Buttercream frosting tips?

[21baking]

Hi there everyone!
First post here on baking forums!

I'm not a pro baker and a lot of the time my baking probably comes out with a side note of "It looked better in my head" or "It tastes better then it looks, I swear!" But I'd say that I am slowly improving in the decoration aspect of baking!

My favourite go to frosting is buttercream, up until just a couple of months a go I was whisking by hang and only recently got an electric mixer. However I noticed most of the time my buttercream wouldn't feel smooth, and was a little grainy, like I could still feel the sugar crystals. I used to put this down to whisking by hand, but I still get the same problem using my electric mixer.

The general recipe I follow is:
150g butter, softened
2 cups icing sugar
1/2 -1 tsp vanilla essence
And add a splash of milk if it's a little thick

What do you think I'm doing wrong?

 

[justusforus]

I find if the butter is not properly softened it can become grainy and I am not sure if it is the sugar crystals or the butter. Hopefully if y try letting the butter warm up more it will melt the crystals as well as not cause issues itself. Good luck.

 

[Christine Mlinek]

justusforus is right on the butter part. If you soften the butter in the microwave, you run the risk of grainy texture. It could also be the ratio of butter to sugar. Are you sifting the sugar first? The recipe linked here might help. It was very informative on how to soften the butter, and how much ratio of sugar to butter

http://savorysweetlife.com/2010/03/buttercream-frosting/

Butter


1 ounce = 28.34 grams, so one cup of butter weighs 227 grams.
1/4 cup of butter = 57 g
1/3 cup of butter = 76 g
1/2 cup of butter = 113 g

 

[floursugareggsandbutter]

This is an old thread but I noticed no one actually told the OP how to fix this problem only how to prevent.
You will need some very hot water and a spoon.
Leaving the BC in the mixing bowl, turn it to med low speed.
Add small amts of water in at a time until the grains of 10x are gone.
If the consistency is a bit too soft stick the bowl in the fridge until things thicken up again.
Remember SMALL amts of the water.
You don't want a runny product.

Huny

Forgot....you could use hot milk but I have found the hot water to be more efficient.....so it took less.