Hey guys,

My buttercream did something today and I need help! So i crumb coated my cake like I always do, and put in fridge. As I always do. Then I waited a while and made a new batch of icing (american buttercream half butter, half hi-ratio). I didn't do anything that I don't always do that I can think of. Although I did add wilton white to the batch and I don't always do that. Although I have without any issue in the past. Anyway, I pulled my cake out and started final icing it and the buttercream looked smooth in the bowl but when it went on the cake and I started smoothing it made these weird dimples! And almost like bubbles and it wasn't really adhering to the crumb coat! I've never seen anything like it. I kept adding more and smoothing and it wasn't getting better. Looked almost like when your butter ins't incorporated into your buttercream or when it is too cold and makes little pieces of butter in your icing,  but the icing is smooth in the bowl. Its doing something ON the cake when it hits it. I'm not sure what is happening here. Anyone ever had this happen? I did let the cake sit out a while while I made the icing which I also don't always do I guess. So it kind of came back to room temp maybe? I don't know. I scraped the icing off frantically and put it back in fridge crumb coated again. And am ditching this whole batch of icing for now. Any ideas? It was the weirdest thing I've ever seen. 

weelll .... my guess is that its over beaten   That’s all I can think of   

I did not know buttercream could be overbeaten. I always thought the longer the better was the way to go  with abc. 

Well  long S L O W W mixing/stirring has always worked for me but it’s important to be done slowly   I posted a wonderful recipe “2 of everything “ —a great American buttercream 

I didn't know it could be over beaten either!  Since trans fats have been removed from all shortenings, I've just about given up on American Buttercream all together, unless it is the all butter kind.  It is just too weird and never seems right to me.  I use Swiss Meringue, Ermine or ganache.

Maybe over beat is not the right term   If it is being beaten on high speed it can develop air bubbles that are almost impossible  —To numerous — to smooth out