Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Buttercream Icing in Hot Weather... Help!

  • 07-06-2018 11:06pm
    #1
    Toots
    Administrators, Business & Finance Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 16,926 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭


    I'm a total buttercream novice so I'm hoping someone here can offer some baking wisdom. My daughter's christening is in a few weeks, and I'm planning to do a small cake (about 8") and then a load of cupcakes with buttercream icing.

    The cake was originally going to be chocolate biscuit, but the afters/food is going to be outdoors at a hotel, so I'd be worried a chocolate biscuit cake would melt if the weather is as hot as it's been over the last few days. I'm going to go with sponge with a buttercream centre and then roll out fondant icing.

    I'm wondering will the cupcake icing be in danger of melting also? I'm assuming that seeing as the main ingredient is butter, there's a chance that it will. Is there anything I can do with it to make it non-melty? Would a swiss or italian meringue buttercream be more stable?


Comments

  • #2
    phormium
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,351 ✭✭✭phormium


    Very optimistic thinking we will still have this weather in a few weeks :) hope you are right!

    But for your cake problems then ordinary buttercream will be fine provided it is not in direct sunlight, nothing butter based will survive a direct hit! It will be soft but ok, a bigger problem if sweet food like that is outside will be wasps and other general winged things, they love the sugar.

    I would still go with your original plan for a chocolate biscuit cake, it can be done further ahead of time and will serve more and will actually survive the heat better, just cut down on the amount of butter in the recipe so a higher proportion of chocolate, that's assuming it still is actually warmer then.

    If the layers of buttercream in a sponge start softening too much then you risk bulging on the sides of your fondant covered cake, not to mind how messy it will be to serve if very soft. At least the chocolate biscuit will retain some shape for picking up, again assuming you are not going to put it in direct sunlight on a hot day.

    If it's a hotel that regularly serves food outside like this they surely have some sort of covering like a gazebo for displaying it, you'd need some shelter for the food from direct sun, again if we are lucky enough to have it, it might be extra umbrellas you need by then :)


Advertisement