i didnt know that hot spatulas change the color of icing- my base looks more marbled than i have envisioned but ive never done this ambitious of a cake— is there a way to even it out now or no?? Also i think my buttercream was too thick cuz this took a long time to get to this point of being smooth and i still thick it coulve been much better.
i just wasted 4 sticks of butter trying to get the orange red buttercream like the inspo pic— the color ended up too brown/terracotta. My consistency also seemed off— how do i know if the piping consistency is good?
by Correct_Bit_334
8 Comments
Not much advice I’m afraid, i actually like the marbly finish. That inspires pic is either AI or highly edited. You can’t compare your own work to that.
I can only guess, but based off the picture, your buttercream may be too thick like you said. Did you smooth is with a hot scraper? It looks like some of the color separated from your frosting when doing so. Did you ensure you mixed well enough? What kind of buttercream was it? Swiss meringue buttercream has always been the best consistency for me when it comes to smoothness. Going to need a bit more info to help troubleshoot!
Just embrace it and claim it’s a new technique inspired by Venetian plaster.
One idea to fix this is to warm your bench scraper with hot water and evenly scrap a thin layer across the sides of your cake. Will probably take several tries.
In the future, try Sugarologie’s American dream buttercream. Your frosting color deepened with heat to create this cool, but unintentional look. Hearing a little bit of the frosting with the red/orange food coloring will also produce a more vibrant color.
It does look like your icing is dense. You want to *really* whip it after you’ve added all the ingredients. Like 10 minutes in a stand mixer, even longer with a hand one. You want the frosting to be smooth, glossy, and light, if it still feels like soft butter, you have to keep going.
If you want a reliable but easy frosting I like [this one.](https://www.sugarhero.com/the-easiest-swiss-meringue-buttercream/#wprm-recipe-container-19678) I’ve used it tons of times with no issues. It does sometimes separate as I’m making it (I get impatient adding the butter) but all I have to do is take out like 1/2-1 cup, microwave it til it’s melted and a little warm, then add it back in, smooths right back out. (I’ll add a few photos so you can get an idea of the consistency)
As for the red, I agree with the other commenter that the photo is either AI or heavily edited with a yellow filter (I’m leaning edited and filtered for this one, none of the AI hallmarks are there besides the color and almost-too-clean vibe), that’s probably making the red look more orange than it was. If I wanted to make that color I’d get my frosting straight red, then add a little bit of yellow at a time until I got something I liked. A lot of darker oranges have brown in them to make them look more neutral/less primary, which is probably why yours went terra cotta. Also keep in mind that the color will often get darker as it ages, reds and purples are notorious for that, so go a little lighter than you think.
Photo of the frosting that shows the texture a bit:
https://preview.redd.it/www2wj7q978g1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=cf4effd1ab44b612552ae63a59e5c96c1a10daae
And if you want to see some cakes I’ve done with it to see how it smooths out, there are a couple [here](https://imgur.com/a/ULYM1Ek)
The only way too even it out now would be to reapply another layer. Or scrape it down to a thin crumb coat and do it again.
The issue could be a few things. Maybe your cake was too cold or your buttercream is too thick. I have a great recipe for the future if you are interested. It’s a little different than the standard.
When stacking and filling I leave my buttercream a bit thicker, chill the cake in the fridge after the crumb coat. The I leave the buttercream mixing on the lowest setting for a while so it warms up, has no air bubbles and if needed I take a little out and warm in in the microwave for a few seconds and add it back in the mixer. For the final coat you want it to be a but runnier.
Excess scraping especially if your heating up your scraper will cause the discoloration as some of the butter melts. It’s always worse with lighter colours. That’s why it’s important for good texture and temp on your buttercream so it smoothes easily and quickly.
I don’t know if any of this is helpful. Please feel free to reach out.
You might be able to try some tips for deepening bold colors like a vibrant red in frosting to make the color more even. Things like adding the color to the butter first (though you’d be guessing the amount and color unless this was a tried and true recipe and color), or melting a spoonful of the frosting and then whipping it back in, or letting the frosting sit for a full day before whipping again and using, or some combo of these.
Nope. Is what it is. You run the hot knife and this is what we get. I know, I know. But look – it’s a fabulous cake. The customer is going to be so stoked! Great job!