If you’ve had some trouble getting your meringue based buttercream to come together, don’t panic, it’s an easy fix. Buttercream issues are usually caused by temperature problems. So it’s typically a simple matter of heating or chilling your buttercream to bring it back together.
Why does buttercream split?
Meringue based buttercreams are an emulsion of fat (the butter) and liquid (the meringue), which don’t normally like to mix. But with enough physical agitation (from mixing) and the right temperature, you can force them to mix into a smooth, creamy consistency.
However, if the temperature is not in the right range, the buttercream will not come together.
Try my recipes for Swiss Meringue Buttercream or Italian Meringue Buttercream.
Buttercream that is too cold
If your buttercream is too cold, the butter and meringue will split apart. Typically this will make it look sort of curdled. You might see small clumps of butter with white liquid oozing around it.
To fix split buttercream, all you have to do is gently heat the buttercream. There are a few different ways you can do this:
- You can hold the bowl over some gently steaming water until the edges start to melt.
- If you have a metal bowl, you can hold it directly over the flame of a gas stove for a few seconds.
- You can also remove a small portion of the buttercream and melt it in the microwave. Microwave for 5-10 second intervals, stirring in between, until the buttercream is melted.
Whichever way you choose, the idea is to melt just a portion of the buttercream and then mix that back in with the remaining cold portion.
After melting a portion, you’ll want to let them mix for several minutes. It might take some time for everything to mix, but the temperature should even out and bring everything together.
If your butter was really cold, you might have to do this process a few times to bring the temperature up enough.
Buttercream that is too warm
On the other hand, sometimes your buttercream can be too warm. If your buttercream is too warm, it will have a very thin, loose consistency that can’t hold itself up.
To fix warm buttercream, chill the buttercream and rewhip. There are a few different ways to do this:
- You can either chill the whole bowl in the fridge for 10-20 minutes.
- You can mix the buttercream over and ice bath.
- You can even hold an ice pack against the bowl with the mixer running.
Whichever method you choose, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl well. This is especially important if you are using the fridge, as the sides will chill down a lot faster than the center.
After chilling, rewhip the buttercream until firms up into a smooth, creamy consistency.
Working temperatures for buttercream
If you’re the type of person who likes exact numbers, a good working temperature for meringue based buttercream is between 70 and 80 F.
If the buttercream is closer to 70 F, it will be stiffer and better for piping.
If the buttercream is closer to 80 F, it be thinner and easily spreadable, but too loose for piping.
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