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Cake combs or frosting smoothers or
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icing scrapers come in lots of different
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shapes and sizes and materials. And in
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this tutorial, I'm going to show you how
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to use my favorite tool for smooth
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frosting, a metal cake comb. With my top
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tips and tricks to get the best results
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when you layer your cake and fillings,
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check as you position each layer that
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it's directly on top of the layer below,
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so the cake is straight, not leaning. I
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really recommend chilling the cake
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before you frost it. 30 minutes in the
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fridge or 15 minutes in the freezer to
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set the filling and make the cake more
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sturdy and less crumbly. Cover it in a
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crumb coat, which is a thin layer of
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frosting to trap any crumbs that come
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off the cake. And this doesn't need to
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be super neat, but the sides of the cake
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should still be straight and the top
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should be level. Put the cake back into
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the fridge for 30 minutes or the freezer
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for 15 minutes to set the crumb coat.
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And then spread on your next layer of
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frosting. And here's where the metal
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cake comb makes its entrance. Push the
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base down on the cakeboard to line it up
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straight and hold it at an angle so it's
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not pressed directly against the cake
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but at a diagonal. And use very very
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light pressure against the cake as you
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spin the turntable and hold the comb
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still so the turntable is doing all of
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the work and the cake comb is just
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lightly skimming over the surface of the
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frosting. It's not going to look perfect
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after your first scrape. Go around the
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cake a few times and then spread more
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frosting over any indents or shallow
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areas and then scrape again until the
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cake is fairly smooth. And next, here's
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the hack for super smooth frosting.
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Heat. There are three methods that I
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love for warming up a metal cake comb.
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The first is a blowtorrch, which is the
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quickest, but you have to be careful
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because you don't want the metal to be
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hot, just warm. So, after you run the
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flame up and down the comb a few times,
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rub the metal with a towel or cloth to
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cool it down and pinch the metal to
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check it's just barely warm, not hot.
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Then scrape around the cake and the warm
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metal will glide over the frosting and
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drag it to fill in any shallow
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imperfections, leaving the surface of
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the frosting really, really smooth. All
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of the tools I love to use to heat up a
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metal cake comb rely on having a
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straight cake to begin with, and a crumb
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coat to trap any crumbs that come off
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the cake before the final layer of
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frosting. You can use a hair dryer,
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which takes a bit longer than a
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blowtorrch, but the heat isn't as
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intense, so you won't have to wait long
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for it to cool down to be just warm. I
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should mention that however you choose
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to warm up the metal, it's only going to
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smooth out shallow dents or patches in
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the frosting. So, if you have deeper
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gaps, like this area up here, you'll
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need to spread on more frosting to fill
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those in before scraping around the
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cake. And only then will the warm metal
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smooth out the frosting properly. And
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then the third way to heat up a metal
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cake comb is to use hot water running
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from the tap. Or you can pour it into a
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pan and dip your cake comb into it and
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then dry it off and check it's warm, not
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hot, and then scrape around your cake
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with it. People often ask me if using
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hot metal will change the color of
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frosting. And the answer is yes, if you
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use hot metal. But the metal shouldn't
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be hot when you use it on your frosting,
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only warm. I think I've said that maybe
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five times in this video. As long as the
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metal is just warm, you won't turn white
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buttercream yellow or change any other
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color. A warm metal cake comb is
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excellent for shaped cakes where you're
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smoothing curves and sharp angles and
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moving the comb around a lot. And a
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metal cake comb can be used for more
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than just smooth frosting. It's strong
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enough to clean your surfaces after
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buttercream or sugar or melted chocolate
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has set. And this is a much easier way
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to clean up than scrubbing or smearing
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the mess everywhere while it's still
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soft and sticky. Metal cake combs are
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also really useful for moving cakes
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around because of their sharp edges to
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slice underneath a cake and wide, strong
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surface to support the cake as you lift
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it and lower it down onto a cake stand
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or platter or a clean cake board. If you
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have any questions about how to use a
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metal cake comb, ask them in the
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comments. I'd love to help you. And
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visit my cake school on
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britishgirlbakes.com to learn hundreds
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of cake decorating techniques and
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designs with my online courses and
3:43
memberships. See you there.
