This Summer, something happened to me that has never happened before (to my knowledge at least): one of my cakes melted in the outdoor heat. I made a birthday cake for a dear friend’s daughter – my vegan vanilla cake with vegan vanilla buttercream. The party was outdoors and the temperature was around 85 degrees. I refrigerated the cake up until I needed to drive it to the party, thinking that would be enough to preserve it for a few hours. But about an hour after the cake was displayed, the thing started melting (along with my heart). Thankfully, these were the kind of friends who were able to laugh about it with me as it all fell apart. Here’s a before and after:
Although it was a first for me, it got me thinking about so many of you who live in hot and humid climates. I’ve even gotten questions over the years from said people wondering how to make their buttercream more heat stable. The fact of the matter is, the butter in buttercream frosting starts to break down when it’s in an environment that’s above 82 degrees, and vegan butter has an even lower melting point. So, I thought I’d do some experimenting on how to add stability to your buttercream (both vegan and non) for those hot and humid days while keeping your frosting nice and tasty.
For my experiment, I created four mini cakes and frosted them each with different frostings using my favorite vanilla buttercream recipe as a base:
- All butter (aka the recipe as-is)
- Half butter and half shortening
- Half butter and half shortening + meringue powder for added stability
- Half vegan butter and half shortening (with coconut milk as the liquid)
I refrigerated each cake until firm before placing them in the direct sun on an 88 degree day with 35% humidity and here’s a video of what happened:
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Buttercream Heat Test Results
Over the course of the two hours I had the cakes in the sun, none of them completely melted, which was kind of disappointing because I wanted things to be more dramatic. The day just wasn’t hot enough. So in the end, I had to break out the hair dryer to see what would happen with more heat applied.
After I cranked up the heat on these cakes, the all-butter buttercream frosted cake melted into soup:
The cake with the half vegan butter and half shortening got a huge air bubble in the frosting that started to melt:
The half butter and half shortening frosted cake looked pretty good after one hour but this is after two hours out in the direct sun + hair dryer:
And the half butter/half shortening with added meringue powder had relatively no change:
I did try an all-shortening frosting because I hear that’s really heat stable, but just couldn’t get over how terrible it tasted. You’d have to use a lot of flavoring to get it to taste normal (and even then, the texture is a little weird).
I concluded that when you’re up against crazy heat (according to these test results at least), use half butter and half shortening with meringue powder. If you’re in need of vegan frosting, you can chance it with half vegan butter and half shortening or try the all-shortening route (with the meringue powder omitted) if you can get it to taste good. I’m going to add my preferred recipe below and in the notes, I will show you how to adapt the recipe for using all-shortening, making it vegan, etc.
What is High Ratio Shortening?
When you think of shortening, what do you think of? Crisco is what I thought of before all my research into heat stable buttercream. It turns out that Crisco (and most shortening) is made with zero trans fat – in other words, it won’t add enough stability to your frosting. So in order to add that stability, you need what’s called high ratio shortening (sometimes called icing shortening). High ratio shortening has a high ratio of fat with added emulsifiers and no added salt or water. In other words, the micro emulsifiers in it help your frosting to hold more sugar and liquid and thus make it more temperature resistant.
Unlike Crisco though, high ratio shortening can’t be found at your typical grocery store. I found this high ratio shortening on Amazon,, but there are other brands that cake decorators use (see the list below). You might be lucky and live close to a cake decorating shop that sells high ratio shortening, so check your local area to see. If you can’t find it locally, here are some links to online cake shops I’ve collected (not sponsored):
- Sweetex High Ratio Shortening
- Alpine High Ratio Shortening
- Bake Supply High Ratio Shortening
- Oasis High Ratio Shortening
What is Meringue Powder?
Meringue powder is basically powdered egg whites, but it also contains cornstarch, sugar for sweetness, gum arabic for thickening, and cream of tartar which helps with stabilizing. If you want to try just adding meringue powder to your buttercream without adding any shortening, add 1 Tbsp (per batch of frosting) by mixing it into the powdered sugar before adding it to the butter in the linked recipe.
With taste and stability in mind, here’s my new go-to recipe for heat stable buttercream:
Heat Stable Vanilla Buttercream
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 Cup (100g) high ratio shortening*
- 3 1/2 Cups (420g) powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp meringue powder
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp whole milk or heavy whipping cream, room temperature
- 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
Instructions
- With a hand mixer or paddle attachment on your stand mixer, cream the butter and shortening on medium-high until it’s creamy and light (almost white) in color. About 7 minutes.
- Whisk the meringue powder into the powdered sugar. Then, with the mixer on low, add the meringue/powdered sugar mixture one cup at a time, scraping down after each addition and making sure each cup is fully incorporated before adding the next one.
- Add vanilla, milk, and salt and mix on low for another minute until fully incorporated.
Notes
- Frost 12-15 cupcakes with a piping bag
- Fill and crumb coat a three-layer 6-inch cake or two-layer 8-inch cake. To have enough for frosting and decorating as well, double the recipe.
Did you try this recipe? I want to know that you think! Let me know in the comments below or feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram and show me. I love to see what you create! And if you have a go-to recipe for heat stable buttercream or technique that you swear by, let us all know in the comments. We’re all in this together!
Hello!! Your recipe looks amazing and I love that you use meringue powder in it. I am wondering if this stable buttercream frosting meets the requirements for Wisconsin cottage law? I am looking for a stable buttercream for my cookies and am hoping this would work!
