Help with frosting

[pranaearth]

I see Martha do it.
I see my Wilton teacher do it.
They make it look so easy.

Anyone have tips on how to get a perfect seam from the top and sides of a cake where the two meet?

My Wilton instructor says not to worry about it, I'll be putting a border up there anyway.
But the trend I noticed is with very minimal decoration.
Of course, I could always toss some fondant over the cake, but I want to get all techniques down.
Thanks a bunch!
P

[jred2011]

I am 14 years old and have baked tons of cakes...six 2 inch layers and even done wedding cakes...without training..and what is easiest for me is to take a few centimeters off of the dowels that you perfectly measured and it should be fine.

[SilkwoodStudioS]

Have you ever tried the UPSIDE DOWN method? it takes longer (more crusting time) and i don't do it all the time, but when i know i won't be using a top border or am going for a "like in the magazine pictures" finish.

[pranaearth]

What is the upside down method? Is that where you just turn the cakes upside down and frost from there?

Thanks for the replies,
Prana

[SilkwoodStudioS]

lets see if i can sum this up to give you the basic idea...draw out on the reverse side of a piece or parchment the shape of your pan, just slightly larger, cover this area with your buttercream, chill to crust, then place your upside down crumb coated cake on the buttercream base, then frost the sides and chill as needed to build the thickness youd like,pay close attention to keeping the bottom (or top) of sides as they meet the top layer of icing, keep it as clean and neat as possible, using the edge of spatula. again after more time in frige, take out and flip over, remove parchment and you can then carefully and gently clean up the now top edge. does that make sense?

[cakebaker]

This site has a great tutorial on how to do the upside down icing technique:

http://www.cakecentral.com/article6-...oth-Icing.html

[Heather]

Wow that upside down method sounds interesting-I've never heard of it before! The only way I know to keep it smooth is to ice it as smooth as possible then let it get a little hard, then I go over it with a small hand-held fondant roller rolledin either corn starch or confectioners sugar and roll over any uneven surfaces. Sometimes I just use my fingers lol

[*Courtney*]

I'd never heard of that upside down method either! that's crazy! I'm gonna have to try that now!

[Amy729]

Have you tried the Viva method? It is the easiest and quickest for me. If I want a super smooth finish I follow up with computer paper.

[LadyDZA]

Ive seen that a LOT of people have had good luck with the "Melvira Method" ...it was created by a woman over on the cakecental boards... I'm excited to try it. It looks so easy! You have to use a high-density foam roller, like you'd use for painting, you'd get it from the hardware store. You just use a crusting buttercream and get it as smooth as you can, then let it crust over, then using long and light strokes, you roll over the buttercream and it makes it insanely smooth. (I hope she doesnt mind that I posted about it here.)