On Buttercream & Cows

Over my extended absence three different readers wrote in to say they were having buttercream consistency problems, specifically with the Swiss and Italian meringue buttercreams. All three reported that their buttercream was working well for spreading and cake building, but piping was a problem. Their piped decorations were dropping and/or losing their sharp edges. Can IMBC and SMBC be firmed in any way?

I can think of two ways to achieve a firmer buttercream texture. One is to scale back the butter a bit, but just by a little, maybe 12%. That raises the ratio of meringue and gives the buttercream a bit more body. The other thing you might try is to buy higher quality butter, which tends to be firmer. Lower quality butters tend to have lower melting points, which makes them softer at room temperature. That tends to be truer in the winter months when dairy cows aren’t grazing in the fields as much, but inexpensive butter can be soft at any time of year. “Spend more money” is never welcome advice, but where buttercreams are concerned you tend to do better when you pay up a bit. That’s my best advice, gang. Anyone with further/better advice feel free to weigh in!

5 thoughts on “On Buttercream & Cows”

  1. I think a quick and dirty solution that might work as well would be to beat some powdered sugar into the buttercream, no?

    1. Hey Anonymous!

      Possible, though the meringue introduces a fair amount of moisture. Add powdered sugar and you might very well get syrup, which could make the whole problem worse. I should test that theory out, actually. I probably have some spare buttercream hanging around somewhere…

      Thanks for the comment!

      – Joe

  2. This may not be popular, but subbing in shortening for part of the butter really helps hold things together with warm-weather wedding cakes, and also contributes to clean piping lines. It also makes the taste not as overwhelmingly buttery when it’s not strongly flavored with other things; not a problem when the butter is being yelled down by, say, lemon, but for a light vanilla, it can be relevant – some people really don’t like strongly-buttery buttercreams.

    I’d also note that sometimes it helps to re-beat the frostings at a low speed (incorporating as little additional air as possible) just before filling piping bags. Perhaps obviously, this only works if the problem is caused by resting too long after beating before piping, though.

  3. Unsalted butter works best as well, blessed as I am here with grass fed cows all year, the butter and cream is fairly consistent across the board, but definitely unsalted for any baking applications.

  4. IF you can reduce the butter by 12%, why not replace that with solid shortening. Would not that assist in stabilization for piping flowers?

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