Hi Kendra! I’m not familiar with Wisconsin cottage law, so I can’t say for sure. I would look up what the law requirements are and compare it with the recipe. The buttercream doesn’t require refrigeration because the small amount of dairy is preserved with the sugar content, and it stays fresh for about 5 days at room temperature. I hope that helps!
Hello. Is it OK to store my cake outside of the refrigerator overnight, if I use the recipe that is half butter, half shortening, and meringue powder, and the room temperature is below 74°?
Hi Heather! Yes, it’s totally fine to leave the cake out overnight for a day or two. I like to refrigerate my cakes just to preserve the decorations but I always bring them back to room temp for serving. Hope that helps!
Hi Whitney, I have a few questions that I need answered quickly I have to start baking in two days and I want time to practice!! Sorry for rushing you. So I’m baking 108 cupcakes for a 4 hour long birthday party it will be inside but with that many people in a small room it will be hot. Also I will be decorating my hem two days in advance and serving them on the third day. So my first question is will vegetable shortening without it be high ratio be good enough for it to sit at room temperature for three days? And will the vegetable shortening change the consistency of the frosting to much to where it would not be able to be piped? Basically will it all work out completely fine if I use it. Second I know I will have to try to cool the cupcakes down but they will be sitting in a building completely without AC and without a fridge or a freezer. Will they be okay? I think that’s all I need to know I’m sorry it’s a lot, but I do need to know really quickly the answers.
Hi Delaney! Using vegetable shortening will make the frosting more stable, even if it’s not high-ratio shortening. It will still be perfectly pipeable. I would substitute half of the butter in the recipe with shortening for an event with those conditions. You could consider substituting all of the butter with shortening, but the flavor of the frosting won’t be as rich as it is with some butter in the mix. I hope that helps!
Hi there I made the heat stable vanilla buttercream and it was to die for everyone loved it!! Just wondering if I were to make a lemon flavoured batch of this and added lemon juice instead of the vanilla if that would affect the stability in any way ☺️
Hi Tayana! I’m so happy you love this recipe! For lemon flavored buttercream I would use this recipe: https://sugarandsparrow.com/lemon-buttercream-recipe, but sub half of the butter for shortening and add 1 Tbsp meringue powder. Enjoy!
Hi! Thank you so much for this recipe, I want to try it out, but meringue powder is quite hard to get here in my area, what’s a nice substitute for this?
Hi Joh! I have heard that an equal amount of cream of tartar can be used as a substitute. If you can’t find either of those, you can omit that part of the recipe and still have a great heat stable frosting with the shortening/butter combo. Hope that helps!
Thank a lot for sharing this recipe turned out great, was for a wedding cupcakes and it was extremely warm with no AC.
Yay, Rina! I’m so happy to hear that it was a success!!
How would this work with cream cheese frosting?
Hi Porsche! In the same way, you’ll just sub half or all of the butter in a cream cheese buttercream recipe with high ratio shortening, and add 1 Tbsp of meringue powder per batch.
How would you do the recipe with cream cheese or do you have a stable cream cheese frosting recipe that would work without it being melted?
Hi Rochelle! For a more stable cream cheese frosting, I would sub half of the butter in the recipe with shortening and add 1 tbsp of meringue powder to this recipe: https://sugarandsparrow.com/cream-cheese-buttercream-recipe/
Hello I was wondering if I can substitute the milk or heavy cream for water just because I cannot use/sell anything with potentially hazardous ingredients as a local cottage food producer. Thank you:)
Hi Skylar! Water won’t bring this buttercream recipe together nearly as well since it doesn’t have any fat to bind the ingredients together. I think the dairy ingredients in frosting are okay as long as it’s not cream cheese buttercream, which requires strict refrigeration. This frosting doesn’t require refrigeration since the high amount of sugar in the recipe ends up preserving the dairy. If you’re worried about it, you could use a non-dairy milky. Soy milk would be my top recommendation.
Hi, the amount of powdered sugar is too sweet for my taste. Can I reduce one cup of sugar and add an additional spoon of merengue ?
Hi Claudia. You can try reducing the amount of powdered sugar, although I’m not sure if the consistency will be too thin when reducing it by a full cup. I have reduced the amount by 1/2 Cup successfully, but a full cup will be an experiment. Let me know how it turns out if you try it!
What kind of shortening do you recommend? Does it make it taste different if you only use shortening? Do you have any recommendations for making an orange buttercream?
If you can find hi-ratio shortening (aka icing shortening) that is the best to use because it contains certain ingredients that allow the frosting to hold more sugar and liquid and thus make it more temperature resistant. This is a good brand: https://store.sweetlifecakesupply.com/products/sweetex-high-ratio-shortening?variant=43727730180399 but any vegetable shortening will be more heat resistant than butter. It will taste different if you use all shortening, I explain the flavor in the blog post above.
By orange buttercream do you mean flavor or color? For my favorite orange flavored buttercream recipe I recommend the frosting from this cake: https://sugarandsparrow.com/cranberry-orange-cake-recipe/ if you mean coloring the frosting orange, I’d recommend adding some orange food color gel until the desired color is reached.
Hi, how do you prevent your cakes from sweating after removing it from the fridge when it it for a daytime outdoor event? I’ve found that the cake is fine until I put it in the fridge, as it sweats once removed. I’ve tried letting it sit in a cake box for about an hour but it still sweats once it’s removed from the box and put on display. Thanks
Hi Natalie! I’ve never had an issue with condensation, but probably because I live in a really mild climate (pacific northwest). From what I’ve read, the only thing you can really do is minimize the temperature difference between the refrigerator and the outside air. Condensation happens when there’s a big and/or sudden change in temperature. I have found that when I keep my refrigerator at around 40ºF I never have an issue with condensation (my house is about 70ºF), but when I keep the refrigerator at a lower temp like 34ºF the cake is more likely to have condensation. Perhaps try experimenting with your refrigerator temperature? That’s the only advice I can offer!
