I was about to start this post with the phrase, "When you get to be my age...". How old am I anyway?! I have a couple of friends who hit the big 4-0 this week, and I only have 3 years and 73 or so days to go till I bust through that mile marker myself. (But who's counting.)
The reason I was about to say "When you get to be my age" was because I wanted to say that trends come and trends go, and I have seen a few trends in my day. These trends from the 80s for example. I had a charm necklace that Punky Brewster would have died for. It even had a tiny notebook with a tiny attached pencil that I wrote tiny notes to myself with. Man, was I ever cool.
Perhaps that's not the best example to illustrate the point, although it does illustrate how rad the 80s were.
The point, actually, is that buttercream is back. In a big way.
Before the birth of Pinterest, fondant (or sugar dough) was thought of by home bakers as mainly in the realm of professionals - or it was not thought of at all. When a home baker wanted to get all fancy-pants, they erred on the side of the Wilton Method, and started piping buttercream stars with abandon. Here is an example from my own files, my tried-and-true Super Bowl Sunday cake, circa 2011:
The reason I was about to say "When you get to be my age" was because I wanted to say that trends come and trends go, and I have seen a few trends in my day. These trends from the 80s for example. I had a charm necklace that Punky Brewster would have died for. It even had a tiny notebook with a tiny attached pencil that I wrote tiny notes to myself with. Man, was I ever cool.
Perhaps that's not the best example to illustrate the point, although it does illustrate how rad the 80s were.
The point, actually, is that buttercream is back. In a big way.
Before the birth of Pinterest, fondant (or sugar dough) was thought of by home bakers as mainly in the realm of professionals - or it was not thought of at all. When a home baker wanted to get all fancy-pants, they erred on the side of the Wilton Method, and started piping buttercream stars with abandon. Here is an example from my own files, my tried-and-true Super Bowl Sunday cake, circa 2011:
But through the evolution of the internet, bakers and decorators started sharing secrets and tips, and fondant cakes became the price of entry. Even for me, when I'm asked to make a birthday cake, my first reaction is to quote on a fondant-covered cake since that's become the standard.
Even my Super Bowl Sunday cake changed with the times:
Even my Super Bowl Sunday cake changed with the times:
However, there appears to be a shift in the tide, and buttercream is hot again! And along with the throwback comes mega-sized changes. I give a ton of the credit to the awesome baking blog I Am Baker for paving the way with her outside-the-box use of the open star tip for her Rose Cake in 2011. This gorgeous, swirly frosting technique is all over the place now, but I'm pretty sure she deserves the credit for breaking the Wilton Method wide open.
To be honest, I didn't do much research before starting this post, but I did just come across this nice little summary of some of the most current and on-trend buttercream techniques.
Anyway, here is the first of the two cakes I made for my friend Chris's 40th birthday last weekend, using this very technique. (And having two cakes for your 40th birthday is, by the way, utterly brilliant).
To be honest, I didn't do much research before starting this post, but I did just come across this nice little summary of some of the most current and on-trend buttercream techniques.
Anyway, here is the first of the two cakes I made for my friend Chris's 40th birthday last weekend, using this very technique. (And having two cakes for your 40th birthday is, by the way, utterly brilliant).
I have a feeling that the chocolate cake and heavenly pink and purple swirls were just as much for her almost-3-year-old daughter as they were for her.
Chris's other cake was just as much of a delight: vanilla cake with coconut buttercream, with a few scattered pink sugar flowers that I made out of fondant. (And still, fondant finds a way to be useful!)
Chris's other cake was just as much of a delight: vanilla cake with coconut buttercream, with a few scattered pink sugar flowers that I made out of fondant. (And still, fondant finds a way to be useful!)
Now, if you google "fondant-free wedding cake", you'll find not only amazingly intricate buttercream cakes, but also articles that malign fondant so much that you'd actually feel sorry for it! Well, I did anyway. I personally still love fondant-covered cakes. Fondant creates such a lovely canvas for design, as it is so clean and smooth. And I love the way it seals in all the goodness of a supremely moist cake.
And although I hear the oft-repeated complaint, "fondant doesn't taste good," my 4-year-old Stacey likes to peel it off her cake and eat it like a Fruit Roll-Up.
And although I hear the oft-repeated complaint, "fondant doesn't taste good," my 4-year-old Stacey likes to peel it off her cake and eat it like a Fruit Roll-Up.
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