Sorry, all... Just having a bit of a giggle
Down here (in Oz) Viva paper towels have the deepest ridges of all the brands - I can just see myself sitting up all night to get my BC smooth!

Buttercream made with milk does not need to be refrigerated. It has something to do with the ratio of fat to sugar that keeps it from going bad. I personally use butter, crisco, and half and half in my frosting and have never had a problem with leaving it out. Plus, as Ohmygoodies pointed out, water and oil do not like each other. I think this has a lot to do with jagged rose edges.....

I use a hi ratio, milk bc recipe. Kids have left cake out on counter in heat with no problem the sugar keeps it from spoiling so fast.

I am going to conduct an expirement and leave an iced cake out in the heat on patio and see how long it takes to go bad or melt and let you know the results. temp should be 110 with 53% humidity by 10:00 today.

Additional tips:

To keep purple buttercream from bleeding to blue....use milk instead of water in your buttercream recipe.

when adding salt to your recipe...dissolve completely in flavoring or other liquid to avoid getting spotting of colors.

Question: Does adding vinegar to avoid cracks change the flavor of the frosting

I ve been trying to make white buttercream icing and i seem to be failing,how do i do it. any ideas?

I submitted a recipe for butter cream using the 0 trans fat crisco they came out with this year... in this recipe I use Milk and not water. I've always used milk except one time, before they changed to 0 trans fat... when I was using the old crisco and water it still didn't mix together properly (for me), so I switched to milk and it works great. I never have to keep my cakes refrigerated although I do, but you don't have to. There have been times that I haven't been able to refrigerate because of space allowed and time allowed, and the cakes were fine, tasted great, and nothing happened lol.

I always use whipping cream in my buttercream icing. It tastes SOOO good. I don't have any problem leaving it out when I can't refrigerate.

From the Magnolia Bakery in New York:

Traditional Vanilla Buttercream
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, very soft
8 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Yields icing for 1 two or three layer 9-inch cake or 24 cupcakes

Place butter in large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency (you may not need all of the sugar). If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. Use and store icing at room temperature, as icing will set if chilled. Can store in airtight container up to 3 days.

There are variations for chocolate buttercream and lemon buttercream, too, if anyone is interested.

Would you mind posting the chocolate and lemon buttercream recipes as well? Thank you!

Absolutely! Here they are:

Chocolate Buttercream from The Magnolia Bakery in NY

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, very soft
1 TBS + 1 TSP milk
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled to lukewarm
1 TSP vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners sugar

In a medium-size bowl, beat the butter until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the milk carefully and beat until smooth. Add the melted chocolate and beat well. Add the vanilla extract and beat for 3 minutes. Gradually add the sugar and beat until creamy and of desired consistency.

Note: To melt chocolate, place in a double boiler over simmering water on low heat for approximately 5-10 minutes. Stir occasionally until completely smooth and no pieces of chocolate remain. Remove from heat and let stand 5-10 minutes.

Variation: Mocha Buttercream. Add 2-3 TSP instant espresso powder after adding the sugar and continue with the recipe.

This yields icing for 1 two- or three-layer 9-inch cake or 24 cupcakes.

*Notice that this calls for only 1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar. I did not mistype that. I'm not so sure about that amount, though. When I look at the Traditional Vanilla BC and Lemon BC recipes, they both call for 8 cups confectioners sugar. I'd be more apt to go with that amount than the 1 1/4 cups amount. Just bringing this to your attention.*

Lemon Buttercream from the Magnolia Bakery in NY

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, very soft
8 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 TSP grated lemon zest

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the juice and the zest. Beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. If desired, add a few drops of yellow food coloring and mix thoroughly. Use and store at room temperature.

This yields icing for 1 two- or three-layer 9-inch cake.

I use a homemade crusting buttercream. On large layers the frosting gets small cracks when transporting. How do I prevent this from happening? Also, I use a product called Light & Fluffy that I get from my cake supply store. Is this product necessary to getting a fluffy buttercream?

