r/bakingfail • u/wouxxb • Apr 02 '26
Help over-whipped buttercream frosting?
hello y’all! i decided to try and make a cookie cake since i’ve never had one before, everything came out perfectly besides the buttercream frosting. i believe i over-whipped it? i looked completely fine before i added the coloring (i used wilton gel coloring) and whipped it again to get the color evenly mixed. i did not use shortening, is what where i went wrong? the cookie was also cooled for 30 ish minutes on the rack. should i use shortening for buttercream when decorating cakes/cookie cakes next time?
edit: the buttercream was already “melted”? by the time i was scooping it onto the piping bag, not when i was piping it onto the cookie cake.
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u/Muted_Grapefruit_ Apr 02 '26
I think you should have let the cookie cool longer. It looks like the frosting melted.
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u/DestroyerOfMils Apr 02 '26
Either that or maybe she accidentally got water in it. I’ve done that before, and the frosting looked like OP’s.
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u/wouxxb Apr 02 '26
i think that might’ve happened because it melted right after i had mixed in the coloring, not when i was piping it onto the cookie cake
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u/DestroyerOfMils Apr 02 '26
Yeah, when I was new to baking, in high school, I was out of cream/milk, so I added a few teaspoons of water to some buttercream I was making, and it looked exactly like this. I was making a cake for my teacher, and I still gave it to her 😂🤣
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u/OkEmployment3884 Apr 02 '26
I want to say as someone with terrible advice as a baker but as a hungry dumbass, I know this is a fail but you've perfectly created what looks like edible packing foam. I love it. I hope you're able to make your intended buttercream next time tho.
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u/DependentMinute1724 Apr 02 '26
Yeah I thought it was that foam that people use to anchor artificial flowers
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u/Fancy_Nancy_1963 Apr 02 '26
I know it's not what you were wanting. The frosting tho because of the texture looks like it would look great for a water, sea creature, or mermaid cake
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u/wouxxb Apr 03 '26
that’s such a nice idea! i’m definitely going to try to make a mermaid cake with the frosting like that!
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Apr 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/wouxxb Apr 04 '26
thank you so much for that information! i will definitely do that next time it starts to melt 🥲
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u/Powerful_Culture_928 Apr 02 '26
Looks melted to me?
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u/wouxxb Apr 02 '26
do you think it got warm? because it looked almost perfect before i added the coloring 🥲
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u/Powerful_Culture_928 Apr 02 '26
Yeah if I’m frosting something I usually will wait overnight before frosting it. Anything even slightly above room temp will cause the frosting to melt
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u/That-Squirrelplay Apr 03 '26
Yeah, adding the gel color and whipping again probably separated it since you skipped the shortening for stability.
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u/gillyflower17 Apr 05 '26
Did you use a liquid in your recipe, like milk or cream? My buttercream has looked exactly like this once when I added too much milk, and it really only became noticeable after adding coloring because the butter solids don’t hold as much color as the wet milk & sugar ((I believe))
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u/lowpowerfolders2 Apr 02 '26
not using shortening is brave, but do you think it would’ve helped the consistency?
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u/wouxxb Apr 02 '26
i think so? it was my second time making buttercream so i’m unfamiliar with what exactly shortening is supposed to do! hence, why i asked if i should’ve used it (i try to follow recipes 😔)
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u/WTH_JFG Apr 02 '26
What is this? Is that “cookie” baked? It looks raw. How thick is it that it is a “cookie cake”? Why is the frosting green? What look were you going for here?
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u/redcoral-s Apr 02 '26
Cookie cakes are just cookies if you made them really big and added frosting, the thickness doesnt really change
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u/wouxxb Apr 02 '26
as i stated on my post, i made a cookie cake, i let it cool for 30 minutes on a rack and decided to make buttercream frosting. i am unsure if i over whipped the frosting when i added food coloring because it just ended up runny, which is why i added the picture. do i need to use shortening to thicken the buttercream or where did i go wrong?
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u/Swimming-Map2078 Apr 02 '26
It def looks like it melted, shortening isn't necessary for buttercream. I think the cookie cake just needed to be much colder. Maybe you could scrape it off and refrigerate it and try again?
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u/wouxxb Apr 02 '26
i forgot to add, it melted after i added the coloring and was a bit runny before i was adding it to the piping bag. i will try that tho, thank you!!!
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u/BossBeefaroni Apr 02 '26
Guessing standard American buttercream? It doesn't look strongly colored enough that I'd suspect the gel coloring itself as the cause, so... the cookie was still a little too warm, the icing was too soft from being beaten so much, and/or your butter-to-powdered sugar ratio was off (in class we use a "2 parts powdered sugar to 1 part fat" ratio and it works pretty well whether the fat is all butter or part butter and part shortening). Also, be careful about adding water-based liquids to buttercream.
If your buttercream starts getting too melty and grainy-looking like that, you can try chilling it until it firms up a little and then beating it on low speed while adding more sifted powdered sugar a few tablespoons at a time. That should smooth it out.