Cake Tip: Crumb Coat

I love making birthday cakes for my gang. You don't get far into frosting cakes before learning how valuable a crumb coat is. Whether you are spreading the icing on with a knife or piping it on with a bag and tip, the crumb coat just really makes it all easier.

You know how a cake tends to be kind of crumbly when you dump it out the pan? If you start spreading on icing, then those crumbs just get all in your icing and make your cake not as pretty. When your cake is ready to ice, using some of your icing and spread a thin layer over it. It will get lots of crumbs in it, but that's okay.

Once that is done, either let it sit and air dry or you can also stick it in the freezer to fast track it a bit. Then when its hardened a bit, you can easily spread icing with a knife or pipe it on without worrying about the crumbs showing if your final product. If you are cutting up a cake to make a certain shape, this is especially important!