The frosting has to firm into a crust on its outer surface, according to Frost Me Up, so a dry paper towel releases instead of sticking. That crust is the entire mechanism behind how to smooth buttercream frosting with a paper towel: it hardens on the surface, the towel lifts cleanly off it, and the frosting underneath stays put. The tutorial says the method does not require buttercream, as long as the frosting forms a crust.

If you're using store-bought tub frosting, worth knowing upfront: the tutorial's author says it did not crust in her experience, so this technique may not suit it. Testing a spoonful on a plate before committing a whole cake is a reasonable way to find that out early, rather than mid-frosting.

The final layer needs to go on thin. Not watered down, just thin enough to spread without heavy pressure, and the tutorial is emphatic on this point.

For the Viva paper towel cake frosting method specifically, the tutorial recommends a plain towel with no embossed pattern, saying Viva works best because it's thicker and has no printed design. Other brands will stamp their own pattern into the frosting, which ruins a sleek finish, though the source notes it could work as a deliberate decorative texture instead. Whatever brand ends up in hand, use it dry, as the tutorial specifies.

Watching the tutorial's video before starting is worth doing. It shows the crumb coat, the final layer, and the smoothing motion in sequence, and that motion is easier to see than to describe in a numbered list.

Worth being upfront about what the tutorial doesn't establish: it doesn't compare how different frosting recipes crust, how much freezer strength varies from one kitchen to the next, or whether every towel brand besides Viva behaves the same way once pressed against firm frosting. Those variables get sorted out in a specific kitchen, not by following a formula that's been tested across many.

A crumb coat, for anyone frosting a cake for the first time, is the thin base layer of frosting spread over the cake before the final coat goes on. Its job is sealing in loose crumbs so they don't end up mixed into the smoother layer on top of it. The paper towel step only comes after that crumb coat and the final layer are both in place; skipping straight to a single coat isn't part of what the tutorial describes.

1. Apply the crumb coat and freeze it until firm, roughly 10 to 15 minutes. The point is hardening that base layer so it doesn't mix into the final coat spread over it, which is what causes crumbs to show up in the smoothed frosting (Frost Me Up).

2. Spread a thin, even final layer of crust-forming frosting over the chilled crumb coat. The tutorial is explicit that this layer needs to stay thin rather than heavy.

3. Freeze the cake again for about 10 to 15 minutes. The goal isn't freezing the frosting solid, it's letting it firm enough to hold its shape and resist sticking once the towel touches it (Frost Me Up). Use that window as the tutorial's starting point, then judge by feel, rather than the clock, whether the frosting has actually firmed.

4. Press the dry paper towel against the frosting, then lift it away instead of dragging it. This is the step the tutorial's video demonstrates directly, since the motion is easier to watch than to read.

5. Work across the cake in sections that feel manageable, checking the result after each one before moving to the next. That's a practical way to catch a problem early instead of finding it after the whole cake is covered.

6. Finish decorating and let the cake return to room temperature before serving. By the time it's ready to serve, the frosting is no longer frozen, according to Frost Me Up. The tutorial's author also says the brief freezer time earlier in the process doesn't noticeably affect the taste, an observation from her own baking rather than a tested claim.

The tutorial's replies to reader questions address several possible problems, though a single source can't cover every situation a different kitchen might produce.

The towel sticks to the frosting or tears it. If the towel is grabbing instead of releasing cleanly, the frosting likely hasn't had enough time in the freezer. The tutorial's fix is a few more minutes in the freezer, not more pressure (Frost Me Up).

The towel leaves small bits of fiber behind. This tends to happen with lower-quality paper towels, particularly when the icing hasn't been frozen long enough, per Frost Me Up. The tutorial points to a thicker, plain towel like Viva and a longer freeze as things worth trying, without promising either fixes it on the first attempt.

The finish comes out gouged instead of smooth. The tutorial's author attributes that to pressing too hard, and says switching to a knife works better for her when it happens. She adds that she personally prefers an offset spatula in her own baking, though the tutorial itself was written with beginners in mind (Frost Me Up).

Multicolored frosting is bleeding together at the seams. According to Frost Me Up, freezing the frosting thoroughly before smoothing should keep the colors distinct instead of melting into each other. No separate timing is given for that case beyond the standard freeze, so patience with the clock matters more than changing the method itself.

The tutorial uses the towel to smooth the final layer of frosting, not to correct anything underneath it. An uneven cake or a rushed first coat is a reasonable thing to expect will still show through, even though the tutorial doesn't test that scenario directly.

Try the method if the frosting actually crusts and the current spatula finish still shows ridges worth smoothing out. If the frosting doesn't form a crust, this particular method is unlikely to suit it, and no amount of extra freezer time will change that.

A practice cake, tried before anything meant for serving, is the way to find out how the technique behaves with a specific recipe, freezer, and roll of paper towels.