Just moved to Louisiana and it’s the first time I’ve had to think about heat stable frosting for a September party. Learned a lot from this, and it worked wonderfully!
Yay, Rae! So happy this was helpful!
Just made this recipe and it was a huge hit and the frosting stood up to the heat. I read in your article it can be refrigerated up to two weeks. How long could this frosting be left on the counter and can leftovers be put in freezer for later use?
Hi Amanda! So happy this frosting was a hit! It can be left out at room temp for up to 2 days, leftovers can be kept in the freezer for up to 2 months. Hope that helps!
I made a triple batch of this (which all fit in my kitchen aid stand mixer bowl, yay) and it was just enough to crumb coat, frost, and pipe decorations on two 9×13 cakes. I had about a cup of frosting leftover. It pipes and holds its shape super well. I bought the high-ratio shortening from Sweet Life Cake Supply and was happy with it.
Yay, Abby! So happy this recipe was a hit!
I tried the recipe, and I’m not sure what I did….or didn’t do. My icing became almost like playdough. I did use heat to increase the food coloring effect. Once cooked and whipped the color was great and it looked smooth, but was not easily spreading and felt very much like playdough. I used heat again and hot water for my bench scrapper to smooth it out. It was not my easiest moment. But it does appear to hold up well. I live in Texas and this cake will be at a Pier by the lake, and will definitely need the stability. I’d like to hear your take on what may have gone wrong please.
Hi Krystal! It definitely shouldn’t have a playdoh-like consistency. It should just be a spreadable, pipeable frosting consistency. I’ve never tried the heating method while coloring this particular recipe, so my first thought is it could have something to do with that (maybe a chemical reaction with the meringue powder in the microwave?). Was the frosting a good consistency until you heated it in the microwave for coloring? My only other thought is that somehow you added too much powdered sugar/not enough liquid. Hard to say for sure.
Hello!
The shortening you recommend isn’t available any longer and the Sweetex is a 50 lb container LOL. What other brands do you recommend? I’d like to try this substitute for the generic, everyday vegetable shortening. No cake or kitchen stores anywhere near where I am, unfortunately!
Thank you – and please keep your great recipes up!!
– Fiona
Hi Fiona! High ratio shortening is hard to come by lately! It should still work with regular vegetable shortening as a sub.
Hi! I’m making a cake for my twin niece and nephew second birthday party in late July! The event center will be outside at a splash pad! I’m in Salt Lake City, Utah and the summers here can get up to 90°-100°. (Desert life sucks…) Will this buttercream survive extremely hot temps? I’m pretty sure the dessert table will be shaded.
Hi Shantell! Wow, that is very hot weather! As long as the dessert table is shaded and you keep the cake refrigerated until right before you head to the event, it should be totally fine for at least an hour or two. Hope that helps!
I doubled the recipe, including the meringue powder. Now the buttercream taste off. Sweeter than normal. Should I have only added 1 tbsp of meringue powder instead of 2? Do I just add a little more salt to balance the sweetness?
Hi Teresa-Ann! The doubling of the recipe should have produced the same flavor as long as all of the ingredients were doubled. If it’s sweeter than normal that would moreso point to adding too much powdered sugar. You could absolutely add more salt to balance the sweetness.
Hi there I am Rehvathi from Malaysia,I would like to know how to fix when the texture is grainy. Your help is much needed. Thank you.
Hi Rehvathi! If the texture is grainy, it typically means the powdered sugar isn’t fully dissolved. Keep mixing it on low speed for an additional 1-5 minutes. Hope that helps!
Greetings, I’m from India, where the weather is extremely hot and humid. I just wanted to ask if this butter cream would still work in humid conditions because I’m making an engagement cake for my niece, which is taking place in the midst of summer. Despite my concerns, I appreciate you sharing this recipe and can’t wait to try it.God bless you .
Hi Deepa! This recipe should work great in hot/humid weather but I would test it ahead of time just to make sure. Enjoy!
How long can this be unrefrigerated for?
Hi Stacey! It can technically be at room temperature for a few days, but if it’s on a cake in hot weather it will depend on how hot/humid and whether or not it’s in direct sunlight. It should last for several hours if it’s in the shade and the temperature is less than 85 degrees. The blog post above explains some experimenting I did with heat and humidity.
Hi I was wondering if I was to do the half butter half shortening with the mock Swiss meringue buttercream would it still be this stable?
Hi Kelly! I’ve never made mock swiss meringue buttercream (now I want to though!) so I’m not sure exactly what the results would be. It would be an experiment!
Hi, whitney nice to meet you! Living in Indonesia, which has high temperatures, has made me try lots of buttercream recipes that can withstand high temperatures. Thank you for this recipe ^-^ I have a question, if I want to use couverture chocolate, what’s the ratio between powdered sugar and couverture chocolate? Thankyou
Hi Lita! I’ve never tried adding melted chocolate to this recipe, so I’m not entirely sure. Instead, I would make this chocolate buttercream recipe with cocoa powder but sub half of the butter with high ratio shortening + add 1 Tbsp of meringue powder: https://sugarandsparrow.com/chocolate-buttercream-recipe/
The same brand of shortening you recommend is no longer available on Amazon. That brand does carry a buttercream mix that already has the meringue powder in it though. Have you tried that product, or is there a different brand of shortening you would recommend? The other brands I see on Amazon only have 50lb sizes available and are pricey. I’m a home baker, so I don’t need that much product.
