HOW TO FROST A REALLY SMOOTH CAKE with no crumbs
A pretty cake adds a bit of ceremony to an occasion, don’t you think? As far as birthdays and moments of congratulations go, I think flowers and cakes are the perfect thing for celebrating. I had a friend who used to make a pretty little cake for each friend on their birthday. So I thought I’d share with you a new little trick I learned in case you’d like to do the same: how to frost a smooth, level cake, with no crumbs in the frosting.
You’ll need:
—batter for one cake and pans of your choice (homemade cake is usually denser and holds up well under frosting, but cake mixes work too)
—parchment paper and a paper towel
—a pastry bag and tip, if possible, for laying the frosting on the cake (see the cake icer tip below)
—a recipe of buttercream frosting of a thinner consistency, about as thin and spreadable as butter at room temperature
Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of your pan. I do this by folding a piece in quarters and pressing it into the pan to get an idea of the size.
Grease the pan, lay down the parchment paper, then grease and flour over the parchment. Make sure to pat out excess flour. This step is so helpful for getting your cake out at the end.
Add batter so your pan is 2/3 full.
While your cake is baking, I like to prepare 4-6 strips of parchment to place around my cake platter. That way, if I frost the platter a bit, it will come off when I pull out the parchment paper.
Bake your cake until a toothpick comes out clean, with no big crumbs sticking to it.
Once the cake is cooled, level it using a cake leveler or serrated knife. Whenever possible, I like to level the cake right in the pan, then take it out and let it finish cooling.
Flip cake so the bottom side is up, and peel off parchment paper from the top of the cake.
I was recently introduced to the cake icer tip, which I use with a 16-inch pastry bag. It is fantastic for laying frosting on the cake. If you don’t have one, you can improvise by piping your buttercream frosting out of a ziplock bag and using a knife to keep it on. The trick is to lay frosting on the cake, not rub it over the cake, which will pull crumbs up into your frosting.
If you use the cake icer tip, the jagged edge faces towards the cake, the smooth edge away from the cake.
Use a spatula or knife to level the frosting. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just mostly level. Again, try to press the frosting against the cake, not rub it up from the cake.
If you put strips of parchment under the cake, carefully pull them out.
Let the cake sit for 15 minutes to let the frosting dry a bit on the outside.
This is the last step, the fun part. Use a piece of parchment paper or a paper towel and lay it right on the cake. Use your finger to press lightly over the cake and smooth the icing, then peel the paper away. Do the same for the sides. You can pull it up and press it back on several times to get the cake as smooth as you like it.
If you use a papertowel with an embossed pattern, you can have the pattern transfer to your cake. If this is the effect you’re going for, make sure you use the embossed side of the paper towel against the cake. And for this effect, you get only one shot of laying down the paper and peeling it away; you can’t re-lay the paper once you’ve peeled it away.
oooh. so smooth and crubless!
Now add something fun and deliver!
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Tags: a little gift for a grown-up's birthday, DIY gifts by GiversLog, fun to try with teens, gifts from the kitchen, gifts of congratulations
May 28th, 2009 at 8:56 am
Brilliant tutorial. I will be trying this technique soon. Thanks for sharing.
May 28th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Amber, it’s almost like you took a cake decorating class with all that knowledge! Love the tutorial. Very insightful, and of course the pics are wonderful. =)
May 28th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
ya…good thing I have friends who get me out of the house to actually try this stuff. so glad you checked….now that you have internet! yea. I was going to call and see what you thought of it.
May 29th, 2009 at 5:55 am
The perfect tutorial! You don’t know how badly I needed to see this technique. Thank you!
Do you mind if I link to this and share the genius?
May 29th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Hi there,
I’m glad you found it helpful! I’d love a link anytime. Thanks!!
May 30th, 2009 at 10:41 am
I took a Wilton class a few years ago and this was a trick they taught us. So easy and such a great result!
June 10th, 2009 at 9:49 am
[...] Posted on June 10, 2009 by laurenmakes I saw this tip yesterday on the Giver’s Log. So simple and effective. This is going to bring my cake [...]
June 18th, 2009 at 8:12 am
[...] must admit that the art of frosting a cake properly was lost on me… until I saw this post on the giver’s log. I always thought that my icing spatula or technique just sucked… but now I realize that the [...]
June 19th, 2009 at 4:18 am
[...] graduation, etc. If you feel the same, you will love Giver’s Log’s awesome tutorial on how to frost a cake without leaving crumbs. I am going to have to try some of these tricks. Share this idea with [...]
September 13th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
I have been making cakes for almost 8 years now, which is a long time considering I am only 19. I started with my grandmother, who has been doing it for 50 years, but now I do it mostly with friends and alone. I could not figure out how to get my cakes smooth and perfect. Thanks so much for the tip about the paper towel or parchment paper. No one I make cakes with knew about it and I would have never thought of it on my own. Even my grandmother had not heard of doing it that way. But it works GREAT! Thank you so much! You really helped me (guess I should say US) out! :)
~Emily M.
September 14th, 2009 at 8:46 am
thanks for the note, Emily! it sounds like you could teach me a thing or two about cake making. i love that you learned from your grandmother. i can’t think of a better way to spend time together.
October 14th, 2009 at 9:15 am
I have been decorating cakes for 5 years now, and have used this technique. However, instead of using buttercream frosting, I much rather use a creamy frosting, (Wiltons). I never seem to get an intirely smooth cake surface. I have froze the cake and went from there, I have let it set at room temp and ice from that point, each giving me the same result. Any suggestions?
October 15th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
[...] How to Frost a Really Smooth Cake Giver’s Logista [...]
October 17th, 2009 at 5:56 am
Hi Mandy,
Thanks for your comment. For me the most important part has been to make sure I leave the right amount of time between spreading the frosting on the cake and then laying the parchment paper over it and smoothing it out. After I’ve spread the frosting on, I make sure to leave the cake alone until just the surface of the frosting has become dry enough so it isn’t tacky, but the icing under is still a bit soft. Once you’ve waited and smoothed the cake, you could try waiting another 10 minutes and then smoothing it again. Only this time lay parchment paper over the cake and smooth it using the back of a spoon dipped in hot water. I’ve also tried freezing the cake and then smoothing it with the back of a spoon dipped in hot water (directly on the icing, no need to use parchment paper when the icing has been frozen). I really hope this helps somehow. If you figure out a solution, I’d love to hear about it.
October 19th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Hi Mandy,
I was just thinking about your comment and had one more thought. Have you played with the amount of sugar in your recipe? Maybe adding more powdered sugar would make the difference. Just an idea!
November 3rd, 2009 at 6:14 am
[...] to frost a smooth cake in {this tutorial}. « Care Package [...]
February 3rd, 2010 at 7:52 am
Brilliant ideas Amber! I rarely make cakes (am afraid I’ll eat it all!) but I happened to last night. Wish I’d known to try this. Oh well, now I have a reason to make another one soon. :-) Thanks for the reminder today to come back and check this post.