We recently moved from NY to Tennessee. The humidity here is crazy! I had the hardest time with my last cake. The frosting was so hard to smooth because it would soften quickly after taking it out of the fridge. I've seen a couple of BC recipes here on CC that claim to hold well in humidity. Has anyone tried them? Do they really work? Does anyone who lives in a high humid place have any tips on what to do to make BC work on MY side? Thanks in advance...

what recipe do you use now? i use half butter,half shortning in my buttercream,but when its more humid than normal i will use more shortning than butter and sometimes i have to keep putting it the fridge to keep it cool. i also have to keep my house cool when i work on a cake,other wise i will have trouble with the viva paper towel sticking to my buttercream.

Try Indydebi's buttercream. It works really well for me, and it worked even when I had no air conditioning.

Indydebi's BC is great in heat and humidity and it also crusts well and tastes very good.

does anyone substitute water for the milk in Indydebbies bc?

Thanks. I'll have to try Indydebi's BC. I usually use 1/2 butter 1/2 shortening. I did have to constantly put it in my fridge, but it softened about 5 seconds after taking it out each time. Tiggerjo, I have read once to always use milk instead of water. I'm not sure why. Maybe Indydebi's recipe might be different. I guess you could pm her and ask.

I'm from TN too and I feel your pain!!! Last couple of weeks were killers with all the rain. The humidity was thru the roof and one of my cakes fell apart (first time this ever happened to me) Kept air on 60 degrees and froze family out for next cake and it was ok. Hopefully it will get better. I think using more powdered sugar helps a bit but we seem to be at mother natures mercy here in TN. I wish you luck.

Yes joy5678, the 40 days and 40 nights of rain were pretty intense. lol I seriously couldn't get over how much the rivers near our house rose!... I'm going to experiment with some recipes and see what works best. What recipe do you use for the TN humidity?

I definitely know your pain. When I lived in Okinawa, I had 2 dehumidifiers running 24/7. In the summer, they would have to be dumped 2x a day, that would be 40 quarts of water each time!

I think if the humidity is that bad in your house a good dehumidifier is worth it.

I experimented with my BC and wound up using meringue powder or Dream Whip powder to my BC, about 2 tbsp. each to a double batch of BC. The Dream Whip powder wound up making my BC even more white.

Experiment and see what works for you.

Bought some Dream Whip yesterday. Ready to experiment!

I live on the Texas coast and find that if I use cream instead of water my BC will hold up better. Watching for dehumidifiers to go on sale....

I didn't start getting into cakes until Fall of last year so during the winter, decorating was a breeze. Now that it's hot and humid (I'm on the TX coast) I realize that I'm going to have to make some changes in the summer, one of my last cakes was for an outside party and nearly melted on the way over. I may have to try some of the all shortening bc's too. Anyway, it didn't seem to soften too much until I left the house, but I usually keep my a/c cranked low.

Indydebi's recipe has the dream whip in it & it works great.

i live in mississippi, so i so get what you are saying! i use an all shorting b/c, the version my mom got from a wilton class. it works great in the humidity, but i have yet to meet an b/c that stands up to 100 degree outdoor weddings! lol - that is one thing that made me a fan of fondant.

1/2 cup shorting
1lb powdered sugar (give or take)
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp butter flavor
pinch salt

also works great w/ butter flavored crisco - turns a beautiful ivory color

Regarding Indydebi's icing - I substitute coffee creamer for my liquid and it works and tastes great!

it does have a more buttery flavor - omit the butter flavoring and up the vanilla. we have used it in the past for that 'antique' look, too.