30 Replies

Hi Karen I always use buttercream…I think one of your issues is you don’t have any sugar in your buttercream. .was that a misprint???
You can keep your buttercream at room temp so you can crumbcoat your cake and then like ganache refrigerate it until very firm and then add your finishing layer of buttercream; refrigerate until firm; I use corn syrup or water with a brush to brush onto the cake and then add your fondant…my last cake was a book cake and I had to work with it to add the gold and silver paint, it was humid here at that time but nothing moved..it became soft but didn’t loose it’s shape.(you can look at my CD if you like)..hope this helps…if you like I can pm you my buttercream recipe..Enza x

Hey Karen,
When some requests buttercream I just put that as a filling and still use ganache as the crumbcoat before I put the fondant on. I find that it will keep the filling from bulging out and the fondant from sliding.

Hope this helps and good luck!!

haha Enza- forgot the icing sugar lol and yes please can you PM me the recipe? Ill try anything lol…. I just looked at your cake too and it is FLAWLESS! I don’t know what Im doing wrong. The icing just melts! (I see youre in Montreal btw- Im heading to Montreal in 2 weeks! Got relatives who live in Pierrefond)
Prima cakes- if Enzas recipe doesn’t work out for me, I think I may resort to the ganache. Im too much of a perfectionist to have lumpy cakes, it bugs me lol

I don’t ganache my cakes, always use buttercream. I crumb coat, then a good layer of bc icing. Let it crust, then cover with fondant. Never had a problem. Never came loose, lumpy or runny. You should have your bc as smooth as possible, then your fondant will be smooth, no imperfections showing through. If the weather is humid, I will make 1/2 butter, 1/2 shortening icing and add 1/2 recipe of royal icing. The icing dries very hard and smooth…it’s not going anywhere.
Hope this helps… :o)

I’ll send you my recipe Karen….Prima cakes mentioned bulges…has never happened to me…I’m live in east end Montreal :) Btw I have also used a swiss meringue buttercream to crumb coat my cakes and works fine everytime :)

This is the buttercream I use and get great results every time :)
2 lbs. powdered sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) butter softened (soften on countertop rather than microwave for best results)

1 cups solid vegetable shortening

2 Tbsp. clear vanilla extract

1/4 cup milk (any milk is fine but I like milk with higher fat content. You could substitute water, too. See **note below)

Instructions

Cream butter, shortening and extracts until creamy and smooth.

Add powdered sugar and milk. Mix thoroughly on medium speed for approximately 8 min. until creamy and smooth. (I stop at 4 minutes and scrape the sides of the bowl, then mix again for the remaining 4 minutes).

**You can use water in place of milk. The milk (because of the higher fat content) allows for a softer crust than water. It also crusts more slowly than water. Pool party in July is a good place for water.

**Makes about 6 cups of frosting– you can half it, or freeze the leftovers if you don’t need this much! (One cup of frosting frosts about 12 cupcakes.)

Thanks ladies for your replies…. and thanks Enza for the recipe. Water is a good tip, going to try that. One more silly question….. do you just do a crumb coat under the fondant or do you do a nice thick layer usually?

I crumb coat….and do a layer of buttercream. Not thick, but enough to cover nicely and set up. Maybe an inch??? Never thought about it.

Yes I also add one more layer after the crumbcoat is firm…:)

ok I lied. one more question… do you have to refrigerate it after the fondant is on it? Thanks so much for your help- I know im being a pain lol.

I always refrigerate my cakes…but thats a personal choice..it also depends on your cake filling, weather, heat, humidity…Did you refrigerate your ganache cakes?? I have done a few ganache, swiss meringue and traditional buttercream and i’ve refrigerated all of them.

I have refrigerated my cakes, I think only once. That’s because it had a fruit filling. Otherwise, I never do. But I’m just a hobbyist. As Enza says, it’s a personal choice.

I am like June. A hobbyist, I never refrigerate my cakes after I put the fondant on.

Don’t put shortening in your butter cream, it doesn’t let it go hard and makes it melt quicker

Actually Galyna it’s exactly the opposite. Shortening has a much higher melting point than butter. Shortening is much more stable.

