How to Store Buttercream Frosting?

The most crucial advice for keeping buttercream is to refrigerate it and then allow it to come to room temperature before using it. Eating it without fearing something is amiss might help if you also chilled it at room temperature. Knowing how to store buttercream is crucial whether you’re making buttercream for a cake or decorating one.

buttercream

There are a few techniques to ensure your buttercream frosting lasts as long as possible if you’re preserving it for later usage or using it to decorate your baked products for a future event. Whether you’re storing it for today, tomorrow, next week, or even next month, you can maintain it in good condition, and its simplicity is its best feature.

How to Store Buttercream Frosting?

Buttercream frosting is a favorite among those with sweet tooth. Its sweet, rich flavor and smooth, creamy texture complement a wide range of sweets. If you wish to make your buttercream frosting, you need to know how to preserve buttercream frosting, how long it can be stored, and how far ahead of time you can bake a cake with buttercream icing.

One of the most popular frostings is buttercream. It is frequently simple to prepare and adaptable, as it may be produced in various flavors and used on multiple desserts. Making and preserving buttercream is straightforward, and the result is delicious.

Tips

If you wish to prepare a large amount of buttercream frosting in advance, such as if you have a birthday party, you can still use these storage suggestions. Here’s how to ensure your frosting stands up, whatever the situation.

Refrigerate Buttercream Frosting

  1. In an airtight container, put the buttercream frosting. Before placing it in the refrigerator, ensure your buttercream frosting is tightly sealed. A clear plastic container will work as long as the lid is securely fastened.
  2. For up to a week, store your buttercream frosting in the refrigerator. Although serving food immediately is frequently best, the fridge is a fantastic place to start if you must keep your buttercream frosting for later. This method works best if you need to utilize the buttercream frosting later in the week.
  • Buttercream frosting in the refrigerator can stay fresh for up to two weeks, although it’s best to use it within the first week.
  1. While in the fridge, please keep it away from meals with solid flavors. To support its aroma intact, do this, and your buttercream frosting should not smell like fish.
  2. Before using, please take off the buttercream icing and let it settle. Allow the buttercream frosting to come to room temperature when you take it out of the fridge to maintain its original consistency. Stirring it will be beneficial.
  3. Use the freezer for up to two months of extended storage. If you want to keep your buttercream frosting around for a while, the freezer is far better than the refrigerator. Put the buttercream frosting in an airtight container and store it in the freezer for no more than two months, similar to how you would in the refrigerator.
  • When the buttercream frosting is done, remove it from the freezer a day ahead of time and place it in the refrigerator so it can defrost overnight.

Keeping it Safe with Baked Goods

  1. If you’re serving your cake in the next three days, keep it at room temperature. Your cake will stay safe to eat at room temperature for three days if you choose not to refrigerate it. It’s okay to leave it on the kitchen counter but to keep flies away, think about covering it with something like a spherical mesh food cover.
  2. If you plan to serve your cake within a week, put it in the refrigerator. A frosted cake with buttercream icing on top should be kept unwrapped and stored in the fridge. Consider how long it has been since the buttercream frosting was stored before it was applied to the cake, and alter the cake’s storage period appropriately.
  3. If your fridge isn’t big enough, use the freezer. Leave the cake untied and place it on a platter before putting it in the freezer, just like with the refrigerator. Although the buttercream frosting will continue to taste refined, be aware that some cakes may start to dry out.
  4. On a hot day, avoid leaving your cake outside. Due to the separation of the fat and whey when your cake is left out above room temperature, the buttercream icing may slide off the cake. Generally, always be cautious while keeping food out on the counter.

Types of Buttercream

Buttercream comes in five different flavors. There are only three ways to make them, though. Because of this, while most buttercreams can be kept at room temperature, not all of them do.

Italian and Swiss Buttercream

American buttercream is comparable to the buttercreams from Switzerland and Italy. However, they use egg whites, and you can keep them at room temperature for a few days. If you’re worried about getting salmonella from egg whites, use pasteurized egg whites and carefully follow the directions.

