The goal here is to create level, sharp edges by swiping through the buttercream crown and moving the excess buttercream across the top of the cake. Using your offset spatula, smooth the buttercream crown inward, moving the buttercream toward the middle of the cake. This is a really good sign, because it means you’re going to have a nice, sharp top edge when you’re done smoothing it. Now that your sides are looking so rustic and beautiful, you’ll probably notice a little buttercream crown has formed around the top edge of your cake. If this happens, just smooth it over with more buttercream. Try not to press too hard when you’re smoothing the more “naked” areas, since you could puncture the cake layers and cause them to crumble. If you have areas that need more buttercream, simply apply more buttercream and keep smoothing until you like what you see. When you’ve got the sides covered, take your bench scraper and smooth the sides of the cake until they’re straight and you have some nice areas of cake peeking through. Since the semi-naked look involves buttercream that looks barely there, try to apply a pretty thin layer. Using that same offset spatula, apply buttercream to the sides of the cake, starting at the bottom and working your way up to the top. Step 3: Frost And Smooth The Sides Of The Cake You should have enough frosting on the top of the cake that it extends about ¼ inch beyond the top edges. Start frosting the top of the cake by placing a bit of buttercream on the top and smoothing it with an offset spatula, turning the cake on your turntable as you smooth. Step 2: Frost And Smooth The Top Of The Cake The top and bottom layers should be completely parallel for evenly straight sides, but slightly offsetting the center layer (and I’m talking a centimeter or two) will help create more varying depth with your semi-naked finish. Tip: when you’re stacking your cake layers, it helps to very slightly offset the middle layer so that the edge sticks out a little further in some areas. Once your layers are perfectly even and level, fill them and start stacking them. Torting helps to get rid of any domed cake tops, thus setting your entire cake up for being super level and sharp. In my opinion, this step should never be missed, no matter what kind of cake you’re creating. If you haven’t already, start by torting your cake layers to an even, level height.

Thin Consistency Buttercream (this Vanilla Buttercream recipe is perfect).

I’ll break everything down in the tutorial in the next section: If you’re more of a video-inclined learner, here’s a quick one I shot of the semi-naked technique.

You just need to know a few key things before attempting it to set yourself up for success.

And the best part is, the semi-naked technique is extremely easy. Whether you dress it with fresh flowers, drip it with ganache, or tint the buttercream, you can get pretty creative with this rustic or minimalist look. The barely-there buttercream is such a versatile look that works well for almost any kind of event. If there’s one thing that always looks good semi-naked, it’s a cake.

Sugar free ruler food ice cream