Frost a Cake with Smooth Buttercream

5 from 2 votes

Wondering how to frost a cake with buttercream - and get the sides and top smooth? This post covers all the basics and some troubleshooting!

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Chilling + Decorating time1 15

Total Time2 15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Frost a Cake with smooth frosting, How to get cake frosting smooth, How to get cake sides smooth

Servings: (variable)

Calories: 785kcal

round cardboard cake circle (or a completely flat plate; the same size or a bit larger than your cake layers)
Cake turntable
cake scraper or pastry cutter

baked cake layers (size / flavors of your choice)
frosting (flavor / color of your choice) (I use 1x this frosting recipe for an 8-inch 3-layer cake)

Once your cake layers are completely cooled (and ideally chilled), trim down the tops until they’re flat. Then they'll stack evenly without wobbling or tipping.
You can do this with a cake level or with a serrated knife. I'll be honest; I personally haven't had the best time leveling with a knife.

Now that you have your cake layers level, it’s time to stack them! If you’ve ever built a block tower, it’s really not more complicated than that. After adding frosting/filling on the top of your first layer, center the next one on top. Repeat the process with your remaining cake layers.
As I add sequential layers to the cake, I like to either hold my bench scraper up to them or give the turntable a quick spin watching the cake edges to make sure that I have the layers centered and even.

If you’re newer to getting smooth frosting on your cakes I really recommend adding a crumb coat. Spread a thin coat of frosting over your entire cake - this keeps crumbs out of your next layer!
Your crumb coat doesn't have to be completely smooth - but the smoother it is, the easier smoothing your next layer of frosting will be. Crumb-coating is essentially a 'practice round' for getting smooth frosting on your cake - the spreading + smoothing motions are the same!

After the crumb coat, I put my cake in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, often longer. I don't want to even be able to make a dent with my finger in the side before I start frosting. This has been a MASSIVE help to me in the frosting process! A cold cake will firm up your frosting layer, and make it MUCH harder to accidentally scrape back down to your crumb coat as you smooth your frosting.
(Skip this tip if you live in a hot / humid area; you may have too much condensation that forms on the outside of your cake if it's partially frozen.)

Start by spreading a layer of frosting over the top of the cake, and a bit over the top edge. This sets you up to get a smooth top, and enough icing on the top cake edge for a sharp edge.
Next - Pipe or spread your final layer of frosting onto your cake sides - you want this one thicker than your first crumb-coat layer. I usually shoot for about 1/4-inch or so (a little over a half centimeter).

Place your pastry cutter with the base flat on your cake board or turntable. This will help you keep it straight up and down so your cake sides are straight. This is where a quick watch of the video will be especially helpful. Hold the scraper with an edge touching the frosting, at an angle close into the side of the cake. Rotate the turntable, holding the scraper as still as you can. The frosting you leave behind probably won't be perfectly smooth, but it'll be better!
Clean the excess frosting off of your cake scraper (I usually use the side of the mixing bowl for this) - and repeat! Work your way around the cake, scraping/smoothing as you go.
After your first couple of passes, you'll probably notice some holes and gaps in your frosting. With some frosting on your offset spatula, fill the holes in. (Use too much rather than too little. It doesn't have to be pretty.) Now repeat the smoothing process with your cake scraper. Getting closer! 😉

As you've been working around the cake, you've probably noticed a bit of a frosting 'crown,' or rough-looking edge poking a bit past the top of the cake. This is a good thing! (If you haven't seen that 'crown' start to form, you probably don't have quite enough frosting at the top of the cake. Add more frosting to that top edge, and make another few passes with your cake scraper.)
Gently use your offset spatula/scraper to pull a small section of frosting 'lip in toward the center of the cake. Clean your spatula/scraper off after each pass or two, when the frosting starts to build up.
Continue working your way around the cake, pulling that top edge in to create a clean, sharp edge at the top of your cake!

Calories: 785kcal | Carbohydrates: 98g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 37g