Im in the middle of making a cake which has to be more or less finnished tonight! Ive made the buttercream which I don't like so wont taste but Ive left the butter out on the side (obv in the container) it was quite soft when I came to put it in the mixer Ive asked my partner to taste it and he said it tastes fine but Im worried about putting it on the cake incase it goes off by sunday!!! Is it ok to leave the butter on the side or should I go and get a fresh lot!!!! XXXXX

I leave butter out at room temp all the time. Is that what you mean?

Yes thats what I mean Im worried the butter is off as its been out lol! It looks really soft now though I hope it will crust! Gosh Im worrying like mad here! Thank you for replying so quick! x

Unless you've had it out like for weeks, you're okay. I leave my personal use butter out all the time and it's fine, as well as you need to have it soft to work with. If Partner said it tastes okay, you'll alright...soured butter is a very distinct smell and taste. He'd have noticed.

i agree with other pp's and i also leave my personal butter out. and it should also taste fine if you've had it in the container

i have a butter dish i use for family meals, like toast, bagels, etc. There's ALWAYS a stick of softened butter in it. We only refrigerated butter when we brought it home from the store and took out a stick at a time to use. Now, we go through butter fast. A stick per week. If I am using it in cooking, I leave it out overnight to soften. I also do that with cream cheese. It's okay to be left out to soften and then refrigerated after making icing. Otherwise, you get big chunks of hard butter/cream cheese.