Thursday, April 19, 2012

Technique Tuesday: Ribbon Frosting

Ok, couple days past Tuesday, but I have NEVER been known for consistency :0)
I am hoping for forgiveness with this two-day overdue post.  Late is better than never, right?

A week or two ago I got a request for a tutorial on how to do the fabulous ribbon frosting like on this cake.  I finally got a moment to myself, so thought I would bust out that tut for you all now.  

The tip I use is Wilton's 127.  It is larger than the normal petal tip, but a petal tip it is.  You would normally use this tip for making roses, if that helps you process tips in your mind.   

It looks like a tear drop, but the 127 is huge.  If you are using your reusable bags, it won't fit in a normal sized one.  Lucky for me, the cute little cake supply store that just moved in by us carries these extra large disposable pastry bags!!!  Super excited.  They are only $.25!  Score!!!

I like to fold the bag around my hand for filling.  Grab the bag around the tip area.  Fold the bag down over your hand/tip part, then start filling.  I slide my hand up the frosting-full areas, pull the empty part of the bag up, then fill more until it is as full as I want for the project.

Here is my moment of truth.  I will tell you all this, but it doesn't leave this post, GOT IT!?!
I was making my famous white chocolate whipped frosting for a wedding cake a few weeks ago.  I added vanilla pudding to it as usual {not realizing that I usually used cheesecake pudding-which turns out is not as yellow :0P}.  The whole batch was bright yellow.  I couldn't have a yellow wedding cake for my bride!!!
With not much time, I ran to the local Kroger grocery store and begged the bakery for some of their frosting. I actually had three cakes that weekend, and just bought a whole bucket...for $45.00.  Here is the really terrible part... The Frosting Was DELICIOUS!!!!  It isn't normal buttercream, but whipped frosting.  It was SO good, I couldn't use anything else.  Couple weekends after that I had another three cakes, went to another Kroger store, and that bakery guy told me I could have been buying this stuff from the local cake supply store for half the price I was paying!!!
My cake supply in Phoenix carries the stuff in their freezer.  It is a frozen liquid.  You take it home, throw it in your mixer and there you have it!  Fabulous whipped icing at half the price.

When I called the ABC Cake Supply in Phoenix, they said the brand they carry is called Whippen Top or Whippen Ice.  The Whippen Top is like whipped cream, not sweat at all, the Whippen Ice is sweet like buttercream, but lighter.  That is next on my adventure list, get my hands on some of this stuff.  I actually live quite a ways from the cake store so I don't get there very often.  It is definitely on my to-do list though. 

For this sample cake I just ran to the store and bought two pounds of their whipped frosting at $2.99/lb.  I thought that was a bit expensive, but with my own recipe, you use white choc chips, butter, heavy cream....they are really the same price and this one comes already made!

OK, moving right along.  So, it is best if you have a cake turntable.  Not so much for the ribbon sides, but especially if you want the ribbon top.

Blop some frosting on the cake and smooth it out.  Normally when frosting, I try to never touch the cake itself with my knife.  I just smoosh the frosting down from the top until the cake is covered.  That keeps you from getting crumbs in the outside where they make the cake look dirty.

Today, we are just applying a crumb coat so crumbs in the frosting are no big deal.  The crumb coat encases any fly-away crumbs so we don't have them in our ribbons, plus give a white background in case the ribbons are not close enough and some of the cake show through.  

Now take that rose tip and hold it perpendicular to the cake...yep, straight up and down.
squeeze the icing out making a little piece about 1" wide, then fold back over, back and forth, until you have a  string of ribboned frosting.

I am terrible at taking pictures while doing things.  I don't normally touch the cake with the tip, just get it really close and the frosting kinda falls against the side.

Look at that!  Isn't it so cute!?!

The secret to getting this cake to look really good is to get these ribbons straight up and down, and keeping them all the same width.  Don't worry too much if they are not looking great.  It is hard to see when you have tons of them, just make the next one a little straighter, or scrape it off and try again.  They are super easy to scrape off, making mistakes easy to repair.

Put one next to another all the way around the cake.

This shows how much frosting you use.  TONS!  As for where to stop at the top, I just end the ribbon when it is even with the top of the cake.

Side view. You can see that not all of the layers are touching the sides.  It will be okcareful with real buttercream.      

When you get to the last row, just plug 'er in there and chalk it up at the back of the cake.

Fabulous!  Now to top it off.  I have done them flat on top, just plopping more frosting on top and smoothing it out, but I kind of like the top ruffles.

Same tip, go around the top of the cake with a zig-zag like motion, moving the tip up and down to create a ruffle.  

Once you have the first layer done, move in so the top of your tip is just past the bottom of the last row {overlapping so you don't have blank spots}, and do another row. 

This is where the turn table comes in handy.  You can just keep going like one continuous ruffle when you use the turntable.  

I threw a little flower in the center, and...TaDAh!

Love it.  It looks so totally cute over there on my table.  It isn't very often we get a cake for ourselves around here :0)  Can't wait to see the kids faces when they see this one just for them!!!
Let me know if you have any questions!!!
vanessa.cam5@gmail.com

4 comments:

  1. Ohhhh yummmy! That cake looks so cute. I've never seen a ribbon cake, but I love the way it looks, and I know it would taste excellent. You can make anything look fabulous.

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  2. I so wish we were neighbors, this is beautiful and I love all your scout stuff!! Thanks for sharing!

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  3. i made one for my daughters first birthday smash cake! i was a huge hit; especially because it has so much icing! Thanks for sharing!

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    Replies
    1. I love it! I bet those were great pictures. No problem and Thank You for coming back to comment!!! You made my day :0)

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