Hello everyone,

I'm a self-taught decorator/baker and I'm very excited to be here with you all!

I'm currently experimenting with different buttercreams to find one that is smooth and not too sweet like Swiss Meringue Buttercream (SMBC) but that is also sturdy and pipes well like American Buttercream.

I really love the satiny texture and not too sweet flavour of SMBC but I find that it difficult to work with.  It seems to  melt slightly when covering a cake even if the weather is cold or not hot. It also doesn't colour easily.

I find American Buttercream wonderful to work with as it pipes like a dream and is so sturdy. However, I find it much too sweet for me and that the texture is gritty.

I'm  wondering if you could please share your thoughts and experiences on the following questions about buttercream?

1. Do you find SMBC tends to melt when frosting a cake?  Is there a way to make it sturdier?

2. Is American Buttercream naturally gritty or am I doing something wrong? I find it gritty with both pure icing sugar and icing mixture (powdered sugar in the US I think).

3. Do you have a buttercream recipe that yields a satiny and not too sweet frosting  (like SMBC) but is sturdy and pipable like American Buttercream?

Thank you in advance and best wishes

For american buttercream I reduce the icing sugar. I put 6-7 cups in an 8 cup recipe. I also sift the icing sugar and mix it for quite a while on the mixer. Turns out beautiful!

..............2. Is American Buttercream naturally gritty or am I doing something wrong? I find it gritty with both pure icing sugar and icing mixture (powdered sugar in the US I think).

3. Do you have a buttercream recipe that yields a satiny and not too sweet frosting  (like SMBC) but is sturdy and pipable like American Buttercream?...............

ABC is NOT naturally gritty.  Most recipes tell you to mix just just until mixed a minute or two at most but if you let the mixer run for as much as 10 minutes it will become very, very smooth & satiny.

Try this recipe:  http://www.cakecentral.com/recipe/56745/2-of-everything-icing

To help cut the sweetness use salt (about 1/4 teaspoon)  &/or about 2 Tablespoons UNflavored yogurt .  

SMBC does not melt when frosting a cake unless the cake is still warm. When you are making the meringue are you beating it to a really stiff peak? This makes a big difference.

I find ABC gritty compared to SMBC. I tried adding powdered sugar to SMBC with some good results. There is not obvious grittiness and it helps the buttercream take color better as well as add some stiffness to it. I'm not talking about a lot, just a cup or so.

Gretchen Price has a recipe that sits in the middle between SMBC and ABC, maybe that would fit your bill:

http://www.gretchensbakery.com/swiss-buttercream-recipe/

Hello:) I find my SMB pipes  beautifully when I use room temp-cold butter. I run my mixer a little longer to incorporate it but that usually does the trick.

ABM is very gritty but that can sometimes be alleviated by running your mixer for at least 8-10 minute with slightly warmer butter.

As for question no. 3, I use this recipe for my SMB: 3 cups sugar, 1.5 cups pasteurized  egg whites (food  safety), 2.5 cups unsalted butter and 1.5 tbsp vanilla. As for colouring, this recipe takes it very well as long as a gel is used. Hope this helps!:)

Hi @CoolAsCake ‍ I agree with everyone and SMBC. I just tried my first batch for my last cake and absolutely LOVED it. A few tips that I learned the hard way.

1. Make sure (if using a kitchenAid that you switch from whisk to paddle attachment when you start to add your butter in. 

2. Make sure your bowl of egg whites and sugar has completely cooled and has stiff peaks before you start to add in your butter. and cold (not solid) butter works best on this.

3.If you find that your butter has curdled just keep the mixer going and go turn on the tv for about 10 minutes and relax lol. You will see a miracle happen and the SMBC should come back to smooth a velvety.

4.if it is to thin and runny to work with is to pop it in the fridge for 15-20 minutes and let it firm up a bit. Then whip it back to where your want it to be. 

HTH! 

Wow thank you so much for your fantastic replies! I really value your thoughts and advice!

I am going to try SMBC again. I have made it so many times and although I love the gorgeous texture and flavour, I just find it really fragile and kind of floppy compared to ABC.

