How to Dirty Ice a Cake with Video
I am going to begin this tutorial by saying that I’ve never had any kind of professional baking training. I am kind of a DIY baker who likes to figure out how to do things on my own. With that said, I spend almost every waking moment in my kitchen teaching myself how to do whatever it is that tickles my fancy that day. Lately, cakes, buttercream and fondant have been tickling my fancy. Want to learn how to dirty ice a cake? Good! That is what we are going to do today!
Once we learn a few basic things about how to decorate a cake, nothing will stop us from making any kind of cake we want. The sky is the limit!
Here are a few things I want you to keep in mind:
- You don’t have to be a professional baker to make a pretty cake. Nope! You just need to be patient and practice.
- If you want to make pretty cakes that aren’t full of crumby icing, you need to know how to dirty ice a cake. If you can dirty ice a cake (I promise you can do it) then you can make a pretty cake. Trust me.
- The most important thing I want you to take away from this tutorial is to always have fun in your kitchen! If you make a cake and it doesn’t turn out the way you want it, who cares! Eat it, freeze it or give it to your neighbor. It doesn’t have to look perfect to taste good. My uncle always told me you have to break a few eggs to make on omelet. So keep practicing
Supplies for How to Dirty Ice a Cake:
Buttercream Frosting
A good turntable
Duct Tape-yes I said duct tape
Offset Spatula
Cake Board
Bench Scraper
Sharp Serrated Knife
Cake-Chill the cake overnight so it will be easier to trim.
I believe if you want to make cakes, you need to invest in a few tools. A turntable is something that can make cake decorating easy for you or it can be something that frustrates you.
I have been buying a few cake supplies for the past few years to build up my stash, but when it came to a cake turntable, I looked at it as an investment. I paid about $70 for my Fat Daddio’s Turntable a few years ago and I am so glad I did. I wanted a turntable that could take a beating and keep on spinning. This thing is very solid and weights about 20 pounds.
My point is if you are serious about making cakes, you need to shop around and find a good turntable so decorating will be fun and easy. You don’t have to spend as much as I did but I suggest you don’t get the cheapest turntable one on the market.
Okay, time to move on. Before you place your cake board on your turntable, add a piece of duct tape to hold your board in place. Without it, your board may slide while your trying to add the frosting. 
Next, cut the cake board so it is the same size as your cake and place it in the center of the turntable. 
Press down firmly so it will stay in place when you add the cake. 
Add a little frosting to act as glue to hold the cake in place. 
Place the cake on the board and wiggle it until it sticks to the board. The more frosting you use the more you will have to wiggle it to make it stay in place. You can watch the video to see what I mean.
Now it is time to level the cake.
Place one hand on top of the cake and use the serrated knife to level the cake by trimming off the top of the cake. Use a gentle sawing motion while slowly turning the cake as you cut. Be careful and don’t cut your hand. Brush the crumbs off before you add the frosting and repeat with all of the cake layers.
Spread an even layer of frosting on the bottom layer of the cake.
Add the second layer of cake (bottom up) and take a good look at it to make sure it is level. You may have to move it and push it around a bit to make perfectly level.
Next, cover the cake with the frosting.
Apply more frosting than you think you will need because icing a cake is really about removing the extra frosting. 
Next, use the bench scraper to remove the excess frosting. Make sure the bench scraper is resting flat on the turntable. Place the bench scraper beside the cake and apply gentle pressure while slowly spinning the turntable. You will need to clean off the bench scraper several times during this process. If the frosting has crumbs you need to place it in a different container than the one with the ‘clean’ frosting or you will end up reapplying the crumbs to the cake. That kind of defeats the purpose of dirty icing a cake doesn’t it.
Keep working until you have removed most of the frosting.
Time for the top. When adding the frosting you should (I didn’t do a good job of demonstrating this during the tutorial) build the frosting up so it is actually above the top of the cake.
Then, when you are ready to smooth the top, start about 3″ or 4″ away from the cake and hold the offset spatula at a 45° angle. Slowly bring the spatula to the center of the cake removing the excess frosting. This will help you have a nice edge on top.
If you don’t get it right the first time, it is alright. All you need to do is add more frosting and try it again!
Keep working it until it is really smooth. If you have a pesky place that won’t smooth, place the cake in the freezer for a few minutes. Remove it and use a Viva paper towel and your hand or a fondant smoother and gently rub the frosting smooth.
Guess what? Now you can dirty ice a cake! I told you it wasn’t hard!
Bear hugs,
I love this tutorial so much! I am pretty bad at decorating cakes so this will definitely help me in my endeavors!
I promise you Whitni, if I can do it, you can do it! 😉
DIY cake decor’ hobbiest for family & friends. Thanks for sharing. Will try your technique for a cake walk donation next week.
Hi Dolores! If you try it, send me a picture! I would love to see it!
