How to Thicken Buttercream Frosting: 8 Steps (with Pictures) (2024)

FAQs

Why won't my buttercream frosting thicken? ›

By bringing down the temperature, the frosting should tighten up immediately. This is a great trick for buttercream frosting that may have been overmixed or made in a warm kitchen. If this doesn't seem to do the trick, try adding sifted powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.

One tablespoon of flour can be whisked in at a time to thicken frosting without adding any extra flavor or sweetness. I recommend that you sift the flour before it is added so there are no clumps in the frosting.

Place the buttercream frosting in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour to help it thicken. This is especially important if you're working in a warm kitchen. Check the frosting after 30 minutes to see if it has thickened by sticking a spoon in it and stirring it around.

So, whether your buttercream is a veritable soup or just a touch runny, the answer is to cool it down. If the buttercream is thin enough to run off a spoon, refrigerate the whole bowl for 20 minutes, just until the frosting begins to harden around the edges.

The frosting should form a somewhat stiff peak that has a little curl on the end. It's stiff enough to hold up that curl, but soft enough to create that little curl. That little curl is a great visual cue to know that your frosting is just the right consistency.

This soupiness happens because your mixture was too warm, making the butter melt and leech out its butterfat and liquid, making the whole mix far too runny to form a stable emulsion.

If your buttercream looks soupy, the butter is too warm and the buttercream will need to be chilled.

As the fats from the cream cheese and butter cool, the frosting will change consistency and become much thicker. No extra powdered sugar required!

If you are making warm frosting on your stovetop, you can try thickening a runny frosting with a bit of flour. Sprinkle 1 tsp to 1 Tbsp (5 ml to 15 ml) of flour into the frosting and stir over low heat on the stove until it begins to thicken.

While it works best as a thickener when heated, The Spruce Eats explains cornstarch will absorb some moisture even if you don't bake or cook it in your recipe. The additive can help stabilize buttercream frosting in the heat and humidity — and no one wants a dripping cake at a summer outdoor party.

How do you stabilize buttercream without meringue powder? ›

Home bakers have found success substituting meringue powder with a mixture of powdered gelatin—use three tablespoons of warm water combined with one tablespoon of gelatin powder to replace two teaspoons of meringue powder.

Try not to overbeat the buttercream after all the ingredients have been added or you might add bubbles, which will ruin the texture of the icing. If you are trying to create a snowy white buttercream, you have to use shortening and clear flavorings.

Be sure to whip the buttercream on medium-high speed for 3-5 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally after all the ingredients have been added.

The longer you beat, the more air you incorporate in your buttercream, thus, it will have lots of holes or air-pockets, it will also make the colour lighter. If you will use your buttercream primarily for filling or maybe as simple swirls, then this is ok.

Buttercream Frosting is a tasty delicacy that stays well in the refrigerator or freezer but hardens after being chilled or frozen.

How much frosting do I need to use between each layer of cake? This isn't something I measure, and I just eyeball it every time. But you'll need about 1/2 cup between each layer of a 6-inch cake and 3/4 cup between each layer of an 8-inch cake. It shouldn't be too thick, somewhere between 1/8 – 1/4 inch thick is ideal.

If your butter is too soft or your kitchen is too warm, your buttercream may have a hard time getting to stiff or medium consistency. If your buttercream looks like it's melting, place it in the refrigerator for a bit to harden before beating again.

You may have over-softened your cream cheese resulting in the runny frosting. Whipped Cream Frosting: Adding cornstarch to thicken it would work. Ensure to chill the whipping cream before you whip it. American Buttercream Frosting: The usual cause of a runny buttercream frosting is too much milk.

4. Adding too much liquid. Buttercream needs a little bit of liquid to loosen it up — a splash of milk, a flavored extract like vanilla, or even a touch of liquor – but when you have too much liquid, you may end up with a buttercream that's too thin and soupy to work with.

Add in cream cheese

It adds a richness to the frosting while controlling the sweetness of it. Use one package of room temperature frosting to one 8oz package of room temperature cream cheese and combine the two for a tasty, easy frosting.

