My buttercream turned into soup right before a birthday party

Honestly, I was decorating a cake for my friend's party in her Dallas kitchen last Saturday. I added the butter straight from the fridge and the whole batch just turned to a runny, greasy mess. I had about 45 minutes before people showed up. I panicked, but then I scooped it all back into my stand mixer bowl and stuck the whole thing in the freezer for 15 minutes. After it chilled, I whipped it again on high for a solid 5 minutes and it came back perfectly smooth and pipeable. Has anyone else fixed a broken buttercream this way, or do you have a different trick?

3 comments

3 Comments

nathan_patel1mo ago

Ever try adding a spoonful of cold shortening? It helps stabilize the buttercream without changing the flavor much. Your freezer trick works great in a pinch though.

nathanbennett1mo ago

Wait, you put shortening in buttercream?

the_henry5d agoTop Commenter

Is it really that deep, though? I mean, crisco in buttercream isn't some wild new discovery, people have been doing it for years. It's fine if you want your frosting to be more stable at room temp. But its not like regular buttercream is gonna melt off the cake in 30 seconds.