An Expression of Art

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Superman Cake: Frozen Buttercream Tranfers (FBCT)

I was trying for the first time the Frozen Butter Cream Transfer technique. It turned out to be very easy and the end result is WOW.

What you need:

  • Wax paper
  • Pencil
  • Buttercream, buttercream... that's all!!! (medium consistency)


Instructions:
  1. Choose a template for your cake design (sometimes the template comes with the cake pan).
  2. Trace the cake design on wax paper. If using a molded pan, trace insert.
  3. Invert desing as we will have to transfer buttercream onto cake by flipping image (if using molded pan insert, don' t need to invert image as it is already inverted for you)
  4. Trace outline with black buttercream
  5. Fill the rest with buttercream (color of choice) with a piping bag using a round tip. Width of your choice. You can peek to see how image is coming out!
  6. In order to avoid gaps between colors, it is okay to overlap some of the buttercream on top of other. Don't mix.
  7. Place in freezer for one hour.
  8. Place wax paper over cake, with buttercream touching top of cake (the cake can be slightly frosted).
  9. Remove wax paper carefully and VOILA!!!


This is the end result cake:

broscake-002r2l.jpg

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love all your cake pics. I have several themes that I would love to try. I can't wait to try FBCT for logo replicas on my cakes.

The Cake Stylist said...

I have received several positive comments regarding frozen butter cream transfer. It seems everyone enjoy this method. I will try more of these cakes and post :)

Rachel said...

I am going to try this technique soon. It is difficult to tell in the picture, can you see the lines where you filled in the spaces?

The Cake Stylist said...

Hi Rachel,

Let me see if I understand your question correctly. Do you mean, after outlining, can you see gaps between the outlines and the buttercream filling? No, you cannot see any gaps where you filled in the spaces. I tried to get buttercream close to the outlining to avoid this problem. Sometimes I even cover the outlining with my buttercream.

A tip that might come useful, I lift the wax paper to see if there are any gaps. If so, I will cover them.

Thank you for your interest. I hope this helped. Let me know if you have any comments.

Anonymous said...

I would like to use buttercream transfer method for transfering a drawing to a cake.

Can someone please advise:

1) Do I have to use Crusting or Non Crusting Buttercream for the Buttercream Transfer Design?

2) When I apply the design onto the cake frosting, does the cake frosting have to be non crusting or crusting buttercream?

Your help will be appreciated.

Jim

The Cake Stylist said...

Hi anonymous,

You can use either type of buttercream. My buttercream recipe calls for meringue which makes it a "crusting" buttercream. It turns out great for me. However, I have trued regular buttercream and I don't see any difference. I believe that since you are going to freeze it, the buttercream is going to harden anyway. Just make sure you use a MEDIUM consistency. Please see my consistency post for recipes.

The cake can be frosted with either buttercream as well. It doesn't matter, this is up to your preference.

I hope this information is useful. Thank you for your interest. Hope to see you here soon.

Ron said...

I having that for my birthday. Perfect!

The Cake Stylist said...

CK Lunchbox,

How did your b-day go? :)

Unknown said...

Hi There,

I'm really interested in trying this method out, I just have two questions... I'm assuming you have to flip the image onto the cake once it's been frozen, what is the likelihood of it cracking or breaking during the process? Is it difficult to position it on the cake?

Thanks for the great tips!

~Holly

The Cake Stylist said...

Hi Holly,

Yes, you have to flip the image onto the cake once it's frozen. I think that with practice you'll find that FBCT is not too difficult. You do need to be very careful the first time and make sure that the buttercream consistency is a little harder than medium (that will help a lot the first time). If the FBCT does cracks, you can easily fix it with a wet brush, and brush it until it is smooth.

Unknown said...

just a quick question how long in advance can you freeze these transfers?

Melissa said...

i want to try this for father's day! sounds pretty simple....

The Cake Stylist said...

HI Melissa,

I hope your cake came out well. As a tip, if some of the icing cracked, use a wet brush to soften them :)

maria said...

hello can you pls clarify my doubt.
My butter cream recipe has just butter,sugar and milk.I f I make it into medium consistency do you think it will work for FBCT...?not a shortening fan hence asking
thank you

The Cake Stylist said...

Hi Maria,

I don't see why not. It should work well, but you need to work faster when flipping the image onto your cake :) don't let it sit out for too long. I would recommend you try with a small piece so you can help familiarize yourself with your buttercream consistency :)

shaysh said...

Hi, what recipe did you use to make this? It looks perfect! :-)