I've done buttercream transfers before and they can be a lot of fun if they turn out well. They can be very frustrating however, if they don't turn out well! But that's how it goes with a lot of cake decorating doesn't it? If you've never tried to make a transfer I hope I can do a good job of explaining them so you can go for it and give it a try!
The very first step is picking out a picture. A transfer is made upside down and then flipped over onto the cake. So you are building up from the top down - meaning that what is seen on the top of the cake once you flip it is what you start with as you begin to make the picture. Because of that, the less detail in the picture, the better. Especially when you are first starting out. I looked at so many pictures and originally wanted to have several of the main characters in the picture, but this was also somewhat of a small cake and I just couldn't fit that many of them onto it. I settled on Alex and then only used his face out of the picture I choose.
It is also important to print the picture out in reverse. This one wasn't that big of a deal because it would look good either way, but if there are letters or numbers especially you need to make sure they will be readable once you flip it over.
You then need to secure the picture to a board and then secure waxed paper or a clear piece of hard plastic over the top of that. I use a a piece of Plexiglas that I purchased from the hardware store as my board because then I can look through it a little bit if I need to. It is a good idea to make sure your papers are very smooth when you secure them. As you can see from my final product the waves & ripples in the paper do show through onto your finished transfer.
Next use a very small tip and starting from the center begin to copy over the lines of your picture. You don't have to use black, you could match the colors you are going to use if you want. It just makes sure you have a clearly defined picture when you use black - I think. You want to start in the center because if you don't you might find yourself dragging your hand or bag through the lines you've already made on the outside when you try to get to the ones in the middle.
Once you have all your outlines done, stick the whole board into the fridge or freezer to harden. Then if you need to clean anything up, you can gently use a toothpick to pick away any parts you don't like or that maybe got a little wide or wiggly. I purposefully didn't do the whiskers because I felt they would be too hard to work around when I filled in the mane. But I also wanted to add them later for some dimension and detail on the final product. (At least that was my plan)
As I said before, I get focused on doing the job and forget to take pictures a lot of the time. I didn't get a picture of filling in the colors and barely remembered, as you can see, to get a quick shot before I covered everything completely. After you clean up your outline put it back into the fridge/freezer while you get your buttercream colors ready. You are going to put the board in and out of the cold many times during this process. You want to have your buttercream a little thinner so that it will get into all the little corners. After each addition you want to tap the board on the counter a little bit so that it all settles into each section and then be sure to put it back into the fridge if it starts to get warm. You don't want to let it go too long or your outline will get soft and will either blend into the fill colors or won't stay straight. So the more you keep it cold, the better.
When you have all your fill colors done, put it into the fridge again until it is very solid. Using the same color of frosting that you are going to use on your cake, or a color that you want as a contrast on your cake; cover the entire transfer plus going over the edge of it a bit. By a bit I mean no more than a 1/2 inch. Smooth it out really well and put it back into the cold.
Again, after it is very solid, cut through the tape on the waxed paper before you flip it over onto your prepared cake - that has already been covered and smoothed in your buttercream. It is helpful to make sure your cake has also been in the fridge and is very cold before you position your transfer onto the top. I like to flip the image onto my fingers and then help set it gently onto the cake rather than just flipping the whole board. It can be a little heavy that way and if you don't get it just right it can be hard to reposition. Which is also why you need to make sure it is all very solid. Once you have it positioned, gently pull off the waxed paper.
If you look close you can see that I didn't do any small details like the eyes and whiskers. Those are best if left for after so that you can make them just right and it adds dimension. I also think that going over the outlines can be good too. After adding the eyes I went over the eyebrows too. Then I moved on and forgot to put in the whiskers!! Thankfully it is still cute without them.
When you are all done doing your detail work, then outline the whole image with a border to cover the uneven edges and just finish decorating your cake like you would normally!
This is one of those things that is complicated until you do it and then you realize that it really isn't. I don't do it very often but the more you practice at anything it becomes easier. As you can see, mine still needs a little bit of practice too but if you keep the picture simple, it will look great!
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