Dear Angela,
I have a friend who runs a cake decorating business, and she sprays water on the cake for that smooth finish. She has a spray bottle with water in it and she lightly sprays the frosted cake, both the top and the sides and then smooths it with the spatula. Then after she has a perfectly smooth cake, she adds the decorative frosting. I have used this trick and it gives as smooth a cake as you can possibly get. The light spraying of water does not make the frosting runny and any excess dries without a trace. Also remember to always slide your spatula off the cake rather than lifting it straight up and off.
Good Luck! cmoc/VA

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Frosting wedding cakes