Happy National Cake Day!!
Icing cakes can seem daunting but turns out to be pretty easy if you have the right tools and steps. I've been baking and icing cakes for over a decade but to this day I still have terrible nerves about the icing process. Last week I posted my recipe for the best American vanilla buttercream. I love to use that recipe because it sets up nicely, hardens, and gives a smooth edge.
What you need:
A smooth spatula
An offset spatula
An icing smoother (mine is by Wilton I also use their Baker's Blade)
A turntable (also by Wilton)
Buttercream
Cake layers
Directions
Start by making sure your cake layers are completely cool or else they will melt your buttercream and it will be a literal hot mess. Stack your layers however you like, with whatever fillings you prefer. Just make sure that if you are using a jam or ganache between your layers to pipe a dam of buttercream around it first, making a border so that the filling does not spill into your crumb coat.
For the crumb coat, start with a large dollop of icing on top of your cake using the flat spatula. Using the flat spatula and turning your cake, smooth the top of the icing until you almost reach the top of your cake. It's okay of some of the cake layers show at this point. Spinning with your hand and using the spatula, bring your icing down to the sides of the cake, rotating with your turntable to make the process easier. Using the offset spatula, gently drag the icing around the cake. You want to go in only on direction so that you don't drag crumbs back into the icing, making it bumpy and crumbly. Try to even out your frosting, adding dollops where there might be holes. The top of the cake will have an extra lip of icing now. Using the same offset spatula, slowly drag that lip of icing towards the middle of the cake, wiping off with each swipe.
Chill cake for 30 minutes minimum in the fridge or freezer.
Repeat the same steps that we used for the crumb coat fr the final layer of icing: start with a large dollop of icing on top of your cake using the flat spatula, bring your icing down to the sides of the cake, rotating with your turntable to make the process easier. Here is the step where you won't go as close to the cake, leaving a bit more icing on the top and sides as you smooth. Starting level with the base of the cake and at a 90 degree angle, use your smoother to smooth the icing around the cake.
This may take a few spins. Make sure that you are holding the smoother level to the base but against the cake, on a slight angle. Slowly turn the cake and wipe the smoother after every pass. use the offset spatula with icing to fill in any holes then smooth over the whole cake again. Once you get the sides where you want them, smooth the top lip of icing using a clean offset spatula, and pushing the icing towards the middle of the cake. If you want a super sharp edge you can use a warm knife or even warm your spatula. I didn't smooth the top of this cake because I knew I was going to cover it in ganache and sprinkles. Stay tuned for that post coming soon!
