Icing Recipe and Tips
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Icing Recipe and Tips
BUTTERCREAM ICING
Stiff Consistancy-For flowers with upright petals.
Yeild: 3 Cups
1 t. Vanilla Extract (Clear Vanilla Extract for really white icing)
2 T. Water
1 C. Vegetable Shortening
1 T. Meringue Powder
4 C. Powdered Sugar
(a pinch of salt may be added to dilute the sweetness)
Sift powdered sugar and Meringue, set aside. Cream vanilla, water and shortening. Gradually add sifted dry ingred. Mix on med. until completely mixed. Blend an additional min or so until creamy.
Medium Consistancy-For borders and flowers (stars)
Add 1 t. water to each cup of stiff icing. Mix until well blended.
Thin Consistancy-For writing, making stems, leaves and frosting a cake.
Add 2 t. water to each cup of stiff icing. Mix until well blended.
Chocolate-Add 3 ounces melted bittersweet chocolate. If darker color is desired add brown icing color.
Color-Use icing colors. Regular food color will dilute your frosting and color will not be as bold. I use Wilton. Walmart should carry a good variety, or you can probably get it on line.
Piping Gel-You can get a tub of piping gel at a cake decorating store or Michaels, JoAnnes, Walmart. You can mix in a small amount of piping gel to your icing for smoother writing and better leaves. You can use piping gel to do a Pattern Transfer. Colored piping gel can be used to "paint" the tops of the cake.
Pattern Transfer-Trace picture onto wax paper. Flip over wax paper and trace picture with piping gel. Turn onto cake and brush lightly with decorating brush. Carefully lift away from cake.
When using shaped pans-grease with shortening and coat with flour. This will insure the cake holds the design and does not get stuck.
When using cake pans with flat bottoms-I spray my pans and line bottom with wax paper (cut to fit) This will insure the cake does not stick and it gives a nice decorating surface.
Be sure to level the tops of the cakes after they are done baking. You can buy a leveler or use dental floss. If the top of the cake isn't level when you turn it over to decorate it will crack open.
Smooth icing- Use really thin icing to make a crumb coat over cake. After it sets use regular "thin" icing to ice cake. When icing sets you can take a flat spatula and dip it in water and smooth out the minor bumps and ripples. careful if the spatula dries it will pull the icing with it.
Filling-I like to fill my 2 layer cakes with pudding. I use the directions on the package for pie filling. Pipe "medium" icing around the inside boarder of the bottom layer cake to prevent pudding from oozing out when you place top layer cake ontop. You can use any pie filling from the can too!
By Insaneusmcwife on Monday, September 6, 2004 - 11:15 am:
Also, I switched from the featherweight bags to Wiltons disposable plastic bags. The parchment work great but are more work to prepare. Don't get me wrong I still use the featherweights for icing the cake and the borders, but for the little stuff when I am using small amounts of lots of colors I use the disposables as they are easier to clean. (I thought about that after Bea asked me why I was still using the featherweights )
By Insaneusmcwife on Monday, September 6, 2004 - 11:38 am:
Oh also, I freeze my cakes after they come out of the oven...they are easier to decorate and to me they taste better. And I don't use the meringue powder unless I am making flowers. The icing naturally hardens, we live in the desert and I don't have any problems with out it. Also if you are using a regular pan (not a character pan, I spray the whole pan with cooking spray, line the bottom of pan with wax paper (cut it to fit) and spray the top of the wax paper again. This does three things 1-the cake won't stick to the pan 2-it gives a nice surface for icing the cake and 3-the pan is a lot easier to clean.
Now, here are written instructions to do a Frozen Buttercream transfer, as per the "Holly Levin Method":
Frozen buttercream transfer is a method of transferring your art to your frosted cake. You are making a buttercream "plaque" to apply to your cake. It is similar to the more familiar method of transferring a design to a frosted cake with gel on waxed paper, and filling in the design with a star tip. It is also comparable to run-in sugar design work, and it will make a beautiful reproduction of your art in buttercream on small as well as very large cakes.
To begin, use a piece of 3/8" non-flexible Plexiglas that will accommodate the size of your art, and will fit into your freezer. Using a piece of clip art or other not copyright protected art that you wish to transfer to your cake, cut the art to fit the Plexiglas and tape to the bottom of the pane. You want to be able to look through the Plexiglas and see the art clearly. Cover the Plexiglas with a piece of waxed paper or food-safe clear cellophane, and securely tape it at the corners. Be sure there are no bubbles or ridges. I use cellophane, as it allows for a clearer image.
Using a fine round tip, such as a #1 or #2, begin to outline your art. Start with most difficult sections, or those with the most detail, such as facial features. It is much easier to take off and begin again when you have not completed most of the piece. When you have finished outlining the art, you are ready to fill in each section with color. Using thinned buttercream, fill in each colored section completely with as steady a flow as possible, as if making run-in sugar pieces. Complete all of a color before moving on to the next. When you have filled in your entire piece, lift it off of your work surface and look through it to see if there are any empty spaces, or holes in your work. Fill these in with frosting.
Place the piece into the freezer for 10-15 minutes to firm up the frosting. Remove the plaque and using a #8 tip, outline the outside edge with white frosting, or whatever color the top of your cake is decorated in. Fill in the rest of the piece with a thin layer of white frosting and smooth the entire piece so that it is even and there are no bumps or holes. Freeze for up to an hour. For very large pieces, you may want to freeze overnight to ensure that it is quite solid.
Frost your cake, leaving off the top border. Allow the icing to crust for a few minutes. Remove your frozen buttercream plaque from the freezer and working quickly, remove taped edges of the cellophane. Turn the frozen piece over onto your hand and place it on top of your cake. You now have a beautiful, precise image transfer in delicious buttercream, and your customers will be amazed at your artistry!
Frozen buttercream transfers can also be used for lettering and numbers (be sure to reverse your art before you make your plaques!), or for small pieces to be applied to the side of your cake. You can make several pieces in advance and freeze them for later use. Enjoy this new way to make fabulous cakes!
Instructions by Holly Levin
AND, here's some Handy-dandy tips from Teresa regarding F.B.C.T.'s- Thanks Teresa!
Hi everyone--
I do a transfer almost every week. You can check out some of my pictures at: http://www.crawfordscreations.com/ or http://community.webshots.com/user/tdcrawford. You’ll find examples in Birthday and Special Occasion Cakes.
Tips:
1. They can be done way in advance and will last indefinitely. I either wrap them in plastic wrap and place in a pizza box (long term storage), or just in a zip bag.
2. I use acetate sheets or transparencies whenever possible. They're a little sturdier. However, the cellophane works great.
3. Try the glass cutting section of your home improvement center for the Plexiglas. They usually have small pieces that were left over from other customers cuts. They sell them for almost nothing. REMEMBER--make sure it will fit into your freezer.
4. Your buttercream needs to be crusting buttercream. Piping gel or corn syrup should not be added to thin. They don't freeze well.
5. When thinning--think writing consistency.
That's all that I can think of for now. I've never had a failure with this method. I think the Plexiglas is safer and more versatile. I've done them as large as 1/4 sheet size.
6. You may find that using a light box is helpful. It eliminates shadows that can make outlining difficult. It will also help you make sure that you have filled in the outlined area completely.
I hope you will let me know how you do!! Have fun, Teresa
I'm going to try to enlarge the pictures.
I can't get it large enough for you to read but you get the idea with the Holly Levin method. You can email me and I will send you the actual article if you would like.
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