smoothing with paper towel

by Tammie
(Hollister, NC)

I made a cake and used the cream cheese frosting(which was wonderful by the way) and I tried to use the smoothing with a paper towel technique. However, it did not work so well. I pulled almost all of the frosting off of my cake. Then I had to re-frost the cake. Thank God I had extra frosting. Can you tell me exactly how and when to use this technique or can it even be used with the cream cheese frosting.

Some of the cakes that I have seen on this site, look like they were done professionally. It really makes me feel like an amateur. And alot of people use fondant to cover their entire cake. The marshmallow fondant recipe shown here actually taste better than that from the stores, but I really cant imagine people eating a whole cake made from it. What is your experience with this? I guess I just have a lot of questions because I have so much to learn.

Thank you for your time.

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smoothing with paper towel

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Mar 27, 2009
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Candy Melts
by: Michelle (admin)

I use this method to make all my chocolate decorations. They are made using candy melts, which are a special type of chocolate used for candy making. They are available at any cake decorating store or large department store that has a cake decorating section.

Regards,
Michelle (editor)

Mar 26, 2009
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chocolate decorations
by: Anonymous

This was wonderful information. What kind of chocolate decorations do you use on your buttercream frosting?

Mar 26, 2009
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Crusting Frosting & Fondant
by: Michelle (admin)

Hi Tammie,

Here are some answers that will hopefully help you out:

1. To smooth frosting with a paper towel, you need to use a 'crusting' recipe for your frosting. You frost your cake, refrigerate until the frosting crusts, then smooth with a paper towel by placing the towel and very gently rubbing your hand in a circular motion to smooth the frosting underneath. Move the towel and repeat until finished. Cream cheese frosting is usually not used for this method, but if you would like to try it you could add 1 tablespoon of meringue powder per pound of powdered sugar that the recipe calls for. This would also work with a regular buttercream recipe.

I don't use this method much at all. It's a personal choice. I prefer to use a wide spackling trowel from the hardware store to smooth the frosting as I turn the cake on a turntable.

2. It's true that Marshmallow Fondant tastes better than store bought fondant but, in general, I don't use much fondant at all. I love the way it looks but most people still peel it off the cake before eating. I can't bear to spend all that time on decorations only to watch them get tossed in the trash. That's why I personally like to use buttercream with chocolate decorations - I've never seen one decoration from a cake tossed yet :-)

Hope this helps.
Regards,
Michelle (editor)

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