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Think buttercream is just for frosting
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cakes. In this tutorial, I'm sharing 10
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creative, unexpected, and fun things to
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do with buttercream. From painting and
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stamping to sculpting figures and more,
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these techniques are beginner friendly
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and will help you decorate cakes with
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more color, texture, and confidence.
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Buttercream has a unique quality that
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makes it perfect for this first trick.
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When it's cold, it firms up enough to
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hold its shape, which means you can pipe
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decorations. This is a 2D tip for these
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flowers with layered colors of
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buttercream in a piping bag to get this
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multicolored effect. Put it into the
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freezer for 10 minutes to freeze the
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buttercream and then just pick them up
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and press them onto your cake. I came up
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with a buttercream technique a few years
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ago that I called facelift frosting
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where you pipe onto a crumbcoated cake
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and then freeze those decorations and
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then frost the cake over them and freeze
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again just for 20 minutes to set the
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frosting. Then use a warm cake comb to
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scrape around the cake several times.
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And you can warm the comb by holding it
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under running water. Or if you have a
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metal cake comb, use a blowtorrch or a
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hair dryer to heat it. You'll scrape off
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the outer layer of frosting to reveal
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the colorful piping underneath. This is
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an unusual effect because typically
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buttercream patterns are textured and
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they stick out from a cake, but with
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facelift frosting, they're completely
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flat. Okay. Messages. You can pipe them
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onto buttercream cakes, but you can also
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imprint them using lettering sets like
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this one by Sweet Stamp. For best
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results on buttercream, chill the cake
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for at least an hour to set the
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frosting. Then let it sit at room
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temperature for about 30 minutes so the
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frosting is still firm but slightly
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softened. Gently press the letters into
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the buttercream, pushing all over to
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make sure the whole letter imprints and
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lift them off carefully to leave a
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clean, neat message. You can paint into
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the letters using edible metallic paint.
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Storebought or make it yourself with
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vodka and gold luster dust and use a
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tiny brush for the neatest results.
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Create sculpted cakes that look like
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fondant but are made with buttercream
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using a piece of acetate, which is a
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flexible sheet of plastic that wraps
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around curved edges to smooth the
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buttercream without leaving trails along
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the sides. Pro tip: dip the acetate in
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warm water if you're struggling with air
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bubbles in frosting or if the frosting
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is starting to set against the cold cake
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before you finish smoothing it. Another
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thing you might not know you can do with
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buttercream is use it like paint. You
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can use piping bags or a pallet knife or
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just a knife, a fork, and a spoon like
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I'm using on this cake. Chill the cake
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first so the frosting is firm and then
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tint small amounts of buttercream with
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gel colors and use utensils to spread,
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dab, swipe, or press it onto the cake to
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create flower petals, stems, and leaves.
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Instead of using hard fondant or
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chocolate for figures, you can use
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shaped buttercream. You'll need silicon
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molds. And then you can just spoon the
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buttercream into the molds, pressing it
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down with the back of a spoon or an
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offset spatula to make sure it fills
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every detail. Smooth the surface so the
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back of your topper will be flat and
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even. Then freeze the molds for at least
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30 minutes. When they're completely
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firm, gently peel back the silicon to
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release the shapes. Handle them quickly
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because they'll warm up and soften fast.
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Press them onto a frosted cake to attach
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them. If a piece snaps, just press the
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broken parts gently back together. As
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the buttercream softens slightly, it
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will stick back to itself. These are
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pretty and delicious. Buttercream melts
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in the heat, which is really useful for
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this next technique. For buttercream
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that's too stiff or full of air bubbles,
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scoop out about a third of it and
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microwave it for 10 seconds. Stir this
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melted buttercream back into the main
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bowl of frosting. And as it mixes with
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the room temperature buttercream, it
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will create the perfect consistency for
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spreading and smoothing it onto a cake
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and get rid of any stubborn air bubbles.
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This is so useful if you struggle with
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smooth frosting on cakes. Turn
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buttercream into colorful tiles to make
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an edible mosaic. Spread different
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colors of buttercream onto a piece of
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parchment paper and freeze it until the
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buttercream is hard. Use a sharp knife
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to cut the frozen buttercream into small
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triangles. Outline your shape onto a
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cake with a toothpick and then press the
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frozen triangles on top to create a
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mosaic. The frozen buttercream needs to
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stay cold while you decorate. So,
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ideally, prepare two trays of
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buttercream tiles and rotate them
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between the freezer and your decorating
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space. So, you're always working with
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cold buttercream. Wrap a cake in
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buttercream to create fun effects like
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these wavy stripes. And after chilling
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the cake in the fridge for about an
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hour, you'll be able to peel the
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parchment paper away from the design,
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leaving the design behind on the cake.
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You'll need to do some touch-ups to tidy
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up any air pockets or smudges. And I
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teach this whole technique step by step
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in my online course on 10 cake
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decorating techniques and the link for
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that is in the top of the screen and in
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the video description. This last
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buttercream technique is a practical
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one. Did you know that you can freeze
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leftover buttercream in an airtight
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container like a Tupperware or a Ziploc
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bag for a month? So useful if you don't
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use the whole batch or have little bits
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of different colors left over. To
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defrost the buttercream, take it out the
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night before you need it to come to room
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temperature by the next morning. Add
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color if you want to retent it and stir
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it well to knock out any air bubbles.
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And now it's ready to use. This avoids
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so much waste with those small amounts
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of leftover buttercream and saves you
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time when you can use the leftovers
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instead of making a new batch of
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buttercream. I hope you've seen some
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techniques you'd like to try. Tell me in
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the comments which is your favorite and
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visit my cake school on
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britishgirlbakes.com to learn hundreds
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more cake decorating techniques and
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designs. See you there.
