Sweating Buttercream

Decorating By leepat Updated 21 Oct 2010 , 3:33pm by emilyg

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leepat Posted 26 Apr 2010 , 10:30am
post #1 of 17

Has any ever had there cold buttercream cake to sweat after they take it out of the refrigerator and then have the color in the buttercream to run? How can I stop this?

16 replies
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sonimik Posted 26 Apr 2010 , 11:36am
post #2 of 17

I would like to know too!

I recently started to experience the same thing! If anyone has any tips on preventing buttercream from sweating PLS SHARE!

I was wondering if it was because I use my deep freezer to freeze the cakes a few hours before applying buttercream and carving.

Pls Help!

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HaydenSC Posted 26 Apr 2010 , 12:03pm
post #3 of 17

I was just grumbling about this very same issue this week. It has been getting warmer, so it is time for the "sweating season" for people and cakes!

The only thing I can suggest is to gradually change the temperature of the cake. It doesn't always happen to be as easy as that suggestion. If it is in the 80s outside and you bring a cake from the cooler (40s) to a room (70s) to outside, it is going to sweat!

The walk in we have is designed not to dry things out or make things sweat, but if I have a fondant covered cake or even fondant decorations on a buttercream cake, I box it. Wedding cakes, occasion ones, etc. I have big cardboard boxes that I store them in. If they are covered before I take them out of the cooler, they seem to not sweat as much when I take them out into the air conditioning. I also have adopted the idea of taking some dry ice on deliveries with me when it is really hot. I use a box to make a "cooler" of sorts for the cake. It worked great when we had to deliver a wedding cake more than an hour away in June of last year!

Let's see if I am as optimistic on Saturday when I have a wedding cake with RED decorations on it. It is supposed to be 88. icon_eek.gif
At least the reception isn't outside!

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WickedSweetDebbie Posted 18 Jun 2010 , 1:02pm
post #4 of 17

HaydeSC-how did your cake come out? Were you able to tackle the sweating problem??
I'm also doing a cake tomorrow that I'm going to cover in BC and add fondant & gumpaste decos. I'm filling the cake with a raspberry cream filling, so I need to keep it cold. It's supposed to be in the 80s tomorrow....do you think if I raise the temp of my fridge a bit so it's not so cold that will help? I do have AC in my kitchen so I'm hoping if I take it out of a not-so-cold fridge, leave it out in front of the AC, and slowly turn the temp of the AC from "Level 10" (coldest) to Level 5 maybe-that'll help bring it up to room temp without any problems??? Maybe??? Once can only hope, right??? LOL

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mamawrobin Posted 18 Jun 2010 , 1:09pm
post #5 of 17
Quote:
Originally Posted by leepat

Has any ever had there cold buttercream cake to sweat after they take it out of the refrigerator and then have the color in the buttercream to run? How can I stop this?




I don't have this problem because I don't refrigerate my cakes. I don't use perishable fillings so that I don't have to. The only time I've had any issues with a cake is when it had been refrigerated.

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artscallion Posted 18 Jun 2010 , 1:28pm
post #6 of 17
Quote:
Originally Posted by HaydenSC

but if I have a fondant covered cake or even fondant decorations on a buttercream cake, I box it. Wedding cakes, occasion ones, etc. I have big cardboard boxes that I store them in. If they are covered before I take them out of the cooler, they seem to not sweat as much when I take them out into the air conditioning.





No need to futz around with fans and gradual temp changes with this issue. Bottom line, simple solution is close to what you stated above. If a cake is in a sealed box when you take it out of the fridge, it will remain dry...if you keep it in the box.

Science lesson: (I give this lesson once a week here, at least) Cakes do not sweat. The moisture you see is not coming from the cake...or the fridge. It is coming from the humidity in the warm air outside of your fridge, condensing on your cold cake when you take it out.

Water takes different forms depending on its temperature, from steam/humidity at the warm end, liquid in the middle range to solid/ice at the cold end.

When the humidity (warm/gas) in the air in your room hits the cool of your cake, the temperature changes the gas to a liquid which accumulates on the cool cake surface.

So, the cure for this problem is to prevent the humid air from getting to your cake when you take it out of the fridge. If the cake is in a box when you take it out, the humid/warm/gas cannot reach the cool surface of the cake. It will hit the outside of the cool box and condense there, leaving your cake surface perfectly dry. The cake will be safe as it comes to room temp.

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WickedSweetDebbie Posted 18 Jun 2010 , 3:12pm
post #7 of 17

any suggestions as to how long I should wait before taking the cake out of the box? 3-4 hours maybe? The worst about this is the timing of the bridal shower-it's at 11:00am. I need to plan on being at my friend's house at 10am to set up and everything. She lives 20mins away. Sounds like I should set my alarm for about 4am to take the cake out of the fridge! icon_eek.gif

I'm going to put a strip of yellow fondant around the bottom of each layer, about a 1/2" wide or so...do you think it's wise to do that tonight? Or plan on doing it in the morning?
I hate the thought of waiting until tomorrow, but I have such a fear that the fondant will slide down or something....ugh this is stressing me out!! LOL icon_cry.gif

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newmansmom2004 Posted 18 Jun 2010 , 3:33pm
post #8 of 17

[quote="artscallion]No need to futz around with fans and gradual temp changes with this issue. Bottom line, simple solution is close to what you stated above. If a cake is in a sealed box when you take it out of the fridge, it will remain dry...if you keep it in the box.