Hi Laura! I have never tried that buttercream mix, my biggest concern is that it wouldn’t taste good. If that brand of high ratio shortening is sold out though there are other brands that will do just as well. Try Googling “high ratio shortening” or “cake and icing shortening” and any of the brands available should work. Some notable ones I’ve tried before are Sweetex and Alpine. Hope that helps!
I used this recipe for my cousin’s 3-tier, pearl covered wedding cake. It was an outdoor/ indoor venue in the beginning of September in Michigan (very hard to know how hot it could have been). This frosting held up beautifully and kept all the sugar pearls (many of them quite large) perfectly in place! Also, everyone LOVED how it tasted. Thank you much for an awesome recipe that took quite of a bit of anxiety out of putting together my first wedding cake for someone else!
Yay, Lillian! That makes me so happy, especially that it helped reduce your anxiety. Your first wedding cake is a HUGE deal and I’m so proud of you!
I’ve used this recipe 2x now for my Daughter’s June birthday in Wisconsin. Definitely holds up. Can’t find HRS but used Crisco and still works well.
Any suggestions on how I could get it to spread better?
Yay, Celina! So happy it worked well with Crisco! If it ends up too thick you can add an additional Tablespoon of room temperature milk to thin it out and make it more spreadable. Keep adding more room temperature milk as needed. Hope that helps!
Just wondering why you omit the meringue powder in the vegan version of this recipe? Thank you
Hi there! Simply because meringue powder is made from egg whites and isn’t vegan. Otherwise I would include it!
Thank you for this recipe! I was asked (by a friend of the family) to make my first wedding cake.
Being in SoCal during August made me nervous, but after a lot of research I went with this buttercream recipe. I made sure to test the buttercream on a practice cake. It was delicious!
I was told the wedding party loved the cake and it didn’t break a sweat! Thank you! I look forward to trying out your other recipes!
Yay, Teresa-Ann! I’m so glad this recipe helped and congratulations on making your first wedding cake! That is a huge deal and I’m so proud of you 🙂 So happy it was a hit with the guests too!
Hi! Love the attention to high-humidity requirements. Couple of questions:
Does this recipe scale well? I need to decorate over 40 cupcakes.
How many cups per dozen when piping decorations, not just smoothing some on?
Thanks!
Hi Kathy! Yes, this recipe scales really well. It makes 3 Cups, which is enough to pipe decorations on about 15 cupcakes. I’d make 2.5x the recipe to make enough for 40 cupcakes. Hope that helps!
Do you actually prepare the meringue powder, or do you just add the “dry” meringue powder to the ingredients?
Hi Sheri! I use this dry meringue powder: https://amzn.to/458wEEN hope that helps!
This is my new go to vanilla icing. I used it for my sisters wedding cake, outdoor reception-July in the South, it was hot and humid and this cake remained beautiful. Not only did it hold up well, it was absolutely delicious. It wasn’t nearly as sweet as my normal American buttercream and it didn’t have a strange aftertaste like when I use regular shortening. Thank you so much for sharing, it was a lifesaver!
I’m so happy to hear that, Shauna! Thanks so much for your feedback!
Would cream of tartar hold up the frosting?
Hi Richie! I haven’t experimented with cream of tartar but it sounds like it could be a good stabilizer! Let me know if you try it.
Just made this recipe and I am extremely happy with it. It tastes great and I put it next to my heated oven for about a half hour and no changes in it’s form. Can the recipe be doubled or even tripled?
That’s amazing, Angel! I’m so happy this recipe was a hit! It can absolutely be doubled, tripled, and scaled up any way you want!
Hi Whitney, can I do butter, meringue powder and all vegetable shortening as an alternative to HRS? thanks so much
Hi Norma! Yes, if you can’t find high ratio shortening then all-vegetable shortening and meringue powder should work to stabilize against the heat. If you can find HRS, that will be your most heat stable option.
Can I add anything to this after it’s made? I’d like to make this but add marshmallow fluff to it.
Hi Dulce! I have never done that before, but you are welcome to try it. Since marshmallow fluff is so sweet I would recommend reducing the powdered sugar if you do add it.
Hi Whitney!
I am unable to find HRS in my country.
In a previous comment you had mentioned using all butter and meringue powder.
Does that mean adding an additional 100g of butter(the quantity of HRS in the recipe is 100g)?
And if so, what are the changes in the quantity of meringue powder?
Thank you!
Hi Shreeya! If using all butter, you’ll want to add an additional 113g of butter (it weighs a little more than shortening) and add 1 Tbsp of meringue powder per batch. Just to clarify, this won’t be as heat stable as using HRS, so if this is for an important event I would do some experimenting first.
Hello I just saw the recepie and its good for what i am looking for. I have been searching for a recipe like this for my wedding cake. I am asking to see what the rations or measurements for a wedding cake for 100 people. how much will i have to make for a two tear cake size 12″ and 9″ cakes with fillings.
Yay, Guadalupe! I hope you love this recipe and congratulations on your wedding. To fill and frost a two tiered cake of that size, I would make 5-6x the recipe. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I used it for my 3 tier wedding cake (subbing a little almond extract for vanilla and adding a little purple gel color to make it a crisp white), and it held up super well outdoors in August. Delicious, too!
Yay, Jess! I am so happy it was a hit and worked so well for the August heat!
Hello,
What would I need to do if I wanted to add chocolate.
