How am I supposed to make buttercream icing thicker? I just made it and it is way too thin. I cant seem to do anything right to it.

The typical way to thicken buttercream is to just add more powdered sugar to it.

If it is already too sweet, I heard you can add about 1T of flour as well.

Add more powdered sugar.

What was your recipe?

If it is too runny like soupy, I would just start over and make a new batch. My sister made buttercream for me once and added a cup of milk instead of 2 tablespoons and wasted a whole bag of icing sugar and it was still soup. If it is just a little thinner that you would like just add icing sugar until it is the right consistency.

how thin is it? adding ps should help if it isn't soupy.

Always remember to add your liquid a little at a time, I've seen some recipes call for 1/4 cup liquid and I just do 1 tbls or less after each addition of sugar I use it is easier to go from thick to thin tahn it is to go from thin to thick.

Good luck!

If its really soupy, you probly need to start over. Adding more powdered sugar would be useless.
Whats the recipe you used?

More powdered sugar! Not hard at all. Don't feel so bad. Something as simple as the humidity can alter how your BC turns out day to day.

If you think it tastes too sweet, you can add 1 T. flour to it as the PP said. You can also add a pinch of salt. Trust me.

Don't throw out all the runny icing, just put it in something else and use it as part of your "liquid" I have had a slip and added too much liquid and I always just save and use. I am a firm believer in not wasting. There isn't many things that can happen that you can't figure out a way to salvage the mistake.
Linda2530

I didnt know could add flour to it. WOW. It was actuallly Swiss Meringue Buttercream. First time making it. Tried adding more PS. Might have put too much milk. Making some more today. Thanks to all. Everyone helped and I learned something new! HIGH FIVE!

SMBC shouldn't have PS or milk (although I know some people add a little PS at the end to stiffen it a bit). If a meringue based buttercream is runny/soupy, put it in the fridge and let it firm up, then put it back on your mixer and beat the hell out of it.

Milk and ps in SMBC?????? Hmmm.....maybe you got your recipes mixed up...?????
Swiss meringue butter cream has egg whites, 'granulated' sugar , unsalted butter and extract in it.....thats it really.
No milk or powdered sugar.

Yeah, I was gonna say the same thing. there's certainly no milk in SMBC.

Can you please give us the exact buttercream that you are making. (the ingredients and process).

If it a smbc, perhaps some oil/grease got into the eggs, sugar mixture prior to the butter being added.

Did you use a thermometor when warming the egg whites sugar mixture?

What is the temperature in your house?

Have you made the recipe before?

I hate to give you advice such as add more powdered sugar if you are making a true smbc recipe

All right Mistake number one (that made):

I made both SMBC and regular buttercream. I might have gotten a bit too much egg yolks in the SMBC. Or I didnt refrigerate it. My house temperature is pretty warm considering the kitchen is the hottest. I didnt use a thermometer when doing the egg white and sugar mixture, so I need one of those.

In the regular buttercream: I might have added too much milk and I ran out of powdered sugar so i should have resorted with the flour.

Sorry I got everyone confused. I am an idiot....sometimes. and I cant bake cakes or make icings for shit. I still love it though. I screwed up and I still have time to remake the icings and get the ingredients and supplies.

Thanks everyone for the awesome advice and sorry I got u all confused.

is a reliable method of making SMBC without the use of a thermometer. ANY amount of yolk in your whites will prevent it from reaching its' full volume potential.


Don't toss the thin "regular buttercream". When time allows, make a batch of it using significantly less liquid and slowly add the thin stuff to it...if it's still too stiff, add a smidge of liquid at a time until it is of a desired consistency. I wouldn't add flour to the icing....

Thanks so much. Im glad I didnt try the flour, I wont now. I need to make more icing anyway. i used the buttercream after I put it in the frig for a while. I need more experience with making icing. I expect my first time to be perfect and its just not going to be that way. Thanks though.

All 4 cake:
Thanks for the you tube reference. The method is spot on, however, for beginners not having a scale to weigh everything, there are measurements on this web site and others.


cakesbyshannon:
To me, I think that you need to start with a reliable recipe, clean (non-yolked) beaters, and just the ingredients listed in the proper measurements. Good luck, and we hope to see your finished product posted here!

So you're having issues with both?

Do not add flour to substitute for powdered sugar. No way will that work. The most flour you ever add to a recipe is 1 Tablespoon and that only reduces the sweetness.

If you have issues with SMBC, no egg yolks ever. A meringue can not reach stiff peaks with egg yolks mixed in.

Cooking it doens't do anythign but kill salmonella. You must cook to the appropriate temperature to keep people from getting sick.

What I like about the video and instructions that go along with it is that anyone can make it without any special measuring equipment.

1/2 cup egg whites(1)
1 cup sugar(multiply the egg white measurement by 2)
1 1/2 cups butter(multiply the egg white measurement by 3)

So, the batch can be made as big or as small as desired.

I do cook my egg white mixture considerably longer than she does in the video though.