Liquid Butter "weeping" From My Buttercream..

Baking By pinky73 Updated 29 May 2017 , 9:43pm by Silmarpinsar

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pinky73 Posted 24 Oct 2011 , 9:35pm
post #1 of 21

What in this world? Over the last few months, I have noticed that after making up my standard buttercream and decorating a cake, I will see little pools of "clarified butter" in spots..it's very weird. Especially if plastic wrap is touching the buttercream anywhere. or if I have left over buttercream in a bowl on the counter, the liquid-y butter collects and I can stir it back in,,,but it's concerning me. I do a tried and true (for me anyway) recipe of 1 cup butter, one cup veg shortening, 2 lbs powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp popcorn salt and flavorings...maybe a splash of milk or water, depending on the thickness I need. Anyone else see a problem that I can't? Anyone elese have this situation happen to them? The house is usually around 72-75. I don't but the cakes in the fridge..it's definitely not condensation. Do I simply need to add more powdered sugar? The frosting doesn't seem "greasy" otherwise. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

20 replies
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chelleb1974 Posted 25 Oct 2011 , 12:07am
post #2 of 21

I've had this happen with leftover buttercream in a bowl or container. Haven't seen it happen on a cake though. I just mix it back in and continue with what I was doing. I am fairly new to using butter in my buttercream so I just figured it's from using the butter.


~Chelle

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MCurry Posted 25 Oct 2011 , 12:36am
post #3 of 21

I've never had it happen to me. However, the first thing that came to mind was the shortening. Since shortening has been changed to no transfat, I wonder if that is impacting your overall recipe. I use high ratio shortening so not sure if this is why I haven't seen this yet.

Curious to know what others say about this too.

Melanie

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ddaigle Posted 25 Oct 2011 , 12:49am
post #4 of 21

I use 1 cup butter to 1 cup of crisco and if my buttercream has sat out for a period of time, the butter will separate a little. I just rewhip. I have never seen any spots on my cake though. I always rewhip or at least stir real good before each use.

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karengary1991 Posted 25 Oct 2011 , 1:03am
post #5 of 21

I too have had this recently happen to me. I was wondering the same thing of what could be causing it.

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TexasSugar Posted 25 Oct 2011 , 2:49pm
post #6 of 21
Quote:
Originally Posted by MCurry

I've never had it happen to me. However, the first thing that came to mind was the shortening. Since shortening has been changed to no transfat, I wonder if that is impacting your overall recipe. I use high ratio shortening so not sure if this is why I haven't seen this yet.

Curious to know what others say about this too.

Melanie




Crisco changed it's recipe 4 years ago.

Buttercream will separate when sitting in a bowl. I'm not sure why it is separating on your cake. If it is separating only where the plastic wrap touches, can you leave the plastic wrap off? How long after the icing is on the cake is it happening?

I would try adding a little powder sugar to see if that helps.

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BizCoCos Posted 26 Oct 2011 , 1:20am
post #7 of 21

I just made a buttercream frosting this am, left it out, then iced the cake in the pm, left it out and it did not seperate or weep, it was 100% butter with confectioners sugar and two tablespoons of meringue powder, I have also done the 50/50 recipe (butter/veg shortening) both with milk or cream and luckily have not had tis problem. I use the no trans fat shortening. I use salted butter thus it is not overly sweet. Perhaps it was the brand used?, hope you find the reason soon.

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Tails Posted 26 Oct 2011 , 2:48pm
post #8 of 21

This happened to my anniversary cake which I left out after cutting it (I didnt put my cake in the fridge). Perhaps its the heat?

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pinky73 Posted 26 Oct 2011 , 3:39pm
post #9 of 21

Thank you all for the repsonses..I had to stay home with a sick little one yesterday and didn't get back to the computer until now.
I use "Best Choice" brand shortening because it still has a small amount of transfat. I've used Crisco in the distant past, had no problems with it but it has been years, probably before the recipe change. This issue could be related to the transfat.
I noticed the butter weepin off the cake in question the next day after I had decorated it. I applied the frosting and the next afternoon I looked up and was horrified to see a tiny pool of the stupid butter where the plastic wrap had touched the side. The cake was for a gal I work with, that's why I had it with me at my desk and also why I had some plastic wrap loosely around it, to keep weirdness from landing on it.
Yes, I can always stir that butter back into the frosting with no problems, but I was horrified to see it weeping off a finished cake. I suppose I'm "glad" that others have had similar experiences and it's not just some vortex of weirdness that has decended upon my house.
One other note, I don't add any merengue (sp?) powder..not sure if that's of consequence or not. Also, sometimes I use 1/2 and 1/2 instead of milk or water...would that make a difference?
Thank you all for the help.