Hi Sonya! To make a chocolate version, use this chocolate buttercream recipe and sub half the butter with high ratio shortening + add 1 Tbsp meringue powder: https://sugarandsparrow.com/chocolate-buttercream-recipe/
Hello, I made the frosting last night for a test for son’s upcoming wedding and it tasted great. I stored in airtight container overnight in the fridge, and brought it to room temp today and tried to re whip in mixer and the entire thing turned to liquid. Was I only supposed to hand stir instead of using the mixer or what went wrong. Really want to use the recipe but now scared as won’t have time to make new if happens again. Thank you
Hi Carey! That is really strange. Did you substitute anything or change any amounts? And how warm was it in your kitchen when you were bringing it to room temp?
Hi, I followed the recipe exactly with no substitutions; used sweetex shortening; kitchen is set at 72. I need to make the frosting tonight ao can decorate the cake tomorrow. Should I just leave out on the counter tonight or try to put in fridge again. I have never made in advance before so new territory for me. Thank you so much for response and am sorry I didn’t see your response earlier so hopefully can get answer to ight
I would put it in the refrigerator until the morning, then bring it back to room temp (68ºF). I’m not sure why yours ended up thin but if you need to thicken it up, you can either add some cornstarch (up to 1/4 Cup) or more powdered sugar, balanced with salt so that it doesn’t end up too sweet.
Awesome recipe! Made this for a wedding cake in Hawaii. Turned out amazing and held up perfectly in the heat and humidity.
Yay, Ashleigh! That makes me so happy!
Hi, I’m decorating a cake later today and the temp here in the uk has risen to 35 degrees. I’m using crisp n dry shortening as recommended by someone on here. I can’t find meringue powder, only powdered egg white. I guess that’s the same. If adding the egg powder will the buttercream dry out and go hard?
Hi Penny, I’ve never tried adding egg white powder as a sub for meringue powder. I think they’re really similar products, as meringue powder has egg whites listed as an ingredient. I think it’s worth a try!
Hi Penny,
I’m in the same situation as you were. I’m making a smash cake for my baby’s first birthday party here in hot Sydney summer. My first frosting melted and the cake layers slid over each other. I can only find egg white powder. Just wondering how your frosting went with egg white powder rather than meringue powder? Thanks.
I tried to make this and ended up with only 2 cups of sugar. I have to make a cake and cupcakes for wedding outdoor, probably around 82 F. Will less sugar effect the ability to hold the heat?
Hi Fai! Less powdered sugar will affect the consistency of the buttercream by making it thinner, which will ultimately make it less resistant against the heat. I recommend adding the full amount of powdered sugar for best results.
Hi Whitney! It turned out so well, no melt at all. And it wasn’t too sweet even I put the full amount of sugar. Thank you so much again and this will be my favorite summer buttercream.
Yesss! I’m so happy to hear that, Fai!
Hi, I’ve read somewhere that adding a little citric acid to buttercream helps counteract the sweetness. If added to this recipe, do you think it will affect it negatively?
Hi Neka! I’ve never tried that before so it would be an experiment. I don’t find that this buttercream is overly sweet, but feel free to give the citric acid a go if you feel that it needs it! I normally use a little salt to counteract the sweetness.
Can you freeze any leftover buttercream? Trying the recipe in this UK heatwave!
Yes you can! Just be sure to store the buttercream in an airtight container in the freezer, then move it to the refrigerator the day before you want to use it so it can thaw. Bring it to room temperature from there and re-mix with your stand mixer on low to bring it back to frosting consistency before using on future bakes 🙂
Can I replace meringue powder with a cornstarch
Hi Nozy! I have never tried replacing the meringue powder with cornstarch before. My hunch is that it won’t work quite the same, but since I haven’t tested it I don’t know for sure.
Does the meringue powder change the taste or make the frosting taste different?
Not at all!
Can’t wait to try it. I’m getting ready to do my daughters birthday party and we live in houston. I’m excited to try it next week.
Yay, Yvette! I hope you love this recipe and HBD to your daughter!
hello I want to know how to get buttercream for flower in hot weather , if I don’t have vegetable shortening
Hi Samia! You can try just adding meringue powder to an all-butter recipe but I highly recommend swapping some of the butter for shortening for best results.
So glad you looked into how to stabilize buttercream for high temperatures, but, I am unable to find any high ratio shortening except in the 50# tubs as os June 2022. Evidently there has been a run on it. Everyone, including Amazon is out of stock. I need to make a black frosting for a party this weekend, temp over 100 degrees. I already fear the amount of food color gel will effect the consistency as my 2 practice cakes to date have failed at much lower temps. I will use black coco powder. To get the frosting as dark as possible, What would you do, use some amount of Crisco? Cut back on milk?
Hi Bev! Crisco still has a higher melting point than butter, so that’s what I would use. And if you’re going for a black buttercream, try this recipe only sub half the butter for Crisco and add 1 Tbsp meringue powder per batch: https://sugarandsparrow.com/black-buttercream-recipe/ hope that helps!
This is what I was coming to ask too! Completely unable to find any high ratio shortening. I’ll try half Crisco and meringue powder too.
I live in Georgia where it gets upwards of 99 degrees! My baked goods sometimes have to travel over 200+ miles. I happened upon this recipe a few months ago and it has been in use, on cupcakes and cakes, since then!!! Thank you for this stabilized buttercream recipe. Easy and it has held up in this GA heat!
Yay, Tressa! I’m so so happy this recipe has been such a hit for you and has taken some of the stress out of hot weather cake making (and delivering!). Thanks so much for letting me know and I’m cheering you on in your baking!
Hey Whitney have you tried this with your black frosting?
Hi Desiree! I have not tried it with my black frosting recipe but I’m certain it would work! Just sub half of the butter in that recipe with high ratio shortening and add meringue powder. Hope that helps!
