Something Weird Just Happened To My Abc..

Decorating By morganchampagne Updated 17 Aug 2013 , 6:44am by JaeRodriguez

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morganchampagne Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 2:57am
post #1 of 19

ASo I normally maybe I/SMBC. Love the texture but for my customers it's just not sweet enough. I started adding more sugar that helped but...anyway. I just made a batch of ABC. 1 pound of unsalted butter, 2 pounds of powdered sugar, and about 4 tablespoons of heavy cream. 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla.

The taste was good...but the texture. It was weird. It was like grainy. Almost like a broken meringue buttercream. I've made ABC before but it's never looked like this. I whipped my butter with the paddle for about 15 minutes but it was Not room temp. Could this be the issue? I've attached a picture idk if you will be able to tell [IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3078111/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

18 replies
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ellavanilla Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 3:06am
post #2 of 19

i don't know anything about ABC, but a tip on the IMBC, adding vanilla instead of sugar will increase the sweetness.

 

good luck with the other.

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therealmrsriley Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 3:13am
post #3 of 19

AThat happened to mine recently too. The only thing I figured caused it was maybe the heavy cream. When I made a second batch and used milk it was fine. I still don't know the cause....

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morganchampagne Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 3:17am
post #4 of 19

AOk thanks y'all. I'm going to try that to the IMBC. I don't like this batch of ABC so I will be throwing it out unless someone can identify the cause and it can be fixed.

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dawnybird Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 3:18am
post #5 of 19
Quote:
Originally Posted by therealmrsriley 

That happened to mine recently too. The only thing I figured caused it was maybe the heavy cream. When I made a second batch and used milk it was fine. I still don't know the cause....

 



I always use heavy cream in my ABC. I've never had it turn out like that. That's strange looking.

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Stitches Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 3:20am
post #6 of 19

I believe it's because at this time of year the companies add more cornstarch to the sugar to prevent it from clumping and compacting. It's not you or your imagination. I add pasteurized egg whites (wet, not whipped) to amb to counter act that.

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Annabakescakes Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 3:23am
post #7 of 19

AMaybe mix it with your smbc? Best of both worlds :-) I think it is cornstarch too. You can add a bit more room temp butter and liquid to it.

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morganchampagne Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 3:26am
post #8 of 19

AI may try mixing it. I tried the very popular "Fluffy American buttercream" and did not like it. I will try all these tips over the weekend. I know that it is something I'm doing because I've had American buttercream that was quite good..nothing like this.

As always thanks for y'all's help!!

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morganchampagne Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 3:29am
post #9 of 19

A

Original message sent by Annabakescakes

Maybe mix it with your smbc? Best of both worlds :-) I think it is cornstarch too. You can add a bit more room temp butter and liquid to it.

I didn't see this before i posted. I will add more butter before I count the whole thing as a loss

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Annabakescakes Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 3:32am
post #10 of 19

AYou could scoop a bit out first, and add a bit of butter, so you don't waste more a lot more butter if it is still weird. It does look super dry though.

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morganchampagne Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 3:38am
post #11 of 19

AThat's what I thought. So I began to add some water by the tablespoon started getting really soft without smoothing out. That's when I said "let me stop" lol. I tried icing it on a dummy I had close by. It's quite spreadable. Just grainy looking

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morganchampagne Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 3:49am
post #12 of 19

I just blew that picture up on my ipad..i posted it from my phone. MAN that looks bad lmao. 

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Annabakescakes Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 3:51am
post #13 of 19

AThat is what my icing looked like when I used crisco after they took the transfat out. I pitched it, and haven't looked back! I did make it with all butter once and it looked similar, so maybe they are messing with butter, too. I have found I can use about 60% butter and 40% hi ratio before it falls apart. I WANT to use more but it is weird....I thought it was just me!

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morganchampagne Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 4:00am
post #14 of 19

AOh Lord! Let's hope not! Not the butter!! Lol

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Annabakescakes Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 4:24am
post #15 of 19

A

Original message sent by morganchampagne

Oh Lord! Let's hope not! Not the butter!! Lol

Hahaha! Right?

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morganchampagne Posted 15 Aug 2013 , 1:23am
post #16 of 19

AJust wanted to update. I re whipped the icing today. That helped but it was still a bit grainy. So I added a tiny amount of room temp butter...maybe like an ounce. And it smoothed out nicely. Thanks again for all your help!

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Annabakescakes Posted 15 Aug 2013 , 1:51am
post #17 of 19

AWESOME! I am so glad you didn't have to throw it away. I hate wasting! 

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morganchampagne Posted 17 Aug 2013 , 4:41am
post #18 of 19

A

Original message sent by therealmrsriley

That happened to mine recently too. The only thing I figured caused it was maybe the heavy cream. When I made a second batch and used milk it was fine. I still don't know the cause....

therealmrsriley, I know this thread is over and done. But just wanted to show you how my buttercream came together after taking the above advice. Maybe you could save yours by doing it too! [IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3079739/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

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JaeRodriguez Posted 17 Aug 2013 , 6:44am
post #19 of 19

AI've had this happen to me before, only two times, I couldn't figure out how to fix it so I'm glad I came across this thread in case it happens again! I too have been told it was the corn starch in the PS. Glad you got it to work though! It sticks when you have to throw out a full batch of BC!

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