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My early attempts at frosting looked like a toddler did it.
Now my cakes look almost professional.
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tyler_young6mo ago
What kind of frosting were you using? My first cakes were a mess with American buttercream because it crusts so fast. I switched to Swiss meringue buttercream and it was a game changer, it stays smooth so you can fix mistakes. A bench scraper and a turntable let me get those super sharp, clean sides. Getting the cake cold before I frost it also stops so many crumbs.
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west.susan6mo ago
Your mention of American buttercream crusting fast hits home, my early cakes looked like they were wearing armor. I once spent so long trying to smooth it out that it set in weird lumps, and I had to pretend it was abstract art. Swiss meringue buttercream really is more forgiving, but I still mess up the temperature sometimes and get a soupy mess. Chilling the cake first is a tip I learned after a crumb catastrophe that made me want to give up baking. Now with a turntable and cold cake, my sides are almost sharp, but I still have moments where it looks like a toddler helped.
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taylor_wells6mo ago
@tyler_young, that tip about chilling the cake first is so important, I heard a baker say it's a must for clean layers. Read in a baking blog that Swiss meringue buttercream works better because the sugar is cooked, which stops it from crusting fast. The blog said keeping everything at room temp before mixing stops the buttercream from breaking, which used to happen to me a lot. Using a turntable with even pressure, like you said, made my sides look sharp instead of messy. Cold cake and a hot bench scraper are tricks I learned from online videos, and they really do help a ton. Now my cakes look much better, all because of these small changes.
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thea4526mo ago
Swiss meringue buttercream really is the game changer. It stays workable forever so you can fix every little ripple. The temperature thing is big, too warm and it slides right off, too cold and it pulls crumbs. A hot bench scraper makes those sharp edges effortless, just run it under the tap. Practicing on a turntable with even pressure changed my whole technique. My frostings now look smooth and intentional, no more toddler hands.
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