Hi . can I substitute shortening with lard or omit it? Thanks
Hi Anna! Unfortunately lard won’t add any stability and might throw off the consistency of this buttercream. Instead, you can substitute it with butter and add the meringue powder for extra stability.
Wondering if this buttercream will crust? I am doing a watercolor effect with the frosting for a wedding cake and need to be able to move the frosting around for a while. Too much crusting would make it difficult. The cake is for an outdoor wedding so I also need it to be stable.
Hi Angie! Yes, this is a crusting buttercream but it should absolutely work for a watercolor effect. I’ve used it with that same technique before and there’s a lot of time to work with it before it crusts. I’d say give it a go!
Seems pretty good – tastes good and I expect it will hold up well to heat. This was just a test batch so I used regular shortening instead of high ratio. It seemed too thick so I added another tablespoon of milk. Still seemed a little thick to have smooth piping. Any thoughts as to why that might be?
Hi there! I’m certain it’s because you didn’t use high ratio shortening. If you use regular shortening (or if it is otherwise too thick for your liking), you’ll need to thin it out by adding whole milk, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. If you’re piping with the buttercream, you will keep it to be a bit thicker consistency though so that the frosting holds its shape when piped.
Hello, I’m very excited to try this recipe for cupcakes and two cakes for my son’s first birthday which will be outside. I was curious is there any other brands that will work for the shorting or do you suggest the brand you have listed here? Thank you!
Hi Athena! Any brand of high ratio shortening will work great!
Hi just wondered if you could help. I’m making a 12 inch and 10 inch cake, what would the quantities be for making the buttercream to fill and cover please?
Hi Amy! If you’re filling and frosting a triple layer 12 inch cake, I would triple the recipe. For a triple layer 10 inch cake, I would make 2.5x the recipe. So 5.5x the recipe total if your cakes are triple layer. If they are double layer cakes of that size I would make about 4x the recipe total. Hope that helps!
Hi Whitney. I have to make a small wedding cake for my daughter that I will be covering in sugar crystals. I plan to use your icing as a base before I put the sugar on. As I won’t be able to put the cake in the fridge once the crystals are on, will this buttercream be ok at room temperature for about 36 hours?
Hi Lesley! I’m curious why you can’t refrigerate the cake after you cover it in sugar crystals? I have refrigerated cakes covered in sugar crystals before without any issues, so that’s where I would store it. That said though, this buttercream should be fine at room temp for 36 hours but it will definitely soften and be a little more fragile to transport. Hope that helps!
Wow thank you so much. I just saw this reply now lol. The reason I was afraid to refrigerate is because I read that the sugar crystals will melt and run if I refrigerate the cake. I’m glad you said it’s fine to do! Thanks so much again.
Hi Whitney!! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe. Have you tried adding Meringue powder or Shortening to Swiss Meringue butter cream? If you can give mi any tips of How can I make Swiss Meringue Buttercream more stable I would really appreciate it! Thank you
Hi Maria! I’m so happy you love this recipe! Unfortunately I have never made Swiss Meringue Buttercream before, so I’m not sure how to stabilize it. After a quick Google search it does look like you can add meringue powder, but I’m just not sure how much since I’ve never made it before. Looks like there’s a lot of info out there on how to do it though!
I cannot find high ratio shortening anywhere. I only have Crisco. The high ratio shortening online is only sold on Amazon in massive tubs around 50 pounds. I read the comments above Dash do you recommend I use A) Crisco, or B) all butter and using the meringue powder measurement that you listed in the recipe? Temps will be around 85°. Also if I’m doing all butter an I supplanting the shortening measurement for butter?
Hi Courtney! Here’s a link to the high ratio shortening I used (it’s 3lbs): https://amzn.to/3DZlfe6. You can technically use Crisco in place of half the butter but it will affect the flavor and texture. High ratio shortening keeps the consistency of the buttercream creamy and smooth while also providing stability. My vote would be to use all butter (use 1 Cup total in this recipe) and add the meringue powder, or spring for the high ratio shortening. Hope that helps!
What does the meringue powder do for the frosting?
Hi Raye! The meringue powder is important for stabilizing the frosting.
Hi thanks for this! Two questions:
1. Is this recipe stiff enough to pipe flowers?
2. Wondering how this would fare for cupcakes picked up the day before the wedding. Would they be okay left out on the counter the day before after pick up and then outside for the wedding? I hesitate to ask for the cupcakes to be refrigerated as that’ll dry them out.
Thanks!
Hi Tas! You can add an extra 1/2 Cup to 1 Cup of powdered sugar to stiffen this recipe for piping flowers. And yes – you can absolutely leave cupcakes out for a day at room temp as they await pickup. That’s what I would do!
Thank you so much for this recipe!! I live in hot south Alabama and this is just what I need? I have two questions: 1) Does this frosting pipe well? 2) Will the high ratio shortening at this link be suitable for your recipe: https://www.cakecraftshoppe.com/products/alpine-high-ratio-shortening?variant=39739265384529
Thank you.
Hi Rachel! Yes, this frosting pipes perfectly! And that high ratio shortening looks great. Enjoy!
Hello ..Can i use fresh egg whites,? What is thae ratio ?Since i cannot find any meringue powder here in the island of caribbean.thanks.
Hi Iza! I’ve never tried that before so I’m not sure if it would work. My first thought was that it wouldn’t be safe since the egg whites would be raw, but it looks like people use whipped egg whites in royal icing recipes. That said, I won’t have a definitive answer until I get the chance to test it, but you can feel free to research and experiment with egg whites using this recipe as a base! If you do, let us all know how it went!
