Don’t let a split,melty,broken buttercream derail your path to layer cake glory! Here’s how to get your buttercream to a flawless smoothing consistency from chilled.
Too cool and curdled
It will look lumpy and broken/split because it is too cold. The buttercream needs warmth to encourage it to become a stable emulsion. So,take a good scoop out of the mixer bowl,heat (microwave or stovetop) that scoop to melty – NOT bubbly – hot then stream it back in with the whisk going. Et voila!
Too melty. It’s soup!
If it looks like melted ice-cream,chill the mixer bowl for 30 minutes,stirring with the whisk occasionally to help the buttercream chill evenly. Pop it back onto the stand mixer to whip for 2–3 minutes. If you leave the buttercream unstirred,it can harden unevenly and cause pesky lumps in the final buttercream.
If you have melted it to a broken oily yellow mess,you’ll need to start over – BUT stream as much of the broken/split buttercream into the new batch as you can. The new buttercream emulsion can handle a portion of this before becoming unstable.
Pristine consistency
The best texture for a spreadable buttercream is like fresh soft-peak whipped cream. To get to the correct consistency from chilled buttercream,heat to two-thirds melted in a double boiler,or zap in the microwave in 30-second bursts on High (100 per cent).
Give the buttercream a mash with a hand whisk and then bring the two consistencies together with a vigorous hand whisk (or for an ultra-smooth finish,beat with the paddle attachment of an electric mixer on low speed for 5 minutes).
Repeat this technique as needed during the assembly to keep the buttercream easily spreadable – it can cool between crumb coating and top coating. Never attempt to whip fridge-cold buttercream – it will break/split,but never fear:warmth will always return it to spreadable splendour!
Takes About 1 hour.
Keeps Up to 1 week chilled;frozen up to 3 months. After chilling or freezing,ensure the buttercream is softened to squidgy before attempting to re-whip. If you whip cold buttercream,it will split.