I love the Viva Paper Towel Method method of smoothing frosted cakes!
What is the Viva Paper Towel Method of Smoothing Buttercream?
With the Viva Method of Smoothing Buttercream, a cake that is frosted with a crusting buttercream can be lightly smoothed with a paper towel.
Since the frosting has crusted, it does not stick to the paper towel. The imperfections in the frosting can easily be smoothed away!
Not only is this method an effective way to smooth around the sides and top of buttercream frosted cakes, it is fun too! Once you get started, you won’t want to stop- it is addictive ;0)
Why are Viva Brand Paper Towels Needed for this Cake Decorating Technique?
Viva brand paper towels are perfectly smooth- unlike most other brands, they have no quilting or patterns.
What is a Crusting Buttercream?
A crusting buttercream is a type of frosting that develops a very light crust after sitting out in the open air for 10 minutes or so (sometimes it develops faster).
This thin “crust” is not noticeable when eating a bite of cake, but once the very thin crust has developed, you can lightly touch the frosted cake without removing any frosting.
This crust makes it possible to lightly smooth a paper towel over the frosting and lift it away without messing up the finish of your frosting. Instead, it makes the finish even more smooth.
Other Methods of Smoothing and Decorating Cakes
Over the years I have flip flopped back and forth between this method of smoothing and the Hot Knife Method. The Hot Knife Method involves smoothing frosting over a chilled, frosted cake with a very hot spatula.
These are my two favorite methods- Give them a try and see what you think!
Textured Buttercream is a Great Option Also
Years ago, when I first started learning about cake decorating, most cakes were frosted with a smooth finish.
These days, anything goes- textured and rustic cakes are popular as well as cakes covered in piping. I’m a big fan of finding what works best for you as you develop your style.
Materials used in our viva method tutorial
This is an 8 inch, three layer cake which is made from the White Almond Sour Cream Cake recipe (doctored mix found in the Recipes section–also known as WASC) —
I’m using our High Ratio Buttercream recipe for this but any crusting recipe will do (“Classic Buttercream” & “Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream” are two other examples from the Recipes section)
Cardboard Cake Circle cut to the size of the cake (or foam core board–½ inch)
Small Spatula(s)
Bench Scraper
Fondant Smoother (optional)
Viva Brand paper towels (or any brand of paper towel or napkin that is completely smooth, with no quilting or impressions.)
Remember, the crumb coated cake should be at room temperature when applying the final coat of frosting. Otherwise, the frosting will not crust properly.
Tie Dye Cake- Colorful Example of Viva Method of Smoothing
We used the Viva Paper Towel Method of smoothing when we created this fun Tie Dye Cake Tutorial!
We also used it when creating a video tutorial for leopard print buttercream cupcakes and our camo cupcakes video.
In these examples, we piped on the colors, allowed them to crust, and then smoothed over the frosting.
We hope that you enjoy experimenting with this fun technique!
This is such a great video! I really love how you’ve gotten the top edge so sharp and you’ve explained how you did it in such easy to understand steps! I can’t wait to try this!
Thanks Kristy!! Let me know how it goes!
Melissa, I am making a cake for a 50th anniversary reception. I will be making the cake the day before the party. I was thinking about using a lemon curd filling. Should I store the finished cake in the refrigerator (minus the fresh flower topper the florist is making for me) and then bring it back to room temperature the day of the event?
Hi Linda, yes, you are right. You would need to refrigerate your cake with the lemon curd filling and bring back to room temperature on the day of the event.
I may have missed it, but how long did you wait before you started smoothing? Thanks!
Hi Aquarius– I would start testing it after 5 minutes–it make take closer to 10. Humidity levels can effect the speed of crusting. :0)
I love this vido.
Love it! Now I know why my BC takes ages to crust with the final coat cause I was not waiting for it to come back to room temperature. Thanks or making this so obvious. I will be careful next time.
Thanks.
I am fine on the paper towel method but I am terrible on frosting the cake. I can’t do it. All of my frosting ends up on the bottom of the cake, then when I use my bench scraper the frosting is never level. I never know if I should try to fill the frosting on the upper side to match how much frosting is on the bottom or try to scrape off all the bottom to match the top. I don’t know it is terrible. Thanks
Hi Melissa,
Thanks a lot for all your videos, I absolutely LOVE “mycakeschool.com”! I’ve learned already so much from you!!!
Unfortunately, I always have a problem with my buttercream: I always use your recipes of the “classic vanilla buttercream” or the “fluffy vanilla buttercream”, but they never turn out as “smooth” as yours. When I make it, the buttercream (both recipes) always look a bit like a “mousse” and when I ice my cake with it, then there a lot of tiny (and sometimes also big) “holes” in my buttercream, just as if it was a mousse. I can’t get it smooth! I made pictures of it, but I don’t know how to upload them here to show it to you. What do you think am I doing wrong with the buttercream?
Thanks a lot for your answer!!
