Why do I always end up with this hideous finish? I can never get smooth sides.
Why do I always end up with this hideous finish? I can never get smooth sides.
by Forgotmy_username-
23 Comments
Funny_Delay_3138
Could you provide more context? What kind of frosting, tools, and techniques are you using?
mjpd70
I would try to use the back side of a metal spatula instead of a scraper. My process is usually cover the cake, smooth with a spatula, fridge for 15 min., smooth again but this time run the spatula under HOT water for a bit and quickly wipe dry before smoothing. I hope that helps!!
TsundereBurger
I struggle with smooth sides too. I’ve learned not to chill my cake for too long and tempering the BC helps.
Personally, I think American buttercream is easier to work with than SMBC, but that could be because I have used it way more. These tips are for American buttercream, just keep that in mind.
Crumb coat cake and refrigerate for 30 minutes or freeze for 15 minutes. I make sure it’s hard to the touch before proceeding. I know you do this already, but wasn’t sure how long you were doing it for.
Smooth icing in bowl with a spatula to remove air bubbles. Pipe icing into cake with piping bag. I think you do this too, but it does help. Smooth with offset spatula, but not too much. Smooth top completely, then move onto sides. With a straight bench scraper, start scraping the sides. Fill any holes in the icing with more icing and smooth over that. I clean off my bench scraper after each pass on the cake. For the final pass, I rinse off my bench scraper and wipe it clean so there is no icing on it. Then I place the bench scraper at a 45 degree angle to get rid of air bubbles and make it super smooth. You aren’t really scraper much icing off at this point, if at all.
Place in freezer or fridge until hard to the touch. I then take it out and cut off the top ridges with a knife and smooth with an off set spatula. Wipe off cake board and done! Plastic cake boards are so much better than the paper ones. They wipe cleanly and look better.
Hang in there. I have made a lot a lot of cakes and I still get frustrated when smoothing cakes. My husband knows to not be in the kitchen during that part. It does get easier though with practice. Hope this helps!
Forgotmy_username-
I’m gonna use whipped chocolate ganache as frosting for a cake I’m making this weekend. How hard is it to work with that kind of frosting? Would it end up looking like this again? I’m gonna use all the recommendations everyone here shared with me.
Adorable-Living3487
I recently tried SMBC and imo best frosting I ever tried, but only if done correctly. Whites brought to the right temperature and all sugar dissolved and then mixing for at least 12 mins. Mixing for so long until the meringue cools down and then adding soften, real butter. I use kitchen aid for that. Before that, my frosting to go is 1:1 ratio butter and sweet condensed milk – this can’t go wrong and I learnt with this how to properly decorate cake. It’s easy to smooth it out, easy to work with and tastes great. Mix 200g butter with hand mixer until white and then slowly pour in 200g of condensed milk while mixing on slow just until combined
CandyHeartFarts
Some it will just be time/practice.
A good way to get in more practice is to keep a “practice cake” wrapped in plastic your freezer that you just re-use. Icing freezes well also since it’s just butter. Overnight in the fridge will get it to regular usable temps. The cake you can just pull out right before. When done, just scrape off the outer layer icing leaving only the crumb coat and re-freeze! They keep just fine for over a year but I typically toss around then.
The biggest trick is to use a warm metal blade that is larger than your cake so you are doing a single continuous scrape. And you want to have more icing on than you’ll leave to start pre-smoothing bc a good amount will come off.
Mixing is important, if you have a lot of air whipped in that will leave bubbles and air pockets. Possibly part of the issue in the images.
And just generally you’ll want to still be intentional about putting the icing on in the first place, because that an also leave a bunch of holes that will reveal when trying to smooth.
Is your scraper taller or shorter than your cake? How much frosting are you putting on after the crumb coat?
There are a couple of tricks to getting a smooth flat top: the easiest one I find is when you crumb coat, you then glob frosting on the top and add a cake round and smoosh it till it’s level. I use an actual level to check. Then put the cake in the fridge to set up. Once it’s set up, you remove the cake round with a long offset spatula. You will then hopefully only have minor touch ups to do.
As for getting a smooth coat I would diagnose your frosting as either not having a long enough scraper and possibly your not having put enough frosting on the sides, as the scraper is only touching the middle section of the cake.
The idea is to glob in frosting, like way too much frosting, and then methodically scrape it off to make it smooth. This is different to putting on an appropriate amount of frosting and trying to smooth it out by pushing it around the cake, which might be what you were trying to do?
womp-the-womper
Put a glob of icing wherever there’s a hole, then smooth it out. Don’t be afraid to press hard, but don’t press too hard unless you’re trying to make a naked cake. Have a bowl nearby so you can scrape the extra frosting off of your spatula instead of dragging it around the cake more.
Also it helps if your buttercream is slightly warmed up, it looks pretty dry rn which will make it hard to spread evenly
BirdieRosewell
The one thing that stands out to me most is how dry your icing is. Assuming your icing wasn’t too dry in the beginning, overworking it will dry it out very quickly.
