cake decorators- anyone NOT crumb coat?

Rolos_girl

I thought I could crumb coat the night before, but some very helpful ladies here are telling me I should do it the same day. I am trying to save time, so was hoping to skip the crumb coat......is this possible? I have watched a lot of tutorials online of people saying it is easy to do without crumb coat, if you have a lot of frosting. And they make it look so easy, but wondering if it is because they are professionals and that it will not be anywhere near as easy for me.

My plan is to bake cakes the night before. Cool and wrap in saran wrap overnight. Unwrap in the morning and frost. I do not plan to freeze the cake either.

Thanks again for all your tips! The party is this weekend and I am looking forward to getting rid of the stress that is surrounding this cake!

UDscoobychick

Yes, and you can do it relatively easily if you have a lot of frosting, like you've heard.  I rarely (if ever) crumb coat, and I've never frozen the cake first, either.  Plop a bunch on the top, work it around, always touching the knife/spatula to the frosting only, not to the cake.  Work the frosting down over the sides (this is the toughest part) a bit, just to the top 1-2 inches of the sides. Then you can go and do the sides themselves, smoothing it into where there's already frosting.  The key is to finish your motions into the already-frosted area, not into the area without frosting.  It takes a bit of practice to get the hang of it, but it's not too hard to learn.

thatgirlang

I never crumb coat. I typically do as PP said, just starting with a ton of frosting on top. As long as you only touch the icing, not the cake, you won't have crumbs in the icing.

I also have a huge icing tip that I sometimes use for the sides when I am in the mood. That takes even more icing though. 

randimarie86

I am fairly new to cake decorating, and I am really scared to death of crumb coating. No clue why. So I have never done it. As PP's have said, lots of icing helps. I use the Wilton decorating tip (#789) with a 16" decorating bag. You can pipe the icing on the cake, then go back with your spatula and smooth it out.

Rolos_girl

Thanks ladies! 

Do you bake and cool your cake the night before? and just wrap in plastic wrap?  I want to avoid the fridge and freezer.

UDscoobychick

Rolos_girl:

Thanks ladies! 

Do you bake and cool your cake the night before? and just wrap in plastic wrap?  I want to avoid the fridge and freezer.

Yup.  Another trick that I sometimes use is to brush the cake layers with simple syrup (flavored or not, sometimes alcoholic) after leveling/trimming them.

Pecswife

To each their own but I say crumb coat. I also prefer to crumb coat the night before. It sets the canvas for your art

But as you do more cakes you will find out what works for best you. Stop stressing it and have fun. There is no right way or wrong way...it is what is more comfortable and what works for you.