Hi Whitney,
I need to make a cake in July in So Cals High Desert, temps can reach up to 115 on the hottest days. The cake is very detailed with piped flowers, will this work for those decorations or should royal icing be used?
Hi Janet! Wow, that’s hot. This buttercream can be stiffened to create the best consistency for piped flowers (just add an extra 1/2 Cup to 1 Cup of powdered sugar for the flowers). To be absolutely sure they will withstand the heat I would make a practice batch and place them in the sun to see how they behave. If you don’t feel like practicing ahead of time and you know royal icing will work, you could totally go with that as an alternative.
Hola , en la receta de crema de mantequilla quiero saber cuanto puedo reducir de azúcar glass , ya que me queda bastante dulce
Hi there! You can try reducing the powdered sugar by 1/2 cup but you’ll need to reduce the liquid a bit as well to make sure it ends up the right consistency. I have already tweaked this recipe to be less sweet than most american buttercreams, so if you haven’t yet tried this recipe as-is, I would give that a try first before reducing the sugar.
What can i use to substitute for the meringue powder?
Hi Jhenelle! I’m not sure about a substitute for the meringue powder that will work in a frosting recipe like this. You can omit the meringue powder and still have quite a stable frosting, but the addition of the meringue powder will make it even more stable.
I was wondering what food colouring you used for these cakes
Hi Natasha! I used AmeriColor gels for these cakes: Teal, Peach, Fuchsia, Egg Yellow, and Peacock.
Hi Whitney, thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I’m looking forward to try it. I’d like to ask how to modify the heat stable buttercream if we were to make it into other flavors like chocolate or coffee/mocha. Should I substitute some of the powdered sugar for cocoa powder? or maybe instead of using milk can I try using chocolate ganache instead?
Hi Jenny! Excited for you to try this recipe! If you want to alter the flavor, you can start with any of my buttercream recipes (or any American buttercream recipe) and substitute half of the butter with high ratio shortening + add 1 Tbsp meringue powder. So for example, for a chocolate flavored buttercream, start with my chocolate buttercream recipe (https://sugarandsparrow.com/chocolate-buttercream-recipe/) and instead of 1 Cup of butter use 1/2 Cup butter + 1/2 Cup shortening and add 1 Tbsp meringue powder in with the dry ingredients. You can use the same alterations with the coffee buttercream in this recipe: https://sugarandsparrow.com/peppermint-mocha-cake-recipe/
Enjoy and let me know if you have any more questions!
Hi Whitney, thank you for this wonderful recipe. I used it to cover a cake that was placed under the shade but outdoor all day and it still looked as perfect as it was when I took it out of the fridge. With the leftover/excess buttercream that wasn’t used. Can I freeze this and for how long before I need to discard?
Hi Lisa! I’m so glad this recipe worked out so well for you!! And about the excess buttercream – I’ve never stored it in the freezer before but I’m sure it would work since it’s an American buttercream and I hear of bakers doing that all the time. Here’s how: https://blog.wilton.com/how-to-store-buttercream-frosting/
Hi Whitney,
I hope you’re well.
Love your blog, its so helpful in so many ways.
I cant find meringue powder (the only cake shop that does stock around here is out of stock and have been having issues since COVID. ) I also cant find shortening- we get alot of baking margarine but no shortening. Please can you assist with what I can replace both with? I did have look at a premix icing in the store today and they had cornstarch in their mix?
Look forward to your response!
xo
Hi Rebecca! I’m sorry to hear you’re having a hard time finding these ingredients locally. My best suggestion would be to order them online (I have Amazon links to both in this blog post). I’m not sure about using cornstarch in frosting but you could do some research to see if that adds stability in a pinch! Good luck!
I love this recipe! I’m wondering if you’ve tried a cream cheese version of this icing?. I’m making a pumpkin cake fir an outdoor party and was hoping to have cream cheese icing that will hold up to 88 degree weather.
Thanks so much, Julie! I’m so happy to hear you loved this recipe! I haven’t tried this with cream cheese buttercream before but if I were to attempt it, I would just replace half of the butter in the buttercream recipe with high ratio shortening and add 1 Tbsp of meringue powder. Hope that helps!
I tried this heat resistant butterceam recipe for a birthday cake because it was 90 degrees in San Diego that day and the cake lasted the entire party!
I ended up making 3 batches of it for a 2 tier cake with 3 x 8” cakes and 2 x 6” cakes.
My only question is: Can we double this recipe?
Totally recommend this recipe!
Thanks for this recipe
YAY, Jessica! It makes me so happy to hear that this recipe worked well for your outdoor party and the cake lasted! You can absolutely double (or triple!) the recipe. Thanks for taking the time to let me know what a hit it was!
This is THE BEST buttercream recipe I have ever used in the 31 years I’ve been cake decorating!
I live in the UK so heat and humidity isn’t generally a problem, however central heating and warm houses can be.
I used ‘Crisp n Dry’ shortening in replacement for the shortening in this recipe, however I used 50g instead of 100g and added the other 50g to my unsalted butter. I also added 3tbs of double cream instead of 2 as I found it was slightly too thick for covering the cake!
It’s perfect and tastes amazing, not sickly at all, I was worried I would be able to taste the shortening but I can’t at all!
I haven’t finished decorating my cake yet so obviously it hasn’t been through the stability test yet, but the buttercream has been out of the fridge for the last 4 hours (covered with cling film) and the consistency hasn’t altered in the slightest like others have done in the same conditions!!