French and German Buttercream

The challenging buttercreams are those from Germany and France. Egg yolks are used in production (and custard for the German version). German and French buttercreams must be refrigerated immediately because the recipe calls for egg yolks.

American Buttercream

The most popular option is American buttercream since it is obscenely creamy, delicious, and has a fluffy and silky texture. The ingredients include butter, sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Due to the high sugar content, American buttercream can be kept in a relaxed, dry environment.

How Should Buttercream be Thawed and Reconstituted?

When using buttercream, two steps must be taken. It must first be defrosted or brought back to room temperature. Second, re-whip it until it has a smooth consistency once more.

Whether the buttercream was kept in the refrigerator or freezer, you can remove it and set it out to warm up. The buttercream may appear slightly clumpy and full of tiny air spaces after it reaches room temperature.

  • Transfer the buttercream to a mixer, then whip it with the paddle attachment for a while to make it smooth once again.
  • If the buttercream is still a bit too cold or you don’t have time to let it thaw on its own, you can hasten the process by heating some of it and incorporating it back in.
  • Remove a third of the still cold buttercream and microwave it for 5 to 10 seconds at a time, stirring in between. Be careful not to scorch it as you want it to melt into a liquid.
  • Then, using the paddle attachment of your mixer, combine the melted buttercream with the chilled buttercream for several minutes.
  • The temperature difference between the heated and cold buttercreams should equalize to create a smooth, creamy buttercream. You can repeat the process if the buttercream is still too chilly by melting it a little more and then blending it back in.
  • Although I usually go by appearances rather than a thermometer, knowing the temperature ranges is useful. Anything between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit will be workable. However, it will be stiffer and looser the closer it gets to 70.

How do You Spot Bad Buttercream?

At some point, the bottom of cakes that have been frosted with buttercream will become green, and the icing may even become runny. In addition, it will begin to smell and taste sour. Mold or a dense cream could potentially grow on top of the substance.

How Long Does Buttercream Frosting Last at Room Temperature?

It’s unnecessary to immediately put American, Swiss, or Italian buttercreams in the refrigerator. Instead, buttercream can be stored for 2 to 3 days at room temperature.

Make sure the place where you’re storing it is cold and dry. Place the buttercream in an airtight jar. The last thing you want is your buttercream to become crumbly and challenging to spread.

Keep your buttercream out of the heat as well. The buttercream may melt, and as a result, they are making it challenging to handle. Additionally, it may produce the ideal conditions for germs to flourish.

Does Buttercream Frosting Need to be Refrigerated?

Buttercream frosting does require refrigeration if you’re going to use it within the next week or so. You need to store it in an airtight container and wait for it to reach room temperature before utilizing it. Rewhip your buttercream to restore it to a frothy texture after it has warmed up.

How Can Buttercream Frosting be Softened?

Remove the cooled buttercream from the refrigerator and let it thaw at room temperature on the counter before using.

The day before you need to use it, move any frozen buttercream to the refrigerator. This will minimize temperature shock as your buttercream gradually defrosts. Let it defrost and reach room temperature.

Please remove it from the freezer two days beforehand to ensure that a significant quantity of buttercream will be ready when you are ready.

Rewhip your refrigerated or frozen buttercream using a stand mixer once it has warmed to room temperature. Additionally, this will assist in removing any minute air bubbles that might have developed in your frosting.

Conclusion

When kept in an airtight container, buttercream stays very well for about a week in the refrigerator or three to four months in the freezer. The buttercream can be kept out for a day at a cool room temperature if you intend to consume it shortly.

I typically use Swiss or Italian meringue buttercreams, with French or German buttercream appearing occasionally. All of these, I’ve discovered, keep pretty well in ordinary containers. If you are using an American or crusting buttercream, you should either store it in a plastic bag with all the air squeezed out or place a layer of plastic wrap right against the surface.  Labeling and dating are brilliant ideas if you intend to keep your buttercream for an extended period.