Hi Julie and welcome to CC! I don't know about the light and fluffy stuff but the cracking of the bc could be due to not enough support under the cake... when you have a larger cake no matter the shape you should use either a cake drum or 2-4 cake circles/boards depending on how big and how heavy the cake is going to be. Some people transport on one cake board but have that sitting on a piece of plywood... that's how I transport heavy cakes, if I'm not staying for the party I slowly remove the plywood from the cake and gently place it on the table they choose and inform them not to move it at all... if I'm staying at the party then I just leave the wood under it until the party is over.

I keep my Crisco in the fridge for my butter cream and then take it out right before I use it. Where I live it gets really hot & humid (even though I keep the inside of my house cool, I noticied that it does affect the icing when I have left it out of the fridge). I also use pop corn salt instead of regular table salt. The salt is much finer and disolves faster. I have never had a problem with the icing being grainy.

I Think that this article should include info on consistencies, air bubbles, and storage time.

I once worked in a craft store and we mixed our own flavorings.

BVA=1:2:1 1 part butter extract, 2 parts clear vanilla, 1 part almond

(the almond was creamy)

Between this flavor combination and a pinch of salt. I get plenty of compliments on my butter cream.

i just made julie's less sweet buttercream...how long do i have to wait for it to crust?? thanks!

someone ask why buttercream gets bubbles...Well the reason is cause is you over beat the buttercream in a high speed setting it will create inside bubble inside the buttercream...
There is no way ogf getting ridd of this after they are there...
So the best way to do your icing is ...First sift your sugar...cream the crisco and add the extract and then in the lowest setting trying to use a paddle not the whipped attachment(whipped attachment brings more air into it) Then add the powdered sugar(lowest speed pls) and as soon as all the sugar is there..stop the machine and finish by hand...
Add color by hand.. over mixing will bring more air into the buttercream..

mbarbi ~

It should be ready to smooth (crusted) in 15 min.

Julie

I was using heavy cream there for a bit and then switched back to milk, and now that you mention it, I do think it cuts the sweet a bit....because of late I have thought my frosting too sweet. Thanks
I cut it with bottled water for crumb coat.

Here is my issue with crusting buttercream. I LOVE the smooth appearance that it has on cakes, however, I think that in most cases, it is TOO sweet. Maybe this has already been answered in the 20 pages before this, but I will ask anyway. Does anyone have a great recipe for buttercream that is not super sweet but still 1) crust well 2) taste great and 3) is creamy? I tried the Buttercream dream recipe from this site and while I love the fact that it crust well and is creamy, I think it's very sweet.

Here is my issue with crusting buttercream. I LOVE the smooth appearance that it has on cakes, however, I think that in most cases, it is TOO sweet. Maybe this has already been answered in the 20 pages before this, but I will ask anyway. Does anyone have a great recipe for buttercream that is not super sweet but still 1) crust well 2) taste great and 3) is creamy? I tried the Buttercream dream recipe from this site and while I love the fact that it crust well and is creamy, I think it's very sweet.

Here is my issue with crusting buttercream. I LOVE the smooth appearance that it has on cakes, however, I think that in most cases, it is TOO sweet. Maybe this has already been answered in the 20 pages before this, but I will ask anyway. Does anyone have a great recipe for buttercream that is not super sweet but still 1) crust well 2) taste great and 3) is creamy? I tried the Buttercream dream recipe from this site and while I love the fact that it crust well and is creamy, I think it's very sweet.

1 stick of salted butter
1 cup shortening
1 tsp clear vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp meringue powder
4 cups of confectioner sugar
add Tbs of milk or heavy cream until it reaches desired consistancy

My family loves this frosting, but as far as sweetness everyone has different likes and dislikes. Try it....you can always use less sugar...good luck!

Thanks! I will try it. Quick question...if I use less sugar, will the buttercream still crust?????

That you will have to use trial and error....I am not real accurate with my sugar...mine always crusts, if I do not use too much liquid. I think if it looks runny it won't. Let me know how you like it.

I am a novice, and I keep reading about people using viva paper towels to smooth out icing (?)
For you experts out there, can you describe in detail the best method to smooth out icing on top and sides of a cake?