Well here's the thing, I just started getting into cake decorating, and I know it's hard work and it takes a lot of practice but; whenever I touch any form of buttercream, whip base frosting, or anything that requires frosting and pipping, it melts on me. I have tried several buttercream recipe and I can't even look at whipped cream based frostings because, it melts. I have tried keeping the room cool, dunking my hands in ice water, (my Aunt who has her own cake business, says it melt on me because I have warm hands), being extra careful how I hold the bag trying to hold it only from the area furthest away from the tip. What can I do, is there a more stable frosting recipe out there? Do I need more practice with bag position? Do I need robot hand? Can I only work with (gasp) fondant cakes***? Or am I forever doomed to dream of beautifully pipped cakes and intricate scroll work? HELP!!!!


***I have nothing against fondant cakes, I love them, it just one day if this blooms into a business, a customer will ask me for a non-fondant cake and I'll be like, "I can't do those".

Maybe try using shortening for some or all of the butter in your recipe... I use Wilton recipe with all hi-ratio shortening. Maybe that will help. I don't have any other ideas.

Hmm, what comes to mind is how much frosting are you putting in your decorating bag at one time? All the recipes I've tried will eventually get melty from the heat of my hands when holding them long enough. So it may help to put only small amounts in at a time, then just reload when you need more.

Other than that, different recipes react differently to the heat. Are you using a confectioner's sugar buttercream? Or a meringue buttercream?