tips for good butter icing please?

[IMoveTheStarsForNoOne]

I'm making DS a train cake () for his 2nd birthday, and intending to cover it in different coloured butter icing.

Any tips on making it nice and smooth, rather than looking like shite artex (like my first attempt)

I think butter icing is meant to look like shite artex...
However I did use http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/274191/Mary-Berry-s-Manhattan-roulade this icing recipe for my DS's first birthday cake- replacing the liqueur with extra milk and it did come out lovely and smooth and easily spreadable. I made a dark chocolate cake with white chocilate icing - yum.

Let me try that link again.
here

I used to work in a bakery and we always added 1ybsp of hot water to every 125g og icing sugar . HTH

Sorry TBSP

thank you
definitely helps. Will be attempting to assemble train cake tonight.
(didn't attempt to bake it, just bought a swiss roll, some mini rolls and a square chocolate cake to cut up )

piprabbit - just looked at the chocolate recipe - looks lovely, thank you!!