Buttercream

[TWETMIRF]

Whenever I make buttercream it's hard to spread. I was told never to add milk to soften it as that goes off after a couple of days so just use unsalted butter and twice the quantity of icing sugar. My house is permanently cold as it's made of granite so not sure if that is part of the problem.

When I see people decorating cakes on telly it seems to just spread with no effort at all and sticks to the cake with ease. I have tried putting it in the microwave for a few seconds to melt the buttercream but that just makes it wet.

Where am I going wrong as I love buttercream but don't use it as often as I would like in cakes because of this. Doing a crumb coat with my buttercream is very difficult as it is too stiff to spread thinly. Tastes lovely, just wrong consistency

Add some water from kettle, cooked boiled water, to it to get a better consistency to spread it.
Do you use it as soon as it's been whipped so it doesn't get a chance to get cold in your house ?

Cooled boiled water not cooked

Do you let the butter sit outside the fridge to get to room temperature first?
If not, just mix it for a good 10 minutes and only add the sugar once the butter turns white. I use a mixer (with the K attachment) and I let it go for a good 10-15 minutes. When it's all turned white I add the sugar (in the same quantity as the butter).

I use just boiled water, a few drops from the kettle as soon as it's boiled. It's the heat that makes it easier to get it mixed smooth and easy to spread. Cooled boiled water is just water, no different from using a bit from the tap.

Yes, use it straight away. We don't keep butter in the fridge even in the hottest days of summer as it doesn't melt. Will try adding water next time, thanks

You can also take a small portion of it and melt it in microwave put it back with the harder stuff and whip it until smooth

Yes you're right boiling water will soften it.
The cooled boiled water is instead of milk as it won't go off fast like milk

I'm querying why boil it at all if you're going to use it cold. Just from the tap surely?

But I wouldn't add hot water to soften it as it could make it runny, I would do the melt some of it in micro then add it back in to whip the consistency stays the same

I use it from the kettle you can use it straight from the tap if you like

Use a small amount of warm water from the kettle or a small amount of milk
Do you soften your butter a little in the microwave before whipping it?

I use butter at room temp with 2x amount of icing sugar. Usually add a drop of milk for consistency, it’s never gone off (why would milk go off faster than butter?). You have to mix it for a long time to get a really fluffy texture. I also usually add melted white or milk chocolate as that goes really fluffy and creamy. Often have to put it in the fridge for a short time but it’s generally great, just make sure the cake is fully cold (otherwise the top half may slide off onto the floor - doh!)

My kitchen temperature is usually cold so I take the chill off the butter by zapping it in the microwave for a few seconds until its softer but not melted

You can also use orange juice if you ware making a cake that would suit a subtle orange flavour

Yup, soften the butter slightly and then beat it for ages. 10-15 mins. Sift your icing sugar and add just a little at a time. Use whilst it’s still light and fluffy from the mixer.

If you have a metal mixing bowl, you could sit it in hot water before mixing so that the butter goes into a warm bowl?

Italian meringue buttercream spreads like a dream and is so much tastier than American buttercream. It sounds faffy and in more involved but it’s not hard to make and totally worth it.

I use 85 g unsalted ( soft ) butter to 250 g icing sugar ( roughly 1/3 butter to 2/3 icing sugar )
Beat together , then add a splash boiling hot water and keep beating
Always real butter , not spreadable stuff