Science lesson: (I give this lesson once a week here, at least) Cakes do not sweat. The moisture you see is not coming from the cake...or the fridge. It is coming from the humidity in the warm air outside of your fridge, condensing on your cold cake when you take it out.

Water takes different forms depending on its temperature, from steam/humidity at the warm end, liquid in the middle range to solid/ice at the cold end.

When the humidity (warm/gas) in the air in your room hits the cool of your cake, the temperature changes the gas to a liquid which accumulates on the cool cake surface.

So, the cure for this problem is to prevent the humid air from getting to your cake when you take it out of the fridge. If the cake is in a box when you take it out, the humid/warm/gas cannot reach the cool surface of the cake. It will hit the outside of the cool box and condense there, leaving your cake surface perfectly dry. The cake will be safe as it comes to room temp.[/quote]


Excellent info! And artscallion I so appreciate your tag line....I have strange pet peeves, too!

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sonimik Posted 27 Aug 2010 , 9:35pm
post #9 of 17

Excellent tips! Thanks a bunch!

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ladyonzlake Posted 17 Oct 2010 , 1:31am
post #10 of 17

So Artscallion, your theory makes sense but I delivered a cake today which I had in a box. I took it from the fridge inside (72deg) and let it sit for 2 hours. I opened it to check on it before we delivered it and my black stencil and piped dots were running down the sides of the cake from the sweating.
I did peak at it when I brought it in and then resealed it. Maybe I shouldn't have done that?

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artscallion Posted 17 Oct 2010 , 1:48am
post #11 of 17

1. was your box sealed as I suggested, or just closed? And opening it to peek will certainly let humidity in to settle on the cake.

2. was your black stenciling/piping royal icing? That may have added to the problem as I don't believe royal icing fares well in the fridge even under the best of circumstances.

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ladyonzlake Posted 17 Oct 2010 , 3:58am
post #12 of 17

It was sealed and yes I used RI. What other icing would you recommend that would hold up better? I've been reading on here about sugarveil and even tinted piping gel. I don't know if BC would work or not. I use IMBC which is hard to tint but if American BC works I could alwasy whip up a batch of that. I do need to find a solution to this awful situation.

I've had rip off the fondant and redo the stencil/piping 2 hours before delivery....I'm tearing my hair out with this problem and I do 2-3 wedding cakes a week.

My solution now is to cover the cakes the day before the wedding, pipe or stencil it and leave it out of the frig. but I hate to do that since it's more fragile for transporting than a refrigerated cake.

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ladyonzlake Posted 17 Oct 2010 , 3:59am
post #13 of 17

Actually, the box was just closed...not "sealed"

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jenscreativity Posted 17 Oct 2010 , 4:19am
post #14 of 17

I heard if you add cornstarch to color icings,,it alleviates bleeding! NOt sure as I'm wanting to try it when I get a chance..

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zespri Posted 17 Oct 2010 , 7:17pm
post #15 of 17

I'm glad you posted this again artscallion, you posted it in an older thread some time ago, but I couldn't find it to review.

Quick question: does it have to be a cardboard box? What if I'm taking a ziploc bag of cupcakes out of the freezer, can I just leave them in the ziploc bag?


P.S. For some reason I can never remember how to spell marshmallow, so your signature made me laugh! It's the same with stationary vs stationery.

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artscallion Posted 17 Oct 2010 , 7:36pm
post #16 of 17
Quote:
Originally Posted by zespri

...

Quick question: does it have to be a cardboard box? What if I'm taking a ziploc bag of cupcakes out of the freezer, can I just leave them in the ziploc bag?





a Ziploc is fine. The important thing is that, whatever you use, it keeps the warm humid air from reaching the cake or cupcake. So it should be airtight. A loosely constructed box that doesn't close tightly is no good as it lets air in. It should either be covered with a plastic bag, or taped shut in a few places.

Quote:
Originally Posted by zespri


It's the same with stationary vs stationery.




Haha! Mine is seperate and separate.

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emilyg Posted 21 Oct 2010 , 3:33pm
post #17 of 17

Just wanted to add here that we've done tests with both red and black SugarVeil (colored using red and black powdered color) on white icings. SugarVeil is really "tight", and doesn't wick on white cake surfaces - both buttercream and fondant. Because SugarVeil is so white-white and it takes much color to make it dark, be sure to use powdered color for any dark or intense colors so all of SugarVeil's properties are kept intact [but note that gel or liquid colors are fine for pastel colors of SugarVeil]. Thank you - Michele at SugarVeil

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