Thank you for the tutorial. I need a turntable but $70.00 OUCHE❗️What brand would you recommend for a non-professional❓❓I appreciate your time and assistance.?
I agree! $70 was a bit much and now it is $80 on Amazon. I am glad I got it but the truth is if I didn’t have a blog I would have bought a less expensive one.
I suggest you go to Michael’s or maybe a local baking supply store and look at different turntables to see what you want. There are so many different styles to chose from I think you should touch them and spin them until you find one that you like that fits you budget. I think you will be suprised how many different kinds are available.
Perhaps a silly question, but what do you do with a dirty cake? It looks nice enough I guess but does not seem very decorated to me. What is the purpose of doing this procedure first. Sorry I know nothing about cake decorating!
It isn’t a silly question at all and no it isn’t decorative.
Most cakes have 2 layers of icing. The base layer is called “dirty icing” or “crumb coating.” The purpose of dirty icing a cake is to lock in the crumbs so the next layer of icing will be clean and crumb free.
Thanks Lisa! I appreciate your attempts to educate!
Or teach you Buddy Valastro’s Hoboken slang! 😉
WHAT in the heck is dirty ice a cake? From looking at the pictures scrolling down to the comment section it looks just like crumb coating a cake. Is there any difference between crumb coating a cake and “dirty ice” a cake? I honestly have NEVER heard that term before and I’ve been baking for 50 years and doing cake decorating for about 6 or so. Did I miss something somewhere?
Hahahaha! Pamela, I heard it on The Cake Boss. He always says ‘dirrty ice’ a cake. It is the exact same as crumb coating. I just think it sounds more fun than ‘crumb coat.’ 😉
I have tried dirty icing my cakes..I now know I would have had a much easier time with a good turntable. Love the video Lisa! 🙂
I hope you find one you like! They do make a difference.
Maybe we can get together and make some cakes! 😉
Just curious, when you cover a cake in fondant, do you just dirty ice it first? Or do you add a second layer of buttercream too? I know it looks better with just a crumb coat underneath, but it tastes so much better with another layer of buttercream. I’m wondering what works for you. Thanks!
Hi Megan!
I should have told you in the tutorial how I was planning on using this cake. If you cover it with fondant, use a thicker coat of buttercream for the dirty icing coat so the cake will taste better. There is no need to do two separate layers of frosting when you can use one thicker layer.
I was planning on decorating this cake with another layer of buttercream so I kept the dirty icing layer thin.
If covering in fondant, dirty ice the cake and place it in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Remove it from the freezer and spritz it with water (not too much) and add the layer of fondant. You need to spritz the buttercream so the fondant will stick.
I am working on some basic fondant tutorials and will share them throughout the holidays.
Hope this helps!
Bear hugs,
Lisa
I like everything you show us. Thank you
Thank you so much! 😉
This video is WONDERFUL! I’ve never heard the term dirty ice before – is it the same as a crumb coat, or is this the final cake?
Hi Kelly! Dirty ice and crumb coat are the same thing. But doesn’t ‘dirty ice’ sound more fun than ‘crumb coat?’ 😉
The only thing is, how do you remove the cake to serve it on a nice pretty cake plate? ?
The cake is on a cake board that has been cut the same size as the cake. Stick an offset spatula under the board to lift the cake so you can place it on a pretty stand. 😉
How many days before an event do you generally frost your cakes?
Hi Trudy,
This is my routine so you can use as a guideline. You might want to practice until you find what works best for you and your schedule.
If I have a cake that is due on Saturday, I make the frosting and tint it on Thursday so its ready when I want to decorate. The cake also gets baked on Thursday night and wrapped in plastic wrap (usually a double layer) and then it gets wrapped in foil and placed on the counter. Then I clean up my baking mess and go to bed.
The decorating takes place on Friday morning and the cake gets delivered early Saturday. Decorating on Friday morning usually allows time for me to correct any mistakes without staying up all night stressing.
Hope this helps!
Not questions about dirty icing but I love the look of yours so I have to ask! How do you get the thick layer of frosting in the middle? Mine always squishes down once I put on the second layer. Also your layers are so big compared to the way mine turn out. You use an 8″ pan and 2 cake box mixes? How far do you fill the pan?
THanks, Amber
Question: How do you dirty ice a shaped cake? Obs, it would be about the same, but any tips or tricks…. thanks for your post!
Hi Jezzri,
I’m working on come cake tutorials and designs for 2018. I have a cake heroes that I follow and love and I’d love to share them with you!
How to Cake It: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvM1hVcRJmVWDtATYarC0KA
Man About Cake: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcsBpRN1l9YsaLoElmJj2Jg
Zoe’s Fancy Cakes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1z-0SeloNm_6heRY1L4aCA
All of them have several excellent videos on Youtube that will show you exactly how to dirty ice a cake or as they call it crumb coating it.
Have fun and I’ll share some cake videos with you soon!
Lisa