# my buttercream is a mess!!!



## isaac (Jun 9, 2001)

well, last night i made italian buttercream and i stored it in a airtight container. i know you are supposed to rewhip it before using it after it has been under refrideration however when i took it out, i whipped it and it looked like crap. it didnt come together at all.

are you supposed to let it come to room temp before rewhipping it?


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## kimmie (Mar 13, 2001)

It's been a while since my pastry classes, Isaac, but I do remember that it had to come to room temp before re-whipping. In class, we didn't always have time so we would use a blow-torch underneath the bowl!


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## isaac (Jun 9, 2001)

i reckon that the firction of rewhipping it caused it to melt the butter and "brake"

kimmie... wouldnt that melt the butter?


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## kimmie (Mar 13, 2001)

Not if you keep stirring vigorously until smooth while using the blow-torch with caution or warm it slightly over simmering water while stirring vigorously until smooth.

Edited to add:

_Here's what I was looking for...MY NOTES:

Italian Buttercream is a simple "water and fat emulsion". Sometimes the emulsion breaks, resulting in a buttercream that looks broken and curdled. However, it is very easy to fix.
First, if the buttercream is cold and broken, separately melt about 25% of the mixture, return it to the remainder and then rewhip -- it should come right together._


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## momoreg (Mar 4, 2000)

That's the easiest way to do it, Kimmie.

The blowtorch trick works too, but you have to be careful not to overheat the bowl, or your b-cream will burn.

Also, try using a paddle rather than a whip , just to eliminate the air bubbles. You'll get a much smoother finish.


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## kimmie (Mar 13, 2001)

Yes, the paddle works beautifully...I should have mentioned that!

Thanks for the reminder, Momoreg


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## anna w. (Nov 27, 2001)

Room temp is best (with a paddle). You can speed it up in the microwave on defrost for 10 seconds at a time. It will melt unbelievably fast and has to be watched closely or you will lose it.


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## isaac (Jun 9, 2001)

man, it was nasty looking when i rewhipped it lol. i made a new batch HOWEVER... when i went to ice the cake with it, it wasent as easly spreadable like i thought it would be. any suggestions?


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## anna w. (Nov 27, 2001)

Hmmm...I find it incredibly smooth to work with. The only suggestion I can give you is after you make it, put on the paddle attatchment and let it go for about 10 min. on the lowest speed. This gets out the airbubbles and when it is most desireable to use. Sometimes if it sits for a while it will get spongy and needs to be rebeaten- very slowly


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## isaac (Jun 9, 2001)

maybe that is why it wasnt as spreadable as it should have been. i think i made the butter cream right. i took sugar and water and boiled it to 250. when it reached 240, i started whipping the whites and sugar. when the sugar and water mixute reached 250, i slowly poured it in. then i whipped it until it was cool and then threw in the butter peice by peice. is that the right way?

next time i will use the paddle for 10 minutes.


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## kimmie (Mar 13, 2001)

METHOD: ITALIAN MERINGUE

1) Place sugar and water together in a pot. Place over medium heat, and stir sugar until dissolved. Raise heat to high and cook until 240F is reached on a candy thermometer. Throughout the cooking process, wash down the sides of the pot with a brush and warm water.

2) At 230F, begin whipping the egg whites with the cream of tartar. Whip to soft peaks.

3) When the sugar reaches 240F, begin slowly pouring the hot sugar syrup into the soft peak egg whites. During this procedure the machine is running on 2nd speed! After all the sugar has been added, turn the machine up to 3rd speed, and whip until cool - this takes about 30 minutes.

TO MAKE BUTTER CREAM:

4) Cream the butter, lemon juice and vanilla extract until light.

5) Slowly add this creamed butter mixture to the cooled meringue. With the mixer on 2nd speed. After the butter is completely added, turn the machine up to 3rd speed for about 5 minutes and whip until light and fluffy.


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## anna w. (Nov 27, 2001)

Kimme- you seriously wait a 1/2 hour for your merinque to cool? It depends on the temp of the kitchen but mine rarely takes more than 10 minutes. I am just surprised by this. Isaac pretty much described my method. I cream my butter to make sure it is smooth first but add a little bit at a time. I also am never that exact when I whip my egg whites. After I start the syrup, I turn on my mixer and whip the whites, turn it off when it's done and finish waiting for the syrup to come to temp.


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## momoreg (Mar 4, 2000)

There has to be a balance between the temp of the egg white/sugar mixture, and the butter. If my butter hasd been sitting out for a long time, and the kitchen is very hot, I make sure the whites are as cool as the room. But if the butter still has some firmness, I'll add it when the whites are still slightly warm. Still, sometimes it needs some slight addition of heat afterwards to smooth it out. 

The amount of time it takes for the whites to cool depends not only on the kitchen temp.., but also on how much you are whipping, in what size bowl, at what speed. It can take 1/2 an hour if you're doing a large batch. But in a home mixer, it should take about 15 min.


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## isaac (Jun 9, 2001)

will the buttercream turn out smoother if i cream my butter first or leave it in small little peices?


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## anna w. (Nov 27, 2001)

I think creaming the butter insures that you don't have any cold spots in the butter that might not blend well. 

