Frozen Buttercream Transfer
The daughter of a friend is going to LSU in the fall. So I made this cake for her recent graduation celebration. The "Eye of the Tiger" logo is the graphic on their football field.
When trying to figure out the best way to get this graphic on the cake, I decided to try a frozen buttercream transfer. I knew it probably would not have worked out well if I would have attempted to freehand the design. With the buttercream transfer, the icing graphic would be edible and easy to slice when cutting the cake. It seemed to be the best option for the job.
To do this transfer, first tape the paper with the graphic to the back of the wax paper. Then tape the wax paper to the to the counter or surface on which you plan to work to keep it in place while you are piping the icing onto the wax paper.
Mix the colors you need for the graphic. For this, "Eye of the Tiger" graphic, I used purple, yellow and white.
Using a size 3 or 5 tip, pipe the design onto the wax paper using the printout as your stencil. For this design, I started in the center and worked my way to the outside, using the different colors to create boundaries for the next icing color as I worked. In the picture, you can see, I started with the white of the pupil of the eye, then surrounded it with purple. I piped as many continuous lines as possible and filled within those lines.
When your design is complete, gently remove the tape from the counter. And place design on the wax paper in the freezer, laying it flat in the freezer.
Freeze for 24 hours. Once the icing has set, remove it from the freezer. It should be stiff and the icing will be set like in the picture below.
Detach the printout from the wax paper. Flip the wax paper over so that the frozen buttercream is laid flat onto the cake. Gently pull the wax paper away from the frozen buttercream. This is why it is important to freeze the icing so the graphic is easier to work with when transfering. If not all the graphic transfers onto the cake, it is okay. You can use the rest of the icing to touch up the parts that don't transfer properly.
When trying to figure out the best way to get this graphic on the cake, I decided to try a frozen buttercream transfer. I knew it probably would not have worked out well if I would have attempted to freehand the design. With the buttercream transfer, the icing graphic would be edible and easy to slice when cutting the cake. It seemed to be the best option for the job.
To do this transfer, first tape the paper with the graphic to the back of the wax paper. Then tape the wax paper to the to the counter or surface on which you plan to work to keep it in place while you are piping the icing onto the wax paper.
Mix the colors you need for the graphic. For this, "Eye of the Tiger" graphic, I used purple, yellow and white.
Using a size 3 or 5 tip, pipe the design onto the wax paper using the printout as your stencil. For this design, I started in the center and worked my way to the outside, using the different colors to create boundaries for the next icing color as I worked. In the picture, you can see, I started with the white of the pupil of the eye, then surrounded it with purple. I piped as many continuous lines as possible and filled within those lines.
When your design is complete, gently remove the tape from the counter. And place design on the wax paper in the freezer, laying it flat in the freezer.
Freeze for 24 hours. Once the icing has set, remove it from the freezer. It should be stiff and the icing will be set like in the picture below.
Detach the printout from the wax paper. Flip the wax paper over so that the frozen buttercream is laid flat onto the cake. Gently pull the wax paper away from the frozen buttercream. This is why it is important to freeze the icing so the graphic is easier to work with when transfering. If not all the graphic transfers onto the cake, it is okay. You can use the rest of the icing to touch up the parts that don't transfer properly.
Note: When doing a much larger scale graphic, you can use a larger size circle tip. It just seems to work better using smaller tips in smaller or more intricate designs.
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