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Hi, can anyone advise on how to make a nice smooth textured buttercream? I use a Kenwood mixer. Room temp butter to icing sugar 1:2 ratio. Whizz for about 6-8 mins. I have tried various speeds medium to high. Add vanilla extract. The taste is lovely but I get a slightly grainy texture. When I add cream cheese for cupcakes its fine again. I have asked others to taste it and they cant tell. But I have tried other bakers in the past which aren’t grainy! I use either tesco organic butter or yeo valley with the same results. Any advise much appreciated!!

Hi angelcyrus

I don’t make buttercream very often but when I do I add melted white chocolate which makes for a lovely smooth buttercream. If I don’t have any white chocolate I add a tablespoon of hot water and beat well. The hot water helps to dissolve the icing sugar making it easier to incorporate with the butter. You’ll find a recipe for white chocolate buttercream here http://www.cakeflix.com/blog/making-an-egg-free-cake just scroll down until to get to the recipe. This is not a crusting type only for filling, if you’d like it to crust increase the icing sugar. There is a milk chocolate buttercream recipe here http://www.cakeflix.com/online-cake-decorating-courses/how-to-make-chocolate-buttercream and buttercream recipe here http://www.cakeflix.com/online-cake-decorating-courses/buttercream-tutorial Hope these help.

Instead of using all butter I use half butter half trex and have no problems, it also makes the buttercream paler so adding any colour if needed is easier too….Happy baking.

Great thank you for all the tips!! I cant wait to try them!

Hi, I watched Paul’s milk chocolate buttercream recipe (thank you madeitwithlove). Rushed to get the ingredients, made it and it was really grainy! I seem to be getting worse not better. I will try the hot water but I dont hold out much hope for me. It seems so hit and miss.

Hi there,
I have made buttercream for years and never had this problem, but recently I, too, am finding that my buttercream and cream cheese frosting both seem to develop a grainy texture and taste.
They are perfectly smooth when mixed and remain so when first used to fill or “top” a cake.
I find that after a day or so they develop the grainy texture.
Interestingly, any left over buttercream or cream cheese frosting which I have covered and kept in the fridge, have remained perfectly smooth .
So, is it exposure to the air that causes the grainy texture to develop?
I have see many sites where people are reporting the same problem.
Are there additions, these days, to the icing sugar that causes this result?
I reminds me of the widespread problem of cupcake liners peeling away. Again, a problem I never had years ago, which makes me wonder if manufacturers are changing/adding things that cause these problems.
Any comments or suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thank you.
Deane-mae

I use the same amount of icing sugar as I do butter. I use a Kitchenaid mixer and I beat the butter for 4 minutes, then add the icing sugar a spoon at a time mixing for a minute each time. Then vanilla. Finally I put the mixer on full speed (10) for 7 minutes. The buttercream is fluffy and not grainy.

Also I have just tried the new Lurpak baking, soft from the fridge, butter. It is brilliant. You can make up your buttercream and store it in the fridge and it is always ready to go, keeps for ages too!