Using heat or water after it dries out will compromise the icing and give a more pronounced crust. I use a quick icer to lay down nearly perfect icing and use my bench scraper to blend in the seams. To learn to do it fast enough and with as little manipulation as possible, I made crap cakes (just cheap boxed mixes) to practice on and set a 5 minute timer. At 5 minutes I would scrape the cake down and try again with fresh icing. It’s a huge pain and a waste, which is why it worked for my lazy perfectionist self.
Potential_Scheme6667
What kind of turntable are you using? This looks like when I first started because my turntable was a cheap Wilton one and it didn’t spin smoothly. I got an Ateco turntable and it was a game changer.
Sea-Substance8762
How many layers is that?
Striking_Ad_6742
I just started doing cakes and really appreciated the tutorials from Sugar & Sparrow. Definitely agreed about a metal scraper, and doing it in steps if needed.
saltbeh2025
Heat a cup of the buttercream in the microwave for maybe 20-25 seconds till warm, add it back to rest of buttercream and whip with the paddle attachment till smooth.
dickholejohnny
Get your frosting way softer than you think you would need to for your final coat. I keep whipping mine until it looks too soft and then pipe in into the cake with a round open tip. Your frosting looks too stiff to properly work with.
dupareilaumeme_
My thought: whip the buttercream longer for a silkier texture. Go over all those low spots with some extra buttercream on a spatula. Then, go around it again but hold the scraper at a tighter angle to the cake (like 45°) and make sure the bottom edge of the scraper is completely flat against the turntable. Scrape very, very gently. You don’t want to pull much buttercream off, you’re just looking to even it out.
3RdRocktothesun
I feel like a lot of the top comments haven’t frosted many cakes and are going off suggestions they’ve seen or read. Please, don’t buy a special tool yet.
The tool you’re using is fine, your buttercream is fine, your temperature is fine. This cake looks like you’ve accidentally scrapped frosting off with residual frosting from your scrapper. (Remember, frosting is attracted to frosting like a magnet. If your tool has any frosting on it, it will yank it from the cake)
When you’re spinning your cake to smooth the edges, you need to constantly pause and clean off your tool. (I wipe my scraper or spatula off probably 5-8 times each time I complete a rotation around the cake).
Don’t just scrape the frosting off, make sure it’s totally clean by rinsing it in water or wiping with a paper towel
The type of frosting you’re using could be it or also the consistency of its American butter cream.
SubstantialPressure3
Wet your spatula. If you have a wheel, use something like a playing card. A restaurant I worked at had a deck of playing cards that were strictly for smoothing icing out. One use, and thrown away.
unholy_hotdog
Are you doing the “heat the scraper” technique? It takes a lot of practice to know where to place frosting in gaps.
Appropriate-Head2054
Warm the buttercream in the microwave for 30secs or so you want it a little sloppier for applying and smoothing
23 Comments
Could you provide more context? What kind of frosting, tools, and techniques are you using?
I would try to use the back side of a metal spatula instead of a scraper. My process is usually cover the cake, smooth with a spatula, fridge for 15 min., smooth again but this time run the spatula under HOT water for a bit and quickly wipe dry before smoothing. I hope that helps!!
I struggle with smooth sides too. I’ve learned not to chill my cake for too long and tempering the BC helps.
You might want to try Acrylic Cake Discs!
https://preview.redd.it/5018ld2vp7hf1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=98d7dc16fbb805eeadb44ac98c6632f3e983168c
Personally, I think American buttercream is easier to work with than SMBC, but that could be because I have used it way more. These tips are for American buttercream, just keep that in mind.
Crumb coat cake and refrigerate for 30 minutes or freeze for 15 minutes. I make sure it’s hard to the touch before proceeding. I know you do this already, but wasn’t sure how long you were doing it for.
Smooth icing in bowl with a spatula to remove air bubbles. Pipe icing into cake with piping bag. I think you do this too, but it does help. Smooth with offset spatula, but not too much. Smooth top completely, then move onto sides. With a straight bench scraper, start scraping the sides. Fill any holes in the icing with more icing and smooth over that. I clean off my bench scraper after each pass on the cake. For the final pass, I rinse off my bench scraper and wipe it clean so there is no icing on it. Then I place the bench scraper at a 45 degree angle to get rid of air bubbles and make it super smooth. You aren’t really scraper much icing off at this point, if at all.
Place in freezer or fridge until hard to the touch. I then take it out and cut off the top ridges with a knife and smooth with an off set spatula. Wipe off cake board and done! Plastic cake boards are so much better than the paper ones. They wipe cleanly and look better.
Hang in there. I have made a lot a lot of cakes and I still get frustrated when smoothing cakes. My husband knows to not be in the kitchen during that part. It does get easier though with practice. Hope this helps!
I’m gonna use whipped chocolate ganache as frosting for a cake I’m making this weekend. How hard is it to work with that kind of frosting? Would it end up looking like this again? I’m gonna use all the recommendations everyone here shared with me.
I recently tried SMBC and imo best frosting I ever tried, but only if done correctly. Whites brought to the right temperature and all sugar dissolved and then mixing for at least 12 mins. Mixing for so long until the meringue cools down and then adding soften, real butter. I use kitchen aid for that.
