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YES That's Buttercream! Buttercream Cut-Out Tutorial
67K views
Sep 6, 2024
In this buttercream cut-out tutorial I show how to create shapes and designs that look like fondant, but are made with buttercream! This cake decorating technique is quite simple but has endless possibilities and I demonstrate a few variations in this video. I use my 4 Minute Buttercream for these cut-out shapes and you can watch the tutorial and get the recipe here: https://youtu.be/MFKfXbnU1Lw SUBSCRIBE to my channel for new cake decorating tutorials every week!
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0:00
Hi, I'm Emily of British Girl Bakes and in this tutorial I'm going to share with you a technique
0:04
I've been working on for a while, cutting out shapes from buttercream and sticking them onto cakes
0:08
I'll show you a few variations to achieve different effects and all of them will amaze people
0:13
because the designs look like you've had to use fondant, but they're actually done with buttercream
0:17
So you achieve the effect of fondant with the taste of buttercream. I use my 4-minute buttercream for this technique and I'll put the link for the recipe and tutorial in the description below this video
0:27
I'll cover every step of the process in lots of detail, but if you have any questions, put them in the comments below so I can answer them
0:34
Start by spreading buttercream onto a piece of wax paper or parchment paper
0:38
It's helpful to tape the paper onto a board or tray so it doesn't move around and then use an offset spatula or frosting smoother
0:45
to get the buttercream as smooth as possible. And if you're doing more than one colour, try to get all of the buttercream the same thickness to make the final design look neater
0:55
You can play around with the buttercream, like adding stripes by using a striped cake comb to create stripe grooves
1:01
It's a good idea not to scrape all the way down to expose the paper because leaving some buttercream at the bottom of the stripes will help hold the shape together later
1:10
Chill the buttercream for about 15 minutes in the freezer before spreading on another colour of buttercream and then scraping it off to reveal neat stripes underneath
1:19
Chill your buttercream on the paper, on the board or tray, in the fridge or freezer for at least an hour and then cut out the shapes
1:27
You can use cookie cutters like these dinosaur ones I'm using here, dipping them in hot water first to get a nice clean cut with the hot metal
1:35
and then lifting them up carefully from one side first and then the other side to release the buttercream from within the cookie cutter
1:44
If you're enjoying this tutorial, please like it by clicking the thumbs up button and subscribe to my channel for a new cake decorating tutorial every week
1:52
You might find that the shape of buttercream stays attached to the paper, like these, and you can use your offset spatula or knife to break or cut away the excess buttercream to leave the shapes behind
2:04
But if the shapes lift up with the cutter, like this star, just carefully press them out of the cutter and place them back on the board
2:12
If the shape is stuck to the paper, lift it up by sliding a knife or offset spatula underneath the shape to release it from the paper
2:20
If you don't have a cookie cutter the right size or shape for your design, you can use a knife to cut out your shape instead
2:26
I'm cutting out random triangles for a mosaic design, or you can draw or trace your shape onto parchment or wax paper and cut it out and then cut around it with a sharp knife
2:38
Dip the knife in hot water and dry it off before using it for a clean cut
2:42
It's essential for every stage of this process that the buttercream is very cold so that it stays hard and doesn't snap or melt as you work with it
2:51
So if it starts to warm up and soften, put it in the freezer for a few minutes or in the fridge for a bit longer
2:57
When your shapes are cut out and cold, lift them up with a frosting smoother or offset spatula or a knife
3:04
A thin blade is ideal to get between the cutout and the paper without damaging the cutout
3:10
It's a good idea to make more shapes than you need because some might crack when you lift them
3:15
You can add fun details to the cutouts like brushing on disco dust or luster dust
3:20
Just make sure the buttercream is cold and hard before you do this, otherwise the powder won't brush on evenly and the brush might texture the buttercream
3:28
You could also stencil a design onto the buttercream shapes or paint details on like I'm doing here with these hot air balloons
3:35
using gel colours and smudging them with my paintbrush to create some shadowing
3:39
Chill the cutouts again to make sure they're cold and hard and meanwhile, frost your cake
3:44
It's best to attach buttercream cutouts to a fresh coat of frosting that's still sticky so that the shapes attach with just a bit of pressure and you don't need to use anything else to secure them
3:54
But you can use a cake if the frosting has already set and I'll show you how to do that in a moment
3:59
Notice that you can use textured frosting for this technique and that's actually my favourite way to do this because it looks so unbelievable that the shapes are made with buttercream and not fondant
4:09
To attach the cutouts to the cake, lift the shapes up off the paper and press them gently into the frosted cake
4:15
You can get creative with this, arranging the cutouts so that the colours blend to make a rainbow or so that they form a shape like this heart
4:24
If your frosting has already set, spread a bit of fresh buttercream onto the cake where the shape is going to go and then press the cutout onto it and the fresh buttercream will make it stick, acting as a glue
4:34
You can spread the fresh buttercream onto the back of the shape instead if you prefer
4:39
For large shapes, you'll notice that they're sitting straight on the side of the cake instead of curving around the frosting
4:45
And this effect works well for some designs but if you want the shapes to curve around, you can leave them on the side of the cake for a few minutes at room temperature to warm up, maybe 15 minutes
4:55
and then wrap a piece of parchment or wax paper around the cake and gently press the cutout shapes to curve them around the cake
5:02
You can't do this when they're cold or they'll crack. Put the cake back in the fridge with the paper still wrapped around it and then when the buttercream has chilled and set again about 30 minutes later, just peel the paper off
5:14
Now you can finish decorating your cake and I'm adding different borders on top of these cakes
5:19
This rope border with an 8B tip, a double rope border with a 1M tip and these swirls, also with a 1M tip
5:27
I hope I've given you some ideas and inspiration and I'd love to see how you use this technique
5:32
So if you put any photos of your cakes on Instagram, please tag me, BritishGirlBakes, so I can see your creations
5:37
Thank you so much for watching! Please like this video by clicking the thumbs up button and subscribe to my channel for a new cake decorating tutorial every week
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