I guarantee you will not be disappointed with this recipe at all and thank you for sharing, I will never use anything but this from now on
Yay, Wendy! That makes me so so happy! Thank you for taking the time to let me know and I’m so thrilled you’ve found a new go-to buttercream recipe for the warmer months.
An update on the finished cake!
Perfect! It was taken to a restaurant and was kept in the kitchen there until the end of the meal! The buttercream did not even break a sweat
Once again thank you
Yay, Wendy! What a relief!
Hello, can you please tell me if this recipe crusts over like traditional American buttercream?
Hi Amanda! Yes, it does. Enjoy!
Hello Witney
Please can you let me know whether I can ice cupcakes with this icing, then freeze the iced cupcake.
Will it still look OK ( and not go sloppy / wet ) when it is thawed?
Thank you!!
Hi Ellen! I haven’t tried freezing a frosted cupcake with this frosting before so I’m not sure how it will react to being frozen and then thawed. It will be an experiment!
Hi Wendy i dont understand. you say you used 50g shortening and then added other 50g to the butter?
I think Wendy means she added 50g shortening instead of a 100g and then made up the difference in adding an extra 50g in butter, making the butter 163g , hope that helps
Hi! What ingredient can I substitute for high ratio shortening, I cant find in my country. Thank you!!
Hi Nicole! If you can’t find high ratio shortening, I would either just use all butter and add meringue powder to help stabilize it, or ask around other cake makers in your area to see what they use to combat the heat. Hope that helps!
Hi
Is high ratio shortening also called vegetable shortening??because when I check for HRS vegetable shortening comes up.so please can you clarify this.thank you
Hi Preeti! High ratio shortening is vegetable shortening, but it is specifically formulated for icing. It doesn’t contain any trans fats and makes the buttercream more stable than if you used a vegetable shortening with trans fats. You can find high ratio shortening at most cake decorating shops (also called icing shortening). There aren’t a whole lot of options on Amazon anymore but if you Google high ratio shortening and filter by “shopping” you should be able to find some brands being sold online as well. Hope that helps!
I am doing a cake for the county fair so it doesn’t need to taste great, just look great for 5 days in an air-conditioned room. Can you share the full shortening recipe?
Hi KJ! For the all shortening recipe, simply replace the 1/2 Cup of butter in this recipe with 1/2 Cup of shortening. So you’ll use 1 Cup of shortening total and all of the rest of the recipe is the same. Hope that helps!
And I also forgot to add, are there any changes in the quantity of meringue powder and HRS/butter if I want to make a white chocolate buttercream?
Thank you!
Hi! I answered this on the white chocolate buttercream recipe but I’ll add it here too: I have never tested this recipe as a heat stable buttercream, and since it has white chocolate in it I’m not sure how it will hold up. You can try adding 1 Tbsp of meringue powder to it per batch but you’ll need to experiment with the heat resistance since it has that melted white chocolate in it.
Hi, I live in Brisbane and have a couple of questions.
If I use your white chocolate frosting recipe to cover a mud cake
How heat resistant is it?
Can I put the iced cakes into the fridge overnight and have no effect on the frosting when it sits out?
Hope you can help
Kate
Hi Kate! Since I didn’t run the experiment with my white chocolate buttercream recipe I can’t say for sure how heat stable it is. I have heard that the addition of white chocolate in that recipe does make it more heat stable. I would try adding 1 Tbsp of meringue powder in with the powdered sugar for every batch of the white chocolate buttercream you’re making and definitely refrigerate the cake until you’re ready to deliver it. Hope that helps!
I live in Barbados and it’s extremely hot here sometimes and everytime I try to frost cakes, it’s melts aways. I’m looking forward to trying your recipe.
Can I use 2% milk instead of whole milk?
Hi Shae! I’m excited for you to try this recipe! 2% milk should be fine with this recipe.
Can i reduce the amount of sugar as it’s a bit too sweet for my parent…if yes, how many gram can I reduce?
Hi there! You could try reducing the sugar by 1/2 cup or so (360 grams total), but any less than that and the frosting will be thin. I’ve already tweaked the sugar amount to make this buttercream less sweet than typical American Buttercream recipes, but feel free to experiment with the sugar amount.
Do you refrigerate your cakes after you decorate if delivering the next day or leave them out?
Hi Maddie! I always refrigerate fully decorated cakes before delivery. It’s much easier to preserve the details and transport that way. Here’s a blog post that shows my process: https://sugarandsparrow.com/making-cakes-ahead/
Hi I have a question does this recipe for the butter cream get hard once the cake is done and decorated after it comes out of the refrigerator?
Because I’ve made buttercream before and decorated my cake with it and refrigerated it but when I took it out of the fridge and we cut the cake the buttercream on the cake was stiff kind of like icecream do you know what I can do to prevent that?
Hi Gem! The buttercream will be firm when chilled in the refrigerator (just like a stick of butter would). I recommend storing your cake in the refrigerator and then letting it come to room temp before serving. It stores best cold but tastes best at room temp. Just take your cake out an hour or two before serving it 🙂
Thank you for posting this! I live in Miami and can’t wait to try it!
Of course! I hope this helps!
Good Afternoon,
I love this recipe it’s honestly really good but, I was wondering to make a chocolate buttercream that will be heat resistant how can I do it with the similar ratios? I’m trying to make a smash cake for my daughter for her first birthday on Sunday. I live in Texas where it is extremely hot. So I don’t want it to melt in the car…
Hi Jada! Start with this chocolate buttercream recipe: https://sugarandsparrow.com/chocolate-buttercream-recipe/. For each batch, sub half of the butter for shortening + add 1 Tbsp meringue powder or cream of tartar. Hope that helps!