Before that, my frosting to go is 1:1 ratio butter and sweet condensed milk – this can’t go wrong and I learnt with this how to properly decorate cake. It’s easy to smooth it out, easy to work with and tastes great. Mix 200g butter with hand mixer until white and then slowly pour in 200g of condensed milk while mixing on slow just until combined
Some it will just be time/practice.
A good way to get in more practice is to keep a “practice cake” wrapped in plastic your freezer that you just re-use.
Icing freezes well also since it’s just butter. Overnight in the fridge will get it to regular usable temps. The cake you can just pull out right before.
When done, just scrape off the outer layer icing leaving only the crumb coat and re-freeze! They keep just fine for over a year but I typically toss around then.
The biggest trick is to use a warm metal blade that is larger than your cake so you are doing a single continuous scrape. And you want to have more icing on than you’ll leave to start pre-smoothing bc a good amount will come off.
Mixing is important, if you have a lot of air whipped in that will leave bubbles and air pockets. Possibly part of the issue in the images.
And just generally you’ll want to still be intentional about putting the icing on in the first place, because that an also leave a bunch of holes that will reveal when trying to smooth.
I think you probably need more practice. Try this tool, might help you.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08D3X6N2J
Is your scraper taller or shorter than your cake? How much frosting are you putting on after the crumb coat?
There are a couple of tricks to getting a smooth flat top: the easiest one I find is when you crumb coat, you then glob frosting on the top and add a cake round and smoosh it till it’s level. I use an actual level to check. Then put the cake in the fridge to set up. Once it’s set up, you remove the cake round with a long offset spatula. You will then hopefully only have minor touch ups to do.
As for getting a smooth coat I would diagnose your frosting as either not having a long enough scraper and possibly your not having put enough frosting on the sides, as the scraper is only touching the middle section of the cake.
The idea is to glob in frosting, like way too much frosting, and then methodically scrape it off to make it smooth. This is different to putting on an appropriate amount of frosting and trying to smooth it out by pushing it around the cake, which might be what you were trying to do?
Put a glob of icing wherever there’s a hole, then smooth it out. Don’t be afraid to press hard, but don’t press too hard unless you’re trying to make a naked cake. Have a bowl nearby so you can scrape the extra frosting off of your spatula instead of dragging it around the cake more.
Also it helps if your buttercream is slightly warmed up, it looks pretty dry rn which will make it hard to spread evenly
The one thing that stands out to me most is how dry your icing is. Assuming your icing wasn’t too dry in the beginning, overworking it will dry it out very quickly.
Using heat or water after it dries out will compromise the icing and give a more pronounced crust. I use a quick icer to lay down nearly perfect icing and use my bench scraper to blend in the seams. To learn to do it fast enough and with as little manipulation as possible, I made crap cakes (just cheap boxed mixes) to practice on and set a 5 minute timer. At 5 minutes I would scrape the cake down and try again with fresh icing. It’s a huge pain and a waste, which is why it worked for my lazy perfectionist self.
What kind of turntable are you using? This looks like when I first started because my turntable was a cheap Wilton one and it didn’t spin smoothly. I got an Ateco turntable and it was a game changer.
How many layers is that?
I just started doing cakes and really appreciated the tutorials from Sugar & Sparrow. Definitely agreed about a metal scraper, and doing it in steps if needed.
Heat a cup of the buttercream in the microwave for maybe 20-25 seconds till warm, add it back to rest of buttercream and whip with the paddle attachment till smooth.
Get your frosting way softer than you think you would need to for your final coat. I keep whipping mine until it looks too soft and then pipe in into the cake with a round open tip. Your frosting looks too stiff to properly work with.
My thought: whip the buttercream longer for a silkier texture. Go over all those low spots with some extra buttercream on a spatula. Then, go around it again but hold the scraper at a tighter angle to the cake (like 45°) and make sure the bottom edge of the scraper is completely flat against the turntable. Scrape very, very gently. You don’t want to pull much buttercream off, you’re just looking to even it out.
I feel like a lot of the top comments haven’t frosted many cakes and are going off suggestions they’ve seen or read. Please, don’t buy a special tool yet.
The tool you’re using is fine, your buttercream is fine, your temperature is fine. This cake looks like you’ve accidentally scrapped frosting off with residual frosting from your scrapper. (Remember, frosting is attracted to frosting like a magnet. If your tool has any frosting on it, it will yank it from the cake)
When you’re spinning your cake to smooth the edges, you need to constantly pause and clean off your tool. (I wipe my scraper or spatula off probably 5-8 times each time I complete a rotation around the cake).
Don’t just scrape the frosting off, make sure it’s totally clean by rinsing it in water or wiping with a paper towel
([A few of my cakes for credibility](https://imgur.com/a/hHLFDiS))
The type of frosting you’re using could be it or also the consistency of its American butter cream.
Wet your spatula. If you have a wheel, use something like a playing card. A restaurant I worked at had a deck of playing cards that were strictly for smoothing icing out. One use, and thrown away.
Are you doing the “heat the scraper” technique? It takes a lot of practice to know where to place frosting in gaps.
Warm the buttercream in the microwave for 30secs or so you want it a little sloppier for applying and smoothing