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Hi. My buttercream covered cakes set up nice and tasty enough, but when I move them to the fridge after the buttercream has hardened and have them covered in nylon type wrap, the buttercream ends up being soft without that hard set up texture when I unwrap to serve. I assume that this is because the nylon wrap is keeping the moisture in and therefore not allowing the buttercream to remain nice and stiff. It keeps its form, just doesn’t feel right in the mouth. Should I just sit the cake in the fridge without a nylon covering? perhaps with a light foil covering? with something else? I cannot leave cakes out on the counter. It’s too hot here. Even while decorating, the cakes are continuously in and out of the freezer / fridge. What would you suggest? Looking forward to hearing from you.

Hi franke

The temperature of your fridge may need adjusting, perhaps the heat is causing the fridge to work extra hard.
Other ways would be to make buttercream suited for hot humid countries. In many tropical countries half shortening and half butter is used for a more heat resistant butter cream. I’m not able to set links at the moment, my computer is playing up. However if you google Wilton buttercream recipe you’ll see what I mean. You could also add ganache or white melted chocolate to buttercream to give it more structure. Go to the free/beginners section, Paul has a full tutorial on giving structure to buttercream.
Another way would be to add a tablespoonful of meringue powder while mixing up your BC. Google how to use meringue powder in buttercream for instructions. You could also make stiffer buttercream by using more icing sugar to butter ratio. It is possible that you’re right in that the nylon covering may be causing the problem. I wouldn’t cover it with anything at all. If you have a cake dome that would be better. Hope some of these suggestions help. Oh, and what exactly feels wrong with the mouth feel of the buttercream? x