Cake Hack: How to Get a Smooth Buttercream Finish

hi everyone i'm whitney from sugar and sparrow and today i'm going to show you a really simple hack for making the sides of your buttercream cakes extra smooth this is for all those times where you just can't seem to get smooth sides no matter how many times you go around the cake with your icing smoother if you've never frosted a buttercream cake before or have just generally struggled with it head to my channel and watch my cake basics video on how to achieve a smooth buttercream finish that way you can see how i get to this point i'll link it below and while you're there be sure to hit the subscribe button so you never miss a new video from me so here's what i do when i can't get the sides of my cake as smooth as i want first i make sure the sides are at least level and then i clean up the top edges super quick by swiping the buttercream inward don't worry about perfection here it's mostly about getting the general shape of the cake and the levelness correct next i pop the cake into the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes to let the frosting set firm this will give me an extra sturdy foundation for the next step after refrigerating the cake i apply a super thin layer of fresh buttercream all over the sides this layer is about an eighth of an inch thick then i smooth the buttercream down with even pressure after smoothing this thin layer of buttercream ends up being about 1 16 of an inch thick and it fills in all the imperfections from the buttercream layer beneath it from here all that's left to do is swipe the buttercream on top inward once again to create sharp edges and you're good to move on with your decorating just look at these sides it's so much easier to get a smooth finish with that thinner layer of buttercream i hope you give this technique a try next time you're struggling with your icing smoother if you love cake be sure to head to my blog at sugarnsparrow.com for recipes decorating tutorials and ideas for your cake making and whether you're just starting out with cakes or curious about my methods for layer cakes check out my cake basics playlist on my youtube channel hit the subscribe button while you're there so you never miss a new video thanks for watching

Channel: Sugar and Sparrow

Views: 127,606

Keywords: smooth buttercream, frosting cake, how to frost a cake, cake tips, cake tutorials, cake hacks, frosting a cake, smooth frosting, cake basics, sugar and sparrow, icing smoother, smooth cake

Id: 8HogEImUsI0

Length: 2min 6sec (126 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 08 2022