What does everyone consider a good room temp for this? I try to keep it about 68* to 72* in my kitchen- no baking while doing buttercream. Even in my 20 qt. it never took a half hour so I am very grateful. Wondering if you guys have warmer kitchens because baking/cooking is going on.


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## m brown (May 29, 1999)

i like to soften my frozen or cold butter cream over boiling water, then beat it with the paddle and if it seems too flat, switch to whip for about five min. then back to paddle to knock the bubbles out. 

when making butter cream try to have the shortening or butter soft but not melted.

whip meringue until cool.

whip the butter cream after the shortening is in until it looks like smooth satin fluff!

in a hot kitchen, keep a bowl of ice and water on hand to cool the bowl down.


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## angrychef (Jan 15, 2001)

I let the butter blocks sit out for an hour or two and cut it into small pieces.After the syrup is into the meringues, I let it go until I feel the back of my hand to the bowl and it is slightly warm. The I switch to medium speed and add the butter pieces. Once all the butter is in and combined, I switch to last speed.

Isaac, I remember when I first made buttercream and re-warmed it --I thought I did something wrong since it was broken and threw it out! Your not alone...


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## isaac (Jun 9, 2001)

thanks angrychef!!


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## m brown (May 29, 1999)

butter cream and german chocolate cake freak people out the first time until they get the hang of it!
:bounce:


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

I find it easier to warm refrigerated buttercream in the machine mixing bowl w/paddle. put a large table mixing bowl under the machine mixing bowl and fill with hot h2o. I do this for ganache too. Torch seem to be to located.
I don't think I've waited more than 10 min for merengue cool down. A good ambient temp for your kitchens should be 70. not only for product but for you compressors also.
2 cents from


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## isaac (Jun 9, 2001)

i have another question..... i told my friend about my buttercream and she said that if i would have kept mixing, it would have came back together.. what do ya all think? i think if i would have kept mixing it, it would have warmed up even more and melted more butter.


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## kimmie (Mar 13, 2001)

> Anna W _Kimme- you seriously wait a 1/2 hour for your merinque to cool?_
> 
> LOL AnnaW! I admit that it would be impractical in a restaurant setting but in my brand new kitchen, I have all the time in the world!


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## m brown (May 29, 1999)

issac, yes, if you whipped it more it would have been fine if you had your proportions and temperatures right and i assume you did. lesson learned!:chef:


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## kthull (Oct 9, 2002)

I've only recently begun playing with IMBC and have had inconsistent results. 

I had a not-quite-right batch last night that was starting to break so I tried this fix but it didn't work. 

In an act of desperation, I melted the whole batch in a bowl over very gently simmering water. Stirring with a whisk, and just when I thought it was a lost cause, it miraculously transformed into that smooth satiny velvet I've read so much about.

Does that seem right? Or is it just another misstep in the path to the perfect buttercream?


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## momoreg (Mar 4, 2000)

That's exactly right. Usually, with IMBC, the reason for separation is a too low temperature. It seems to go against common sense to melt part of it down. One would never expect that to work, but it does!


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## kthull (Oct 9, 2002)

But I melted ALL of it. Was that just insane or is that an acceptable fix?


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## momoreg (Mar 4, 2000)

Hmmm.. You must've been working on it for awhile after melting it!!

Your liquid had to come back to room temperature in order to achieve the thickness of a buttercream.


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## kthull (Oct 9, 2002)

Well I figured it was a lost cause, so I wanted to melt it totally to see what would happen.

It started out soft, and looking granular. What I assume to be the look of a broken buttercream. As I was melting it, it was just getting softer and the granules finer, but I wasn't seeing it come together.

Then all of a sudden, it started clumping. I thought for sure it was finally time to pitch it, but when I took it off heat and whisked it out, it seemed perfect.

And it held that way at room temp nicely.


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## momoreg (Mar 4, 2000)

Right. So it never was completely melted. You basically melted enough of it to make the butter soft enough to accept the liquid. That's the way to do it!


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## chefbuddah (Apr 11, 2011)

Help....i made Italian Buttercream for the first time.   Everything went well and stored it in the refrigerator.   The next day i tried using it on my Macarons, but as i was assembling the macarons i noticed some wetness from the buttercream.   What is the cause for this?  And what's the fix.   

First attempt: i let it set out in room temp for about an hour before using.   

I hope there's a fix for this and doing something wrong here.

Thanks!!!!


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## cake babe (May 5, 2012)

This worked beautifully! My buttercream is even more beautiful than when i originally made it! This is from one of the posts above:

_Italian Buttercream is a simple "water and fat emulsion". Sometimes the emulsion breaks, resulting in a buttercream that looks broken and curdled. However, it is very easy to fix.
First, if the buttercream is cold and broken, separately melt about 25% of the mixture, return it to the remainder and then rewhip -- it should come right together._


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## magmag1 (Nov 3, 2013)

This worked great for me:

1. In a microwave safe bowl, melt your butter cream on HIGH for 1:30.

2. Put your melted butter cream in a glass bowl.(ceramic works too)

3. Take a large bowl and fill it with ice and water about 2/3 of the way.

4. Place your glass bowl into the ice bath, and mix for 1 minute gently with a spoon.

5. Let the butter cream sit in the ice bath for about 30 minutes depending on your desired consistency.

6. Using an electric whisk gently beat the icing, and let sit for 10 minutes.

7. Begin icing!


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