I made my first homemade cake yesterday! Carrot. yum! It was great but it looked pretty bad because when icing the sides of the cake (it was a 2-layer 9" round) I made such a mess all over the side of the plate and the coverage on the sides was not even.
What is the best way to apply icing to the sides of a cake?
thanks
2007-01-30 05:28:48 · 20 answers · asked by MissDixie 3 in Food & Drink ➔ Cooking & Recipes
If you have time, bake your cake a day ahead and freeze it. This works really well as you don't get as many crumbs in your icing, and when it thaws, it's really, really moist!
If you don't have time to pre-freeze, try this:
I always take 4 strips of wax paper and lay them on my serving plate (each side, top and bottom) and then place the first layer of the cake on the plate. Ice it, then place the second layer on the first and ice it. Once it's all covered, carefully pull the wax paper out from under the first layer, and you SHOULD have a relatively clean serving plate!
I hope it works - blessings!
2007-01-30 05:31:12 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
When icing a cake, put waxed or parchment paper strips under the bottom layer, if icing drops it will drop there and not directly on the plate. Remove the paper after icing and plate will look perfect!
Put icing on top of the first layer, top with the second layer. Put a large dollop of frosting in the middle of the top layer, spread over the top and over the edge, pushing the frosting down the sides. You can add more frosting on the sides until it covers the cake. When the cake is fully covered, hold your spatula perpindicular to and lightly against the cake, turning the cake plate around. This gives a nice smooth appearance to the icing.
Using a metal cake spatula really helps you get a smooth finish to the icing. Of course, some icings aren't meant to have a smooth finish and that's alright too!
If the icing just won't turn out how you'd like, you can always decorate the cake with colored sugars or the decorations you find at a cake decorating store. You can cover mistakes that way!
2007-01-30 13:37:06 · answer #2 · answered by K 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
One you must make sure the cake is fully cooled, other wise when you go to ice the cake it will bring up cake crumbs into the icing.
Second have the right utensal for frosting, below is a link of what I use...
http://www.nextag.com/Dexter-RUSSELL-17110-8-526453213/prices-html
Third, make sure the icing hasn't been refrigerated or frozen, this can also tear the cake.
With round cakes I usually start by frosting the top part of the cake on the bottom layer, then set the top layer on that. Frost the top of that layer.
Then get very large scoops of frosting on the spatchula and start the frost the sides of the cake. If your using large enough globs of frosting on the spatula this will avoid pulling up crumbs of cake, and once you have frosting all over you can kinda reshape the frosting to have a cleaner more attractive look : )
2007-01-30 13:38:04 · answer #3 · answered by 4Real 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
put pieces of wax paper under the edges of the cake so you can ice it without gettin gincing all over the plate - and then pull the wax paper out from under the sides.
Then put one layer (called the crumb layer because it catches all the crumbs for you) of icing on the cake (make sure the cake is fully (100%) cooled and the icing is not too cold). Let it set for a few minutes, then cover with a thicker layer of icing. I like to cover cakes with coconut, nuts or a dusting of powdered sugar to cover any mistakes and make them even prettier!
2007-01-30 13:35:29 · answer #4 · answered by imnotachickenyoureaturkey 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Slowly. Be patient. Your icing needs to be thicker for the sides. I ice my cakes on a platform, and then transfer to a decorative plate, but I know of some that cover their plate edges and remove after the cake is iced. www.wilton.com is chocked full of tips and tricks and ideas. Good luck!
2007-01-30 13:33:03 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Put cut pieces of wax paper under the cakes edges, before you start and get yourself a icing spatula- it's made just for this job. Then just take your time and do it. Remember, practice makes perfect.
2007-01-30 13:36:08 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
use like a spatula or something like that to cover the cake. You can get special tools for making everything even on the cake too
2007-01-30 13:31:57 · answer #7 · answered by froggy_dimebag 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its best to use those flat butter knives but for icing cakes. then get enough, not too much, to apply on the sides and it'll come out perrfectly.
2007-01-30 13:35:46 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
make sure the cake is cool...this will make for a less moist cake but the icing goes on smoothly without "breaks" or pulling the cake apart....
2007-01-30 13:32:52 · answer #9 · answered by kitten 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
use and offset spatula nd do the sides first. also, use a lazy susan or some other turntable so you can get around the cake more easily.
2007-01-30 13:39:40 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