You guys are seriously awesome…. thanks so much for taking the time to help!
enza- no I don’t refrigerate ganached cakes, but I have been refrigerating buttercream cakes, and then taking them out an hour or so before the person comes to pick them up
funny enough, I’ve got 3 cakes to do this week and they’re all choc and ganache lol. Buttercream the week after tho. I still hate buttercream lol
Thanks again to all who replied, x

I refrigerate my cakes because most of my fillings are cream and fruit. ..we’re not big on buttercream filling here lol…keep me posted :)

For me, the shortening is the most stable…and I live in HUMID FLORIDA. I can store shortening even at ROOM TEMP for a while and it’s still fine. It’s the butter that I have to be worried about :)

Yes Sharon
Your absolutely correct. Butter will melt very fast with humidity……as you well know where you live. If you put a 1/2 cup of both shortening and butter on a plate in a hot & humid room….guaranteed, the butter will melt fast and first. I’ve never had shortening melt, unless it was done deliberately by either the stove or microwave.

I only use buttercream with my fondant. I have learned through trial and error and online advice the following. Fill your cake and crumb coat with buttercream. I let it settle for a couple of hours. This ensures the cake has shifted/settled. This stops the moving/sagging/air pockets in your fondant later. I like to roll my fondant out to the correct size before I put my final coat of buttercream on my cake. Basically it is just another thin coat of buttercream. This secures the fondant in place. I have not experienced any more fondant problems caused from the settling of the cake. Good luck!!!

Well I am happy to see I was not the only one with Buttercream problems lol With the help of all of you but especially Enza – Sweet-E, I am positive my next cake will be perfect!!!

sounds like a recipe problem… i would add more sugar to your recipe or get a new one all together. hope you got it all figured out.

Living in Florida, I always add extra sugar to help it become more stable. You have to experiment with your climate and what it can handle, but always be sure to keep some extra powdered sugar around! :)

i find when I use anything other than butter is happens. Buttercream isn’t buttercream with shortening or marg :) xx
It forms the Ring of hell!:) (butter doesn’t … and I always use a dam aswell (this buttercream has no liquid in .. just butter and icing sugar.(vanilla too ,but i’m referring to milk)

Us, your right Sharon. You do have to experiment for the climate you live in. Shortening us certainly not my fav to use in icing, but when it’s hot & humid here in he summer…it’s much more stable than butter. I make flour icing with butter. But when it’s humid I switch up to 1/2 shortening, 1/2 butter in the recipe. Shortening also varies from country to country…so that’s a factor too.

AWG Hobby Cakes… Im with you! everyone i seem to watch or talk to online uses butter cream with eggs and shortening… and i think to my self how do u call that butter cream. now my butter cream dose have 1 tb of milk in it. But i cant bring myself to use shorting. and the only problem i have ever had with mine was one time i got in a hurry and didn’t use a tb and just pord my mild and pored to much in. I guess i get the shortening if ur doing a wedding cake and need that white white color.

I live in upstate New York. It gets very humid here during the summer months. I currently use the 50/50 butter to shortening ratio with milk and powdered sugar. Is there a better option? (ie ratio butter to shortening.) I was thinking like 40/60? How about adding meringue powder? To ensure once I smooth my frosting on a wedding cake it will stay hard?

Ladies, Meet the Sugarpixy. She lives in the Cayman Islands. If anyone can deal with heat and humidity, I’d say it’s this girl! I found her recipe when she first posted this video and as the posters have stated above, sometimes you have to tweek a recipe to your climate. I live on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Most of the time, the humidity is above 70%, some days 90% (with no rain!) and heat indexes over 90*. In the winter, I use a 50/50 ratio of butter/ shortening. During the summer, I use a 45/55 ration of butter to shortening. It makes a difference. Also: after watching this video, I started adding cornstarch and omitting meringue powder. It made a difference for me. Good luck!
http://cakesdecor.com/entries/169-how-to-get-smooth-butter-cream-that-stands-up-to-heat-and-humidity

Thanks Donna! It seems Im not the only one with buttercream issues lol

Thanks Donna
Faved Sugarpixy’s post on her icing.