Jacqui28,
There is a thread on this site titled "Everything you ever wanted to know about butter cream frosting" (or something similar to that, anyways), I believe it is in the recipe section? I'd check there for your answer, although the 'shelf life' will vary depending on your ingredients (butter vs. vegetable shortening, water vs. milk, etc.) Basically, if it were me, decide what the least stable ingredient is, and go with whatever the standard time at room temp. is for that ingredient. Hope that helps a little.
Beth
Hi, Jaqui28. If you go into the the Cake Decorating forum, the post for the buttercream info is right on top, the very first one you see is it. Hope this helps!
~Tanya
Okay, it may just be me, but there is nothing about storing buttercream or the time it should be left out in that forum.
Some of the cakes that I see on the website are so intricate & work - intensive, I can't work out how this is done if the cake can't be left at room temperature for long! Do you just do it on the day or can it be done the day before? Will an iced cake refrigerate okay overnight?
I am so confused!!
Buttercream isn't used a lot in Australia, it tends to be more ganache, royal icing or thick white icing (fondant) so its hard to get information on it.
Hope this helps. 
I have fully decorated a cake up to 2 days before it was needed and stored it in the fridge. I usually bake the cakes in advance, ice them and put in fridge overnight and then decorate the next day. I then have stored it in fridge for another day.
After the cake is refrigerated, do you then allow it to warm to room temperature to serve or is buutercream best served cold?
I notice that you also tend to use it under fondant which I haven't seen here either. How far in advance would you do that? Do you refrigerate it as well? I never refrigerate fondant because it tends to "sweat".
first off it sounds like you are panicking...its ok I was the same way...
Myself and much of the other decorators here anyway, we dont usually worry about putting the iced cake in the fridge....sugar acts as a preservative once the cake is baked.... I believe cali4dawn has left her cakes out for a week and it was fine, fresh, moist etc. JUST KEEP IT COVERED. I have also left cakes out... no problems!
Also you dont have to refridgerate an uniced cake either....for the same reason above! Just keep it covered so it doesnt dry out..
Now if you do put it in the fridge you dont have to wait for room temperature either... But when I have put cakes in the fridge I pulled it out and decorated it right away, because since it was already cold, the icing stayed colder longer giving me more time to decorate it.
I hope this helps a bit....
once cali4dawn, m0use, tcturtleshell, Lisa, MrsMissey and all the other experts on here wake up and get on here you will have plenty of help!
The bc that I usually use is 1/2 butter and 1/2 shortening, 10X sugar, vanilla & whipping cream. I have left it out for several days (7) at room temp, several weeks (not on a cake, of course in the fridge, and several months in the freezer with absolutely no problems.
I believe I read somewhere that because of the sugar and shortening--they act as a preservative.
The only difference I have noticed with it is that once you refridgerate it or freeze it--you have to whip it for a few seconds before you use it.
NOW--that being said--the icing that I froze and refridgerated-I didn't use on a cake that I sold. I always make it fresh for those. I use it for "family" cakes or cupcakes that I make for us.
Also--I'm going to be trying Dawn's bc today and I hope that she will post about this issue since I'm not familiar with her storage times.
Hope this helps!!
Lisa
first off it sounds like you are panicking...its ok I was the same way...
Myself and much of the other decorators here anyway, we dont usually worry about putting the iced cake in the fridge....sugar acts as a preservative once the cake is baked.... I believe cali4dawn has left her cakes out for a week and it was fine, fresh, moist etc. JUST KEEP IT COVERED. I have also left cakes out... no problems!
Also you dont have to refridgerate an uniced cake either....for the same reason above! Just keep it covered so it doesnt dry out..
Now if you do put it in the fridge you dont have to wait for room temperature either... But when I have put cakes in the fridge I pulled it out and decorated it right away, because since it was already cold, the icing stayed colder longer giving me more time to decorate it.
I hope this helps a bit....
once cali4dawn, m0use, tcturtleshell, Lisa, MrsMissey and all the other experts on here wake up and get on here you will have plenty of help!
Hehe flayv....I think you did a good job answering her questions. There's not much more I can add.
The sugar and if you add salt into your buttercream, acts as a preservative. I made a wedding cake for a friend of ours, her dad had taken a bunch of the leftover cake home to his house, and told me that even a week after the event, the cake tasted just as fresh and no one got sick at all from it. He had left it covered on the counter, no refrigeration.
ditto here. I usually will not put my cake in the fridge unless there is a filling in it that needs to be refriderated.
Where can I find Dawn's buttercream recipe?
Thanks!
Wandootie
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-1602-ButterCream_Icing_for_Frozen_Transfers.html this is the same icing that gets used to decorate with and also to do frozen buttercream transfers
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