I am trying to perfect my buttercream frosting. Everytime I make it, it comes out really sweet and it melts really quickly, making it difficult to pipe. And you can taste the sugar crystals.

HELP! What am I doing wrong??? Can anyone recommend a great buttercream recipe???

Here is a picture of one of my mint chocolate chip cupcakes, and the icing melted rather quickly..

sounds like you have too much shortning or liquid and not enough sugar.

I suggest you try indydebi's BC. Amazing.

If its gritty, I don't think your sugar is fine enough, or mixed enough.

Do you use a name brand or an off brand... I use to use any brand sugar I could think of, then i switched to just a certain brand i get it from GFS.

I don't have a specific time that I mix mine for, I set the mixer on and let it go until it looks really creamy. I then take a clean spoon, and taste a small amount to see if the right flavour or consistancy, If it is still a bit gritty I mix it longer.

There is a good forum somewhere on here, about gritty frosting, and how to get rid of it. I am not sure where though.

If you post your recipe we could look at it and see what is off.

Way too much milk!!!!!!

Try indydebi's recipe. If you like the butter flavor in your frosting. Use indydebi's recipe with butter. To use butter i replaced the 1/3 cup crisco with 1/3 cup butter. Works awesome, this is an amazing crusting BC recipe. You may add milk a little at a time after the amount given to get to the desired consistancy.

If you find it too sweet, add a little bit of salt, to cut the sweet flavor.

Indydebis Crisco-Based Buttercream Icing
Ingredients

* 1-1/3 cups Cricso
1/3 to 1/2 cup milk, depending on consistency needed
3 Tbsp powdered Dream Whip (*)
2-3 Tbsp clear vanilla, depending on your personal taste
2 lbs powdered sugar

(*) A powdered whipped topping mix made by Kraft Foods, usually found in the cake/sugar aisle in the grocery.

Instructions

Theres no wrong way to mix this. I usually mix all but the powdered sugar for a minute or two, then gradually add the sugar, but the only reason I did this was to avoid the sugar-splash factor. The longer the mixer runs, the smoother it gets. Sifting the powdered sugar before blending helps with smoothness but is not necessary.

At first glance that is a LOT of liquid compared to the fat/sugar. Also if you pick a recipe that has a combination of butter and shortening it will better tolerate being handled and piped, etc. As far as being too sweet, look for a recipe that has a bit of popcorn salt as that will take out some of the sweetness. There are lots of recipes on CC, everyone has their favorites as there is no one best recipe so I am just giving you some ideas of what to look for when you look for a new recipe.

I agree with Vision. When I use Indy's I beat the daylights out of the crisco, usually about 20 mins. then heat the dream whip and some salt with liquid, about 30 secs. and add til I get the consistency i want. I also use walmarts PS it works well. give it a try, I think you'll like it.