Buttercream getting too soft when trying to make flowers

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Permalink Reply by Goreti on February 3, 2012 at 8:03pm

First of all, let me tell you that I am no expert.  From what I have been told, you should let the buttercream reach room temperature and rewhip it.  Not sure if your putting it in the microwave had anything to do with the problem you are having or perhaps the recipe you are using.  It could also be that the heat of your hands is causing the buttercream to become too soft.  What you can do is have two bags filled and put the one you are not using on top of a pan filled with ice to keep it cool.  When the bag you are using becomes too soft, switch bags.  I'm not sure where you are located.  In this area at Michaels & AC Moore, they sell stickers that you place on the nail head which has some markings to guide you so that you know how far to go with the petals.  That helps until you get enough practice.  Good luck.  I'm not very good at buttercream flowers.

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Permalink Reply by June Kowalczyk on February 3, 2012 at 8:29pm

First Ken

You NEVER put your buttercream in the micro. Always let it come to room temperature.  It changes the consistency of the icing.  Your icing should contain meringue powder to help it crust & get hard.  If you put your buttercream on your spatula and lift if up out of the bowl, it shouldn't fall off. Not without vigorous shaking. Thats when you know it is stiff enough to pipe.  The right consistency is important, too stiff, or too soft, it will be imposible to pipe correctly.

Unless you are a expert Ken, you make your roses in stages. I don't need to do this as I have made tons, but it does take practice..You make your cone shape first, using the rose nail with a piece of either wax/parchment paper. Let this first stage get hard before you pipe your first row of three petals.

Let that dry...do your next row, so on & so on. There should be a tutorial on the web. Think there is one on Wilton. Check out YouTube as well.

Hope this helps.

 

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Permalink Reply by Kentastic Cakes on February 3, 2012 at 9:06pm

Funny.  I threw the wax paper that was wrapped around the rose nail away.  Didn't know I needed it.  LOL.  the recipe I used for the buttercream didn't mention meringue powder.  Should I be making separate batches for frosting versus details and flowers?

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Permalink Reply by June Kowalczyk on February 4, 2012 at 8:42am

Ok Ken

First there are SOooo many types of icing. I make basically the Wilton icing with addition of meringue powder. This helps your icing "crust", and harden. You need a crust if you want a flat smooth finish when you are icing your cake in strictly buttercream.  I use the same icing to pipe decorations/borders and ice the cake. It is only different consistency.  If I want my roses to dry quickly, I will make a batch of icing and add a 1/2 batch of royal icing. To start you cut small 1x1 squares of wax paper, adhere a small dab of icing to your nail, then place wax paper on it. I think if I were to makes roses today, my first attempts would NOT be stellar, as I very rarely make them anymore. I would be out of practice. But like riding a bicycle, you don't forget.  I make most of my flowers now out of gumpaste. Much, much easier, especially roses. But I think knowing a few icing flowers is a good thing.

It is so hard to explain the step by step of "how to do".  There is a really good video on YouTube by: HeavensBaker.   She shows the way I was taught, and it is very good.  There is a "cheater" way of avoiding doing the "cone blob" to start. You just attach a chocolate hershey's kiss on the wax paper with icing, and "build" your rose petals around that. Don't use a "kiss" with nuts because of allergies. If I am making large fondant/gumpaste rose, I use a lollipop ( tootisie pop ) as my base, and I have a instant middle to start. And hey, then you get to the lollipop & chewy centre!!!

Hope this helps Ken

Good luck.....keep practicing.....practice makes perfect??

:0)

 

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Permalink Reply by denette lynch on February 4, 2012 at 12:33pm

My 2 cents is that your only problem was microwaving the icing to warm it up.  It most likely got too hot or a hot spot.  Next time just let it come to room temp naturally, it doesn't take that long.  If you already have it in the bag just knead it once in a while and will be room temp before you know it.  If you like your icing, stick with it.  Also, meringue  powder doesn't make icing crust, it is the ratio of fat to sugar.  My preferred icing recipes crust and have no meringue powder.  If you know you want to really practice flowers, I would just leave a bag of icing out,  practice some flowers each day, scrape the icing back into the bag and do it again the next day, reusing the same icing over and over again.  When you are done practicing, just toss the practice icing since it has been man-handled and out at room temp for a long time.

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Permalink Reply by Penny on May 4, 2012 at 8:47am

heya! Im really new to flowers also, but Ive found it quite easy with the icing I use. I use the recipe on the wilton website. Its equal parts of butter and shortening, it also has a teeny bit of milk in it... just look up "buttercream wilton recipe". I found that its actually a little too thick for the type of flowers i was doing (using a wilton petal tip). My roses were kind of... tearing at the top! But it actually made them look more real, like those delicate roses that do have the tares at the top you know? anyway I just added a tablespoon more milk and it fixed the problem. I always use the wilton recipe for buttercream now, and tweak it where necessary. It dries beautifully and quickly too.

 

as far as a flower nail is concerned, if u wipe a bit of icing onto the nail, then stick a little square of parchment paper or wax paper on it, you shouldnt have much trouble with your flower moving about if your not too heavy handed with it. u can also just use your finger to pop it back in place if it moves before you add any petals.

 

I used youtube tutorials to learn how to do buttercream roses. I couldnt believe how easy it was!

 

Also, once i microwaved my leftover icing for about 20 seconds to be able to get the hand mixer through it to re-whip it. (goes SO hard in the fridge!) and it did effect the consistency of it a bit towards the end of the bag. I think the microwaving plus the warmth of my hand at the top of the bag was too much. It started out fine but got sloppy at the end so i think your problem was definately the microwave. I like denettes idea for piping practice :-)

 

happy flower making!

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Permalink Reply by Rima on May 4, 2012 at 8:58am

I never put buttercream into the microwave. Allow it wo watm at room temperature. Fat melts very quickly in the microwave. Even fondant I don't heat more tha 5-10 seconds. Once you put some in the bag your hand will warm it quicly. Eoyal Icing is the best thing to make flowers with if you want to make them ahead of time. When I do buttercream roses I make them and apply them straight onto to cake with a flower lifter (looks like scissors). When your buttercream is freshly made, after you ice your cake you can add more powdered sugar to your frosting to stiffen it up some. Don't put more than 1 cup of frosting in yout bad at a time if the frosting is thick. This will make it easier to squeeze.

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Permalink Reply by Linda Wolff on May 4, 2012 at 9:43am

I do agree with Goreti concerning the temperature of your hands too, along with everyone else's statement not to put it in the microwave. The thing about hand temp, is that some people have much hotter hands than others. My granddaughter Jade just cannot make butter cream flowers for the life of her because the heat from her hands melts the icing before it even hits the air! She does fine with royal icing since there is no fat in it, so Ken, if this is the problem too, try practicing with royal icing. I also agree with everything Rima just said too.

Goreti said:

First of all, let me tell you that I am no expert.  From what I have been told, you should let the buttercream reach room temperature and rewhip it.  Not sure if your putting it in the microwave had anything to do with the problem you are having or perhaps the recipe you are using.  It could also be that the heat of your hands is causing the buttercream to become too soft.  What you can do is have two bags filled and put the one you are not using on top of a pan filled with ice to keep it cool.  When the bag you are using becomes too soft, switch bags.  I'm not sure where you are located.  In this area at Michaels & AC Moore, they sell stickers that you place on the nail head which has some markings to guide you so that you know how far to go with the petals.  That helps until you get enough practice.  Good luck.  I'm not very good at buttercream flowers.

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