runny frosting.. help!

amira

Hi all,

I tried to make some cupcakes today. the buns were nice and fluffy but i couldnt make my frosting stiff enough..
The recipe i followed called for 75gr butter and 150gr icing sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1tbsp milk.
First i tried to do it in the food processor, it was a bit runny but when i added the tbsp of milk that was just liquid!! tried adding loads more sugar, but didnt work.
I tried again, this time manually and didnt add any milk, still the mix was very runny.

I didnt use butter, i've read that it doesnt matter if it's margarine, so i used flora light, which i'm not sure if it's margarine, butter or what??

I just want it to be stiff enough so i can pipe it and make a nice swirl looking cupcake..

What am i doing wrong??

huskerdu

Thats a pretty standard recipe for butter icing and is suitable for butter or full fat margarine, but Flora Light is not a full fat margarine, its a low-fat spread.

I have never tried to use it in baking or making icing but its so light and soft,
but I am not surprised that it isn't successful in butter icing. Its essentially watered down margarine.

Try using butter or a higher fat margarine.

Acoshla

What huskerdu said! The recipe said use butter but you used a completely different product, of course it didn't work. Even if it did solidify it probably wouldn't taste great.

amira

Beginners mistake, was my first time.. :rolleyes:
Will use butter in the future!

Thanks

phormium

Well sure you have learned from your mistake! Flora light works okay enough if you are looking for a low fat product in baking but it is essentially half water and as you discovered way too runny for icing. Not that tasty either.

emzolita

amira wrote: »

Beginners mistake, was my first time.. :rolleyes:
Will use butter in the future!

Thanks

use unsalted butter in frosting, it's nicer.

olaola

Same goes for cream cheese frosting. Use full fat, the low fat doesn't work. And I find the Lidl/Aldi own brand full fat versions don't work either! I find it's Philly or nothing.

amira

thanks everybody!! will defo follow your advice next time!! looking forward to it already!!

annamcmahon

I'd go as far as to say it needs to be Philly in the silver foil rather than the carton. It's a much firmer consistency.

janmaree

For what it's worth, I melt the butter in my butter icing and use cream instead of milk, it's easy to work with and sets up a bit firmer. This makes the finished article easier to handle and easier to transport if you're taking it somewhere. Mind you, I've been baking for centuries and I still get lots of things wrong so listen to me at your peril!!!

amira

annamcmahon wrote: »

I'd go as far as to say it needs to be Philly in the silver foil rather than the carton. It's a much firmer consistency.

where would you buy this? i checked in my local tesco and they only have the one on the carton..

My next attempt it's going to be red velvet cupcakes and it seems they're done with cream cheese..

Haven't tried the buttercream again yet.. but i will soon..

thanks everybody for the advise.. really appreciate it!!

annamcmahon

It doesn't seem to be widely available anymore. If you are prepared to spend extra money you could get an artisan made variety. The philly in a tub or own brand equivalent is definitely runnier.

harrismargaret

I have a same issue, but I make my frosting using whipping cream and a tablespoon of powdered sugar and tsp of vanilla extract to 200ml of whipping cream. I also end up with runny frosting, not very runny but I would love if its bit stiff, so that the swirls I create stay on beautifully. Am I over whipping it or under whipping or is it the speed of hand held mixer that I use. Any experts out there please help. Thanks in advance

phormium

If you are just using cream as the topping then you will get a thicker whip with double cream or I find Glenisk organic cream is much better for whipping than what is normally sold as whipping cream which I find very watery these days especially the own brand ones.

There is also a way of adding gelatine to whipped cream to create a more stable whip but that is complicating things a bit for a few buns!