Should I refrigerate frosting before using? ›

Don't Make the Frosting in Advance

Frosting is made from majority butter and sugar, so leaving it for a long period of time at room temperature will make it too soft and refrigerating it will make the butter seize. If you're looking to work ahead, always make your cake in advance over the frosting.

STEP #4 – ADD FLOUR MIXTURE

Slowly add the (room temperature) flour mixture, about 1 Tbsp at a time, while the butter is whipping. This is kind of like adding butter to a Swiss meringue buttercream.

Icing stabilizers are food additives added to buttercreams, frostings, icing and glazes to provide foam or emulsion stability, elasticity, and anti-sticking or setting properties. They are commonly produced from hydrocolloids, gums, polyglycerols esters fatty acids, sorbates and other emulsifiers.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream is more stable than American buttercream due to its ingredients. It's more difficult to make than American buttercream, but it'll hold better in hot and humid weather.

Why use shortening in a recipe for buttercream frosting? Using a combination of butter and shortening gives you the best combination of taste and stability. The shortening is 100% fat and doesn't melt like butter does when it gets warm. So, the shortening will make the frosting more stable.

The Best Substitutes

In addition, you may need to add a stabilizer for recipes that require a hard meringue (such as candies). Lemon juice or cream of tartar are both good stabilizers.

What is the best butter to use? Salted and organic butter is literally the best butter that you can use. It is the salt that really makes this the best buttercream frosting ever. It's actually a myth that salted butter is an inferior quality – it's not.

Typically this will make it look sort of curdled. You might see small clumps of butter with white liquid oozing around it. To fix split buttercream, all you have to do is gently heat the buttercream.

The flat-bladed paddle beaters are best for beating batters and frostings, whisk attachments are best for whipping liquids and egg whites, and dough hooks can make quick work of smaller dough projects.

A buttercream made with a recipe consisting of butter and shortening can generally sit out at room temperature for up to 2 days. We suggest covering your treat with plastic wrap or placing it in a cake carrier to prevent your buttercream from crusting too much.

Should I refrigerate buttercream frosting before piping? ›

Should I refrigerate the buttercream frosting before piping with it? No. To pipe buttercream frosting, it needs to be close to room temperature, or it will be too firm to pipe.

To store frosted cakes in the refrigerator, chill the uncovered cake in the fridge for at least 15 minutes so that the frosting hardens slightly, and then cover with plastic wrap. Before serving, allow the cake to sit on the counter for about 30 minutes.

Using less sugar

With this ratio the buttercream is a little bit softer, but it's still pipeable and still forms a slight crust. You can figure out what you like by taste testing as you make your buttercream. Try starting with a 1:1.5 ratio, taste a little bit, and then add more sugar until it's as sweet as you'd like.

Add cornstarch: Cornstarch can help thicken the frosting without altering the flavor too much. Start by adding 1 teaspoon of cornstarch per cup of frosting, and mix well. If needed, add more cornstarch in small increments until the desired consistency is reached.

Sprinkle 1 tsp to 1 Tbsp (5 ml to 15 ml) of flour into the frosting and stir over low heat on the stove until it begins to thicken. Remove it from the stovetop and keep stirring until the frosting cools down. Do not use flour in cold frosting recipes, however.

Yes, you can add up to 1/2 cup of cornstarch to the frosting mixture to thicken. This will not impact the flavor of the frosting.

If your finished frosting is too runny, per LeafTV, you can combine cornstarch with one or two tablespoons of milk before adding it to the frosting to thicken the whole thing up.

The longer you beat, the more air you incorporate in your buttercream, thus, it will have lots of holes or air-pockets, it will also make the colour lighter. If you will use your buttercream primarily for filling or maybe as simple swirls, then this is ok.

If it's a warm day, and your buttercream was warm and soft to begin with, you may need to chill the crumb coat for 45-60 minutes. Cover the bowl of remaining buttercream with plastic wrap so it doesn't crust over. If your kitchen is warm (hotter than 72 degrees Fahrenheit), place it in the refrigerator to keep it cool.

To thicken your frosting add confectioners' sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until you achieve your desired thickness.