Buttercream top tips
Don’t let a split, melty, broken buttercream
derail your path to layer cake glory! Here’s how
to get your buttercream to a flawless smoothing
consistency from chilled.

Too cool and curdled
It will look lumpy and broken/ split because it
is too cold. The buttercream needs warmth to
encourage it to become a stable emulsion. So,
take a good scoop out of the mixer bowl, heat
(microwave or stovetop) that scoop to melty –
NOT bubbly – hot then stream it back in with
the whisk going. Et voilà!
Too melty. It’s soup!
If it looks like melted ice cream, chill the mixer
bowl for 30 minutes, stirring with the whisk
occasionally to help the buttercream chill evenly.

Pop it back onto the stand mixer to whip for
2–3  minutes.

If you leave the buttercream unstirred, it can
harden unevenly and cause pesky lumps in the final
buttercream.

If you have melted it to a broken oily yellow mess,
you’ll need to start over – BUT stream as much of
the broken/ split buttercream into the new batch
as you can. The new buttercream emulsion can
handle a portion of this before becoming unstable.

Pristine consistency
The best texture for a spreadable buttercream
is like fresh soft-peak whipped cream. To get to
the correct consistency from chilled buttercream,
heat to two-thirds melted in a double boiler, or
zap in the microwave in 30-second bursts on
High  (100%).

Give the buttercream a mash with a hand whisk
and then bring the two consistencies together
with a vigorous hand whisk (or for an ultra-smooth
finish, beat with the paddle attachment of an
electric mixer on low speed for 5 minutes).

Repeat this technique as needed during the
assembly to keep the buttercream easily
spreadable – it can cool between crumb coating
and top coating. Never attempt to whip fridge- cold
buttercream – it will break/split, but never
fear: warmth will always return it to spreadable
splendour!