Roller Method of Smoothing Buttercream~ Video

2021 Update: The online cake shop Evil Cake Genius now has a roller that works in the same way, but is made for the purpose of cake decorating (rather than painting) ;0) - Check it out!

This smoothing method is one of my favorites for achieving a flawless finish on buttercream frosted cakes. The technique was invented by Melissa McChesney (aka Melvira on Cake Central), a baker who had the genius idea to introduce a high density foam roller to crusting buttercream. It's a match made in heaven ;0)

This "Roller Method" of smoothing is one of three smoothing methods that I refer to most often on our site. The other two are the Viva Paper Towel method & the Hot Knife method. While I use the "Viva" method most often, I love this technique also. I think it's a great idea to get comfortable with at least a couple of the smoothing techniques so that when things don't go according to plan with one method, you always have a plan B! I am always grateful for options! Hope you enjoy this one!~

Table of Contents

Materials

*In this tutorial, I frosted over a three layer White Almond Sour Cream cake, 8 inch. It had already been filled, crumb coated, settled & brought to room temperature.

High Density Foam Paint Roller-6 inch (We bought ours at a home improvement store in the painting section) ***Must be high density foam which has a very smooth look and tiny pores

Crusting Buttercream- We used the High Ratio Buttercream recipe, but any of our crusting recipes will work - (like our Fluffy Vanilla & Classic Vanilla)

Cardboard (or foam core) cake circle for the tier to rest on. This makes it easy to transfer the cake from the turntable to the cake pedestal or cake base. I used an 8" cardboard.

Spatula- Mine was fairly small and rounded but use your offset spatula of choice

Turntable- Not essential but it makes the process so much easier. In this tutorial, I'm using my Wilton Trim & Turn.

Bench Scraper (If you are shopping for one, look for one that does not have a handle that extends past the edge. Mine has a curled handle.)

7 Comments

Where do you get the bench spreader?

bench scraper?

Hi Mary, this is a link to Amazon the one we have is the 2nd one on the page, the stainless steel scraper/chopper. You could also find it at globalsugarart.com

AMAZING! Never heard of this technique before, so I'm really excited to try it out!

Do you filled the cake with the crusting buttercream as well? Thanks!

Hi Glenda, We most often fill with the same buttercream that we use on the outside of the cake. The filling does not crust because it is not exposed to the air.