It’s a problem that almost every baker has dealt with at some point: your buttercream frosting melting and ruining your beautiful confectionary creation. So how do you get out of this sticky-sweet situation? Better yet, how do you stop it from happening in the first place? Let’s stir up some solutions!
The problem lies within: butter. The buttercream is made of, in part, butter, which has a very low melting point. Some simple tricks are to decrease the butter, replace it with something else, or just add more of a stiffening agent!
The first solution mentioned is to simply decrease the amount of butter you’re putting into that fantastic frosting. Instead, try making your buttercream with half butter and half high-ratio vegetable shortening (this also includes the second solution). While butter’s melting point is only 32-35C, high ratio vegetable shortening has a melting point of 46.1C. That’s a pretty significant difference! In short (see what I did there?), making a concoction of butter and another ingredient can make a pretty big difference in the quality of your buttercream on a hot summer day. In addition, you can also add a mixture of royal icing sugar and confectioner’s sugar to stiffen up that frosting just a little bit more.
The third solution is to add more of a stiffening agent to your buttercream. This can include adding more confectioner’s sugar (be careful, as adding too much can make your buttercream crust) and adding 2Tbsp cornstarch to every 3C icing.
You can also use Swiss Meringue Buttercream instead of just buttercream, as it is stiffer and will hold up better against that beating sun. Another alternative to buttercream is fondant!
And, of course, remember to refrigerate your icing! This may seem obvious, but it really does help.
Hopefully the next time you can see your buttercream approaching the danger zone and stop the problem before it even starts! Enjoy your frosting!
