Frosting recipe and technique for frosting a cake with a hairdryer!
Submitted by glory on August 06, 2002 at 11:26 am

I ran across a tip a while ago elsewhere online that advised using a hairdryer to slightly melt the icing as you ice a cake. I had never heard of such a thing and posted on the circle to see if any of you had. Nancy (naschol) took the challenge and tried it. Here is her post and it is her recipe listed here. I just thought that it was a post that should not just get lost as someone might find it as interesting as I did.

WOW! This is going to be a long post, so be prepared. I am just a beginner at cake decorating, so if I can do this, anyone can!

I used the Wilton class buttercream recipe:
1/4 C. water
1 t. clear butter flavoring
1 t. clear flavoring of your choice (I used lemon, this time, but you can use
vanilla, almond, rum, orange, whatever)
generous pinch of salt

Kind of swirl this around, until the salt is dissolved. Then, add and mix with mixer, just until liquid is absorbed: 2 C. white shortening (Crisco)

Then, add and mix just until blended:
1 2# bag of 10X powdered sugar (they recommend C&H, here - it's a cane sugar)

DO NOT overbeat, or you will get air bubbles that will be hard to smooth out. This will probably burn out the motor on hand mixers - it is pretty heavy.

From this, I removed about a cup (stiff consistency) for decorating, later. Then, add about 2 teaspoons of water for each remaining cup of icing and blend until absorbed. Should be frosting consistency, at this point.

Now, for the process. I iced the cake and smoothed as well as I could with the spatula. Then, let it set for about 10 minutes or so, until it was not sticky to the touch. It kind of crusts over.
Normally, at this point, I would take a sheet of typing paper, lay it on the surface and lightly rub the clean spatula over the top of the paper. On the sides, I would position the paper beside the cake and use the palm of my hand to lightly rub the paper. This smooths it fairly well.

This time, I started on the top by applying heat from the hair dryer about 4" from the surface in a small circular motion for a few seconds. Without taking the hair dryer away, I used my spatula to lightly smooth the surface just warmed. It was amazing! It was so easy to smooth and looked beautiful! I did this until the top was completely smooth.

Now, for the side. I started to use the same technique for the side, but, as uncoordinated as I am, kept digging the end of my spatula into the icing. So, I took my trusty typing paper, positioned it on the side and directed the hair dryer at it. After a few seconds, I used my palm to lightly rub the area on the paper, keeping the dryer directed at the paper with my other hand. The wind held the paper in place. That worked very well, and I'm thinking now, that I could have used the spatula over the paper, too. At least, if I was more coordinated.

Anyway, I think this experiment was a great success. I am looking forward to my next decorating class. I will have the most professional finish there! Thanks, again, Glory.
Nancy