Greetings from Europe,
Tatjana
Hi Tatjana, after all the buttercream ingredients are incorporated I mix on medium high speed 6 to 8 minutes……during the last 2 to 3 minutes I turn the mixing speed down to very slow and this slow mixing usually eliminates most of the air bubbles. If there are still more air bubbles than I would like I add more liquid a teaspoon at a time. If you are using a Kitchen Aid mixer, use the paddle attachment rather than the whisk attachment.
I hope this helps. Let me know how it goes the next time you make buttercream.
Hi melissa. I have a question Do you refrigerate the cake and then you star smoothing using the viva or just wait in the kitchen 5 to 10 min with out leaving the cake in the refrigerator?
Thanks
Hi Karina– There is no need to refrigerate…just leave the room temperature, freshly frosted cake out for about 5-10 minutes and the frosting will crust!
(The only time that I chill frosted cakes before smoothing is if I am using the “hot knife” method rather than the Viva method.)
I typically only use this method of smoothing but I always have the same problem. I get a small ridge around the top after smoothing the sides and no matter what I do I cannot get it smoothed out nicely either way, onto the top or down the sides. Any ideas as to what I may be doing wrong? Thanks!
Will viva method work on Swiss meringue buttercream?
Hi Kristine, The viva method will not work on Swiss meringue buttercream. For the viva method to work you will need a crusting buttercream.
Is there a receipt for chocolate high ratio crusting frosting? If I am transporting chocolate cake with chocolate frosting to destination that is 6 hours away so I place cake in a Wilton cake carrier? Than you.
Oops should I place cake in a Wilton carrying container?
Hi Sylvia, We do not have a chocolate recipe using high ratio in the Recipe Section on the site, but this is one that we have used.
Chocolate Buttercream using High Ratio Shortening
1 cup (193g) high ratio shortening
1/2 teaspoon butter flavoring
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt (popcorn salt, if available) this will cut the sweetness if you like a less sweet buttercream
1 cup (84g) unsweetened cocoa powder….measure then sift
6 to 7 cups (690 to powdered sugar
3/4 cup milk, more if needed
Mix the shortening, butter flavoring, vanilla extract, and salt until blended. Add the cocoa powder, 1/2 of the milk and about 4 cups of the powdered sugar. Cover the bowl to keep down the cloud of powdered sugar and mix on low speed gradually increasing the mixer speed to medium. Gradually add the remaining powdered sugar and milk and mix until it reaches the consistency you like.
This will make 5 to 5 1/2 cups depending on how much powdered sugar you add.
If you are transporting a cake it is best to refrigerate it before the trip, if possible. You can use a Wilton container to transport the cake, just make sure it is on a flat surface such as the trunk of your car, or the floor of the car. The cake carrier should not slide around as you are driving, that is what causes the most problems.
Will the cake not sweat if I place a cold cake in a Wilton carry container? Thank you for you help. I love your site. It is addicting!
Hi Sylvia- The greater the temperature change from fridge to car, the more likely that a bit of condensation will form. So, if it is a very warm day, you will have more condensation. You can keep the cake in bakery box if you’d like which will allow the cake to breathe a bit. Another option (especially on a hot day) is to place a bakery box in a cooler or insulated bag with ziplock bags of ice, etc.
Love this video! No matter how hard I have tried, I have never been able to get that pretty smooth look on my cakes. This weekend I made the doctored strawberry cake with the fluffy buttercream frosting from this site and used this smoothing method and my cake turned out beautiful (and delicious)! Thank you so much for this video!
I’m so happy to hear it Heidi! xo
hi Melissa, I am baking a three tier wedding cake and the bride wants a smooth cream cheese frosting finish. Is there a better recipe which has more stability?
Hi Chantelle- Our cream cheese frostings can be easily smoothed with a hot metal bench scraper (I like to chill the tier first), but since they are softer, they don’t work quite as well with the Viva paper towel method of smoothing. You may want to look online for “crusting cream cheese frosting” recipes if you’d like to use the Viva method, or are looking for recipes that can sit out for longer or that behave more like buttercream. Some decorators use cream cheese flavorings with their favorite frosting recipes so that they can sit out for longer. Another option is to use your favorite cream cheese frosting in the filling, and then combine that cream cheese frosting with your favorite buttercream recipe for the outer frosting so that it will behave more like buttercream. We should work on a crusting cream cheese frosting recipe for our site too.
Hi Melissa,
I have the same issue as Donna above. I don’t see a reply to her question. Also, I love your videos!
@Valerie- Hello! I just scrolled up to find Donna’s question- are you having trouble with keeping an even amount of frosting around the sides of the cake also?
After crumb coating the cake with a thin layer of buttercream, I go back in with a thicker layer for the final coat. I take my bench scraper and make sure that the bottom of the scraper is flat against the pedestal or turntable so that the edge of the bench scraper is completely vertical and not slanted as you are applying it to the cake. This will give you an even amount of frosting all the way around the cake from top to bottom.
Also, before frosting the cake, make sure that your cake layers look even after filling and stacking them..if any of the layers are poking out, more than the others, you can trim the sides down a bit with a serrated knife.
Let us know if you have any more questions!