Perhaps I haven't made a stiff enough meringue and I may need to let it cool more. I will also let it firm up in the fridge a bit more. @Miss.Reynolds ‍ Doesn't SMBC have to be at room temperature before you whip it otherwise it curdles? Thank you for your wonderful advice, I'm going to try again!

@kakeladi ‍ and @ElizabethsCakeCreations ‍ thank you also for your thoughts I am going to follow your advice and keep experimenting!

@Pastrybaglady ‍ (best name ever! ) and @tfarghali ‍ thank you also for your advice and encouragement! I'm going to try both recipes!!! 

If your SMBC is too cold it won't whip. 20 seconds in the microwave will often fix this. Good luck!

Thank you!  I will try that too! 

@CoolAsCake ‍ Yes it should be at room temperature otherwise it will curdle. My first try happened to curdle at room temperature so I guess it is just a science and the temp of your butter. There is a really cool website with "troubleshooting" for SMBC  http://www.thebrewerandthebaker.com/archives/7640 I used this to help me out too!

Wonderful thank you! !!

Hello again everyone,

I'm so sorry to keep talking about this but it's just baffling me.

I have made more American buttercream batches following all the advice from you all and all the blogs I read. I sifted the icing sugar before using it, used a really good brand that definitely said it was cane sugar not beet sugar, mixed it into the butter in small amounts and let it mix/ beat with the butter for a while.

Despite all of that I still found the buttercream slightly grainy, not gritty but slightly grainy or tiny bit crunchy. I can not get American buttercream with icing  sugar completely smooth like sweetened  whipped cream consistency or like Swiss Meringue Buttercream. I can't work out if it is just the natural consistency of the American Buttercream that I personally don’t prefer or if I'm doing something wrong. I really want a texture like SMBC where the sugar is completely emulsified and it is smooth as cream.

I tried Gretchen's  version of SMBC that adds in icing sugar to the mix. I followed it so carefully but still found that I could distinctly taste the icing sugar and that it was slightly grainy/tiny bit crunchy.

I'm starting to think that it might just be the consistency that icing sugar gives to buttercream that I don't like. Any more ideas or advice?

Thank you!

My buttercream is always creamy. I don't even sift my powdered sugar. I just take the bag and keep smashing the sugar while it is in the bag before mixing up and mine comes out super creamy. I can't imagine why your sugar doesn't melt. Hopefully the wicked good kitchen recipe will work for you.   Let us know if that solves your problem!!

I love IMBC (can't make SMBC properly to save my life!) and use it for all my wedding cakes and most adult cakes.  When I do make ABC for kid's cakes, I use 1/3 icing shortening and 2/3 butter and slightly heat the buttermilk/cream mixture before adding it in.  Once everything is mixed, I turn the mixer down to low and walk away.  Or bake a cake.    And just let it run slowly, at least 15 minutes.  The heated cream mixture and mixing it forever seems to have solved all the issues I had with ABC.  No grit and a wonderful texture.    The frosting I make that most people prefer recently is a mixture of ABC and IMBC.  It's light, creamy, a little more substantial than IMBC but not as sweet as ABC - has a really good feel.  The combo is being requested more and more over either of the other two.  I mixed the two together one day and the result was really nice.

The new American Meringue Buttercream recipe.

  Since you are not in the US, not using the ingredients/brands we use, it might not ever get to the consistency you are wanting.

It also sounds to me like you have just made up your mind that it is 'crunchy' and nothing we suggest is going to make it the way you think it should be.   It's possible if you were asked to judge a blind test - didn't know what you were sampling, you would not have the same opinions.

Thanks everyone for your advice and recipe links. I think now that I'm not making it correctly, I don't think I'm mixing long enough. @kakeladi ‍ I honestly think that it's me who is not making it right and you could be very right that it could be an issue with the ingredients here in Australia. I don't believe that it is crunchy normally that's why I think I'm not making ABC correctly. I'm going to keep trying to get it right :-)

 I think that I'm not making it correctly. @kakeladi ‍ I honestly think that it's me who is not making it right and you could be very right that it could be an issue with the ingredients here in Australia. I don't believe that it is crunchy normally that's why I think I'm not making ABC correctly. I'm going to keep trying to get it right :-)