-icing with a really thin coat to "stick the crumbs down." Let it crust (If you use a crusting recipe) and then put a normal coat of icing on it.
Keep practicing and you will get the hang of it!
Some people say only let it cool 10 minutes before taking it out of the pan. I say it doesn't matter how long it sits in the pan.
If you let the cake sit too long in the pan you run the risk of it sticking to the pan. At which point you will need to pop it back in the oven again for a few minutes to warm it up so it will release. Which kind of defeats the cooling process.
I let my cakes cool in the pan until the point where I can pick them up without using mitts but it's still warm to the touch. Any sooner than that and I am flirting with disaster.
I like to refrigerate my cakes (about an hour)before leveling, torting or icing. This gives me a firmer cake, and less crumbs. Sometimes I need to let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes before i can level it, if I left it in the refrigerator too long.
Do you all freeze your cakes before torting? And if so, do you torte them frozen? I have crumb problems all the time. I've tried crumb coating too - but I guess I don't know exactly how to apply one. I've heard of using simple syrup and thought of trying that to "glue" the crumbs together....
When you put on your crumb coat, how thick do you make that? And are you trying not to get crumbs in your crumb coat?? Should that be smooth on the outside too?
I let it cool completely before I ice--10 minutes in the pan and then turned on to a cooling rack. I rarely crumb coat. I usually only do a crumb coat if I do a sculpted cake. I sometimes take a pastry brush and "sweep" the excess crumbs off, but not all the time. I just use the big icer tip and never get crumbs.
Here is a site that explains How to Fill Layers & Frost a Cake with pictures. It explains the crumb coat with pictures. http://www.baking911.com/decorating/cakes_frostandfill.htm#fill%20and%20frost%20a%20cake. Hope this helps.
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