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TexasSugar Posted 26 Oct 2011 , 7:34pm
post #10 of 21

I'd try meringue powder in the icing.

I'd also invest in a few cake boxes to use instead of plastic wrap. icon_smile.gif

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BizCoCos Posted 26 Oct 2011 , 7:42pm
post #11 of 21

I would experiment with small batches (yes, a pain but worth the effort if you finally can figure out the cause of the "weeping"). I have also used cornstarch with good results.

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Tails Posted 27 Oct 2011 , 6:58am
post #12 of 21

IF it helps you try figure out why it happened, I used the All Butter American Buttercream recipe from this site, so no shortening in mine, and it only happened on day 5 or 6 of leaving it in a cake container on the counter.

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Silmarpinsar Posted 23 May 2017 , 10:18pm
post #13 of 21

I'm sorry to re visit this topic, but @pinky73 ‍ did you find a solution for your problem? For the past month or so I've experienced this! And I have no idea what it might be. I also use a 50/50 buttercream recipe, but I wonder what it might be! 

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kakeladi Posted 24 May 2017 , 9:54pm
post #14 of 21

Silmarpinsar have you tried mixing *VERY well* the butter & shortening together until it's silky smooth?  I don't ever remember this happening to me so that's the only thing I can suggest.  Also maybe, just maybe more powdered sugar is needed?? :(   Don't know.....might help a bit.   I'm not a believer in the use of meringue powder (in general) but in this case maybe it might help.

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Silmarpinsar Posted 26 May 2017 , 3:52pm
post #15 of 21

Thank you! I actually cream the butter and shortening together to get a whiter color.... And I'll take the sugar into consideration! Thanks for the advice!

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MamaGeese Posted 28 May 2017 , 11:34pm
post #16 of 21

I use half butter and half high ratio shortening. What about the humidity in your home? I'm in the south and it wreaks havoc on icing. I would leave out any extra liquid and use a very good brand of butter, cheaper butter contains more water. Also maybe don't use plastic wrap, wherever it touches is going to automatically raise the humidity between icing and plastic and will cause condensation, and melt it, no matter what the temperature in your house is. Good luck


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Silmarpinsar Posted 29 May 2017 , 3:01pm
post #17 of 21

I live in a tiny country with a very humid weather, so that might be it (but I've only noticed this separation during this year). I use the best butter that's imported into the country, but I'll try a different kind of shortening. Thanks a lot!!!! 

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oftheeicing Posted 29 May 2017 , 4:42pm
post #18 of 21

I use indydebi's buttercream and in lieu of all shortening, I do 3 parts shortening to 1 part butter.  I had a similar issue during one weekend of cakes last summer with the butter melting and puddling at of both cakes that I made.  One was for an outdoor party, and the other remained indoors in an air conditioned home.  What I believe the culprit to be was the brand of butter that I used.  I normally use Land O' Lakes salted butter without issue, but for this particular weekend, I grabbed a bunch of Keller's brand as it was on sale.  The only time that I have ever had an issue is when using Keller's brand of butter.

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Katyast Posted 29 May 2017 , 7:21pm
post #19 of 21

I use 100% butter in my buttercreams - never shortening, and have never seen or heard of this issue, so I doubt it's the butter.  And I've left buttercreams out overnight or that have traveled a few hours in the heat to their destination.  

It could be that the butter you are using is cheap or low fat.  Kind of like margerine, where you heat it and it has a high water content. Maybe switch the brand of butter you are using.  It may be more expensive, but using higher quality ingredients makes a world of difference.

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Silmarpinsar Posted 29 May 2017 , 9:39pm
post #20 of 21

Thank you! Good to know. So far no puddles on cakes, only while the buttercream is coming into room temperature...

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Silmarpinsar Posted 29 May 2017 , 9:43pm
post #21 of 21

I'd love to use 100% butter in my buttercream (love the taste and love Swiss and Italian Merengue), but my country sort of has a tropical weather all year long... A ton of cupcakes melted before finally achieving a recipe that could stand firmly and worry free during delivery. And there are about two brands of butter in my country. One is made locally, and the other one is Anchor (from New Zealand, supposedly), which is the one I use. I guess I'll give it a shot since you said your buttercream can travel with heat, but I don't want to add too much extra sugar to it. I use a 1:1.5 ratio to keep it edible and people love it! 

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