Hey guys, I had a buttercream issue last night, 3 times actually, and was wondering if you could tell me what might have went wrong. 

I added gel coloring to these as well. 

First batch- butter separated and looked curdled, was runny. 

I thought possibly the butter was too warm or maybe I didn't beat the butter long enough, I added 6 cups of sugar to try and thicken, didn't work. I also used lorann flavoring, it was almost like gel (this is the first time I've used this). Could that have been the culprit?

second batch - butter separated again. Used less milk, less flavor, colder butter, more sugar. Again, maybe I didn't beat the butter long enough, the flavoring oil?

third batch - same thing. This time I used butter that was in between, added no milk, less flavoring, and 6cups of sugar. Butter separated again. 

My my buttercream has never done this, I'm thinking maybe the flavor. I don't know. 

Help me me solve this so it doesn't happen again, and I don't waste so much butter and sugar. Lol

thanks!

What recipe are you using?

1 cup butter, 4 cups sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of flavoring (I didn't use this much, I used maybe half) 2 -3 teaspoons milk.