crumb coating...

[ilse]

i have been practicing my cake skills and now have a few questions. i have been putting a crumb coat on, but i have been using the same frosting (a thin coat) that i will be using to frost the entire cake - is that right or is there another type of frosting that i should be using for a crumb coat instead? also, can i freeze the cake after applying the crumb coat a few days before i need the cake ready and just thaw it the night/day before, or will that not be a good idea? or if i have frozen the cake with the crumb coat on, can i frost it while it is somewhat frozen still (so that the crumb coat isn't soft) or will it make the frosting/crumb coat weird for it to finish thawing that way?

thanks for any help!
ilse.

[lentil]

Ilse, I don't do much baking, but the woman who bakes for me crumbcoats with the same icing she'll use later. She also freezes crumbcoated cakes, but more often she'll freeze the layers before any icing at all.

[Erik]

I've (almost) always crumb coated with the same icing I frost the rest of the cake with. The trick is not to mix the stuff you scrape off while crumb coating back into your main icing - as it is full of crumbs! I always just keep a small bowl to place the 'crummy' icing into.

(In culiunary school, we were actually graded on how much icing we end up with in that bowl. The less the better!)