Decorate Like a Pro: 8 Mistakes to Avoid when Decorating with Buttercream
Buttercream is a popular frosting choice for many cakes due to its creamy texture, versatile flavor, and ability to hold intricate designs. However, as with any decorating technique, it's easy to make mistakes that can affect the final appearance and taste of your cake.
Whether you're a beginner or an experienced baker, it's important to know what to avoid when working with buttercream to ensure your cake looks and tastes as delicious as possible.
In this blog post, we'll cover six common mistakes to avoid when decorating with buttercream, so you can achieve a professional-looking cake every time. From proper chilling techniques to knowing which type of frosting to use, these tips will help you master the art of decorating with buttercream.
Mistake 1: Not Choosing the Right Buttercream Recipe
When it comes to cake decorating, choosing the right buttercream recipe is crucial to achieving a beautiful and delicious finished product. With so many different buttercream recipes out there, it can be overwhelming to decide which one to use. However, the right buttercream recipe can make all the difference in your cake decorating success.
Different buttercream recipes have different consistencies, ranging from thin and pourable to thick and pipeable. Choosing the right consistency is important to ensure your buttercream stays in place and doesn't slide or droop. For example, a thin glaze-like buttercream might work well for drizzling over a bundt cake, but a thicker, stiffer buttercream would be better suited for piping intricate designs. Even if you are looking into a buttercream recipe for filling and decorating a layered cake, it can be overwhelming to choose between American Buttercream, Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Italian Meringue Buttercream, etc.
American Buttercream: American buttercream is a popular frosting made with butter, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. It is a quick and easy frosting to make, and can be flavored and colored to suit any occasion. American buttercream is known for its sweet and buttery flavour. This type of buttercream is also more stable at room temperature compared to other buttercreams, making it a popular choice for cake decorators. However, it can be quite sweet and may not have the silkiest and smoothest consistency most people prefer.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream: Swiss meringue buttercream is a type of buttercream made from whipped egg whites, sugar, and butter. The egg whites and sugar are heated together over a double boiler until the sugar dissolves and the mixture reaches a specific temperature, then whipped to form a glossy meringue. Finally, softened butter is added to the meringue to create a smooth and silky frosting. Swiss meringue buttercream is known for its light, airy texture, and its balanced sweetness that's not as overpowering as American buttercream. It also has a smoother and more velvety consistency than American buttercream, making it a great choice for cake decorating, especially for intricate designs that require sharp edges or fine details. However, it’s a bit more challenging to make than American Buttercream, does not do very well in hot and humid weather, and is not the best to use for detailed designs like buttercream flowers.
Italian Meringue Buttercream: Italian meringue buttercream is a type of buttercream made by whipping a hot sugar syrup into whipped egg whites until it cools, then adding softened butter and sometimes additional flavors like vanilla or chocolate. The hot sugar syrup cooks the egg whites, making them safe to eat, and the whipped mixture is stabilized by the added butter. Italian buttercream is known for its light and silky texture, as well as its rich and creamy taste. It has a less sweet taste compared to American buttercream and a less buttery taste compared to Swiss meringue buttercream. Italian buttercream is particularly well-suited for frosting layered cakes, as it has a spreadable consistency and a glossy appearance when whipped. However, It's time-consuming, requires precision, can be sensitive to temperature, and may be too soft for some decorations.
I’ll talk about the types of buttercream in depth in another blog post.
Mistake 2: Not Chilling the Cake before Decorating
Decorating a cake with buttercream frosting can be a fun and creative process, but it's important to follow certain steps to achieve the best results. One of the most crucial steps is to chill the cake before decorating with buttercream.
First and foremost, chilling the cake allows it to firm up and become more stable. When you bake a cake, it naturally releases moisture and steam, causing it to soften and become more delicate. If you try to decorate a cake that hasn't been chilled, it can be difficult to work with and may even crumble or break apart. Chilling the cake allows it to firm up and hold its shape, making it easier to fill and decorate. I always bake my cake a day in advance and allow them to chill in the refrigerator overnight then decorate the following morning.
