That time my buttercream curdled and I almost cried

Last weekend I was making a three layer chocolate cake for my niece's birthday and everything was going perfect until I added the butter to my frosting. I had this fancy European butter I'd been saving and I figured room temp was fine but it was still a little too cold. The whole thing turned into this grainy oily mess and I spent like 45 minutes trying to fix it with a hot water bath and a spatula. My kitchen looked like a crime scene with butter smears everywhere. Turns out if you just nuke a little bit of the frosting and whip it back in slowly it comes together again. Has anyone else dealt with a curdled buttercream and found a trick that actually works?

3 comments

3 Comments

michaelchen2mo ago

Swore up and down room temp butter had to sit out for like 8 hours or something ridiculous before it was good to use. Used to get so frustrated when it would seize up on me and I'd just toss the whole batch and start over with a new stick of butter. Then my buddy showed me that microwave trick you mentioned and honestly it blew my mind how fast it fixed everything. Now I don't even stress if my butter is a little cold straight from the fridge. Just zap a small chunk of the broken frosting for like 5 seconds, whip it back in, and it comes out silky smooth every time. Changed my whole frosting game and saved me a ton of wasted butter.

kim1912mo ago

Totally disagree with you there @michaelchen, my butter always comes out fine after just an hour.

taylor6681mo ago

The real trick nobody talks about is the weather where you live... humidity makes a huge difference. Down here in the south my butter gets soft way faster than when I lived up north, like an hour is plenty for me too. But if you're in a dry climate that butter stays hard as a rock for way longer than you'd think. Also depends on what kind of butter you're using, the cheap store brand stuff has more water in it so it softens up quicker than the fancy European butter. So it's not really about time, it's about your specific situation. Just gotta learn what works for your kitchen.