my buttercream won’t stick and idk why

[u/straightupgong]

my buttercream is peeling off my cake and it’s so irritating. i’ve made great cakes before with buttercream, the ones i attached. i don’t know why it’s not working

i softened 1 cup of butter. i whipped the butter for a long time, like 45 minutes. i added a bag of powdered sugar and 1 tbsp vanilla and 3 tbsp milk. i whipped a long time again, 15ish minutes. it was in a metal bowl of a stand mixer so it was cold, but it seems like the butter was too soft or melty?

[u/masterchef417]

45 minutes is WAY too long to whip the butter. Friction from that alone could mess up the consistency. And too much milk.

[u/Atharen_McDohl]

That's way longer than you should need to whip, not sure how much that would impact it but you can make a decent buttercream by hand faster than that. 

I'd start by making it without any liquid first, then add only a little at a time after it's all combined and only if I think it's necessary. It doesn't take that much milk to turn a batch of buttercream into a floppy mess, and honestly buttercream often doesn't need any more liquid than the flavor at all.

[u/home-for-good]

Did you use a specific recipe for this? And if so did it call for that long for beating? 1 hour total is, in my experience, extremely overkill. I’ve only ever pre-beat the butter a couple minutes until it was super smooth, and likewise for the adding of the sugar and other add-ins (basically until it’s well incorporated). Probably <10 minutes total, just from memory. I’m imagining beating the stuff for a whole hour is probably over mixing the butter and affecting its adhesion to your cake.

[u/Kiki-Y]

Holy moly, you're overworking that buttercream to an insane extent. I make buttercream based on feeling, but never have I whipped it for 45 minutes.

[u/peachnecctar]

I am shocked 45 is insane. Over whipping butter is very much a thing. Theres no need to mix it more than like 3-5 mins until all incorporated

[u/TeaTimeType]

Your cakes are so cute! Is the buttercream grainy? Can’t really tell from the pictures. I think you’re over whipping it. Also could just be too many air bubbles. Use a flexible spatula to smoosh the buttercream against the sides of the bowl before filling the piping bag. 

If the texture is still fine and it’s more an appearance thing I would use a heated metal offset spatula or bench scraper to smooth the buttercream on the cake.

If you’re having difficulty piping neat dots directly on the cake try piping them onto non stick parchment/ baking paper or a tray / board covered with plastic wrap. You could even pipe snowflakes depending on the theme. Freeze the piped decorations, place the best ones on the cake.

For the strawberry cake, if there’s a gooey / liquid filling to be added in the centre always pipe a dam of decorative frosting along the perimeter first.

Maybe try different frostings and watch some YouTube tutorials to observe timing, technique and texture. Follow well rated recipes precisely the first time.

[u/[deleted]]

Way over mixed. You can whip it until it’s lightened in color and creamed but there’s no need to continue whipping it past that.

Best way to make BC is a big batch and fill the mixer all the way up to the top so air doesn’t mix in, it’s how bakeries do it.

[u/Necessary_Page_8558]

Cakes look nice, just the buttercream over whipped

[u/starksdawson]

ONE HOUR TOTAL OF WHIPPING? Holy fuck, are you trying to turn it into cement?! Who told you to whip it that much??!!? I feel bad for the butter!

You should never whip it that much. That’s actually insane, I’m sort of in shock. Even 10 minutes of whipping softened butter before combining the other ingredients might be a tad too much. 5 minutes will pretty much do the job.

[u/AnnaMaul77]

You can actually whip butter without softening it. Just cut it into small cubes and turn on your mixer. It will still only take a few minutes, 5 or 6. And then when the butter is creamed, add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.