Additionally, a chilled cake is less likely to create crumbs when you apply the buttercream frosting. When you apply frosting to a cake that hasn't been chilled, the crumbs can mix in with the frosting and make it look messy and unprofessional. By chilling the cake, you'll create a barrier that helps keep the crumbs from mixing with the frosting.
Another benefit of chilling the cake is that it allows the buttercream to adhere better to the cake. When the cake is cold, the buttercream will stick to the cake more easily, creating a smooth and even surface.
Mistake 3: Working with Uneven Layers
Working with even cake layers is essential when it comes to buttercream decorating. Uneven cake layers can cause the cake to be lopsided or wobbly, which can make it difficult to apply buttercream evenly. This can result in an uneven distribution of buttercream, making the cake look unprofessional, cause the cake to be unstable and prone to tipping over, and make the cake look very unprofessional when cut.
Take the time to level your cake layers before filling, even if you baked flat layers, make sure you remove at least a few millimetres from each layer. To do so, you can use a cake leveller or a knife. A cake leveler is a tool that helps to cut the cake evenly. It's adjustable and has a wire that makes it easier to slice through the cake layers without tearing them apart.
Mistake 4: Not Applying a Border to the Filling
Applying a buttercream border to a cake filling is important because it helps to contain the filling and prevent it from leaking out. This is particularly important if you are using a soft filling, such as a fruit compote or whipped cream. The border also helps to create a clean and polished look to the cake, giving it a more professional appearance.
Mistake 5: Not Applying a Crumb Coat
A crumb coat is a thin layer of frosting that is applied to a cake before the final layer of frosting. Its purpose is to trap any loose crumbs in the initial layer, making it easier to apply the final layer of frosting smoothly and without any crumbs.
The importance of a crumb coat cannot be overstated as it helps to give the cake a clean and polished look. Without it, the final layer of frosting may be marred by visible crumbs, resulting in an unprofessional finish.
When applying the crumb coat, make sure that any buttercream you scrape off are placed in a separate bowl so that crumb don;t transfer to your “clean” buttercream. Once you've applied the crumb coat, it's essential to chill the cake in the refrigerator for at least 20 to 30 minutes. Applying the final layer will now be way easier!
Mistake 6: Working with Stiff/Melted Buttercream
As stated before, the consistency of the buttercream is key when it comes to decorating cakes and cupcakes. It can make the process way harder or way easier.
If the buttercream is too thin, it will not hold its shape and will slide off the cake. On the other hand, if the buttercream is too thick, it will be difficult to spread evenly and can create a lumpy and unappealing texture.
To achieve the perfect consistency, it's important to know the purpose of your buttercream. For example, a stiff buttercream is ideal for creating intricate decorations such as flowers and piping details. A soft buttercream, on the other hand, is perfect for covering the cake and creating a smooth finish.
When making buttercream, it's important to follow the recipe and measurements carefully. Most recipes mention the consistency of the butter to use, which in my opinion is very important. I know that you can be in a hurry and want to have your buttercream ready in no time, but adding the butter too cold or runny will be more time consuming because then you will need to fix the consistency before proceeding.
So what should be the consistency of the butter?
In my recipes, I always mention “room temperature butter” which is butter that has been left at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour. I usually press my finger on the butter and it should need a bit of pressure to push down otherwise it’s too hot. Working with this consistency of butter is the best to get a smooth and silky buttercream and it is the easiest to work with when it comes to covering cakes and getting that smooth final layer.
Mistake 7: Adding the Decorations too Early
Chilling the buttercream cake before applying the final decorations is important for several reasons. First, it helps to set the buttercream and make it more stable, so that it doesn't smudge or smear when you add additional decorations. This is especially important if you are adding intricate designs or details, as it can be difficult to fix mistakes once the buttercream has already started to soften.
Allow the final layer to set for at least an hour before adding the final decorations, specially if you’re planning on adding a chocolate drip.
Mistake 8: Freezing the Cake
Even if you are in a hurry, avoid setting your cake in the freezer to accelerate the crumb coat process and final layer process. When taken out from the freexer, condensation can form on the surface, causing the buttercream to become watery and lose its structure. It's best to chill the cake in the refrigerator for a short period of time to set the buttercream before applying the final layer or any final decorations.