Whether you have some leftover buttercream or you just want to make your frosting ahead of time, it’s easy to store buttercream for later use!
Buttercream keeps very well, when stored in an airtight container, in the fridge for about a week or in the freezer for 3-4 months. If you are planning to eat the buttercream soon, it can be left out at cool room temperature for a day.
I generally use Swiss or Italian meringue buttercreams, and occasionally French or German buttercream. I have found that all of these store very well in regular containers. If you are using an American or crusting buttercream, you’ll want to press a layer of plastic wrap directly against the surface, or store it in a plastic bag with all the air squeezed out.
It’s also a really good idea to label and date your buttercream if you plan to store it for a long time. Every time I forget to label, I end up really confused and sniffing at the frozen buttercream trying to figure out exactly what type or flavor it is. So yeah, it’s better just to label it!
When you are ready to use your buttercream, you will need to let it come back to room temperature and re-whip it to a smooth consistency again.
Making buttercream ahead of time
I almost always make buttercream ahead of time, in big batches. Once the buttercream is made, I will transfer it to a large airtight container if I know it’s all going to be used at the same time. Or, I sometimes split it into smaller containers if I want to have it available for small projects.
Making and storing buttercream ahead of time is helpful for several reasons. First, it makes cake decorating a lot easier if you don’t have to do everything in one day. Usually I’ll make the buttercream a few days ahead of time and bake the cake the night before I plan to decorate. Then when the time comes to assemble the cake, everything is ready to go!
It’s also nice to have extra buttercream on hand in case of emergency. That emergency could be that you dropped some piped decorations, or it could just be that you need cupcakes stat! 🙂
Finally, sometimes I’ll make extra buttercream as a way to use up leftover egg whites or yolks.
How do you thaw and reconstitute buttercream?
When you’re ready to use your buttercream, you need to do two things. First you need to thaw it or bring it back to room temperature. Second, you need to re-whip it to get a smooth consistency again.
Whether the buttercream has been stored in the fridge or freezer, you can simply take it out and let it come to room temperature on the counter. After the buttercream comes to room temperature, it will likely look a little clumpy and have lots of little air pockets.
To get the buttercream smooth again, transfer to a mixer and beat with the paddle attachment for several minutes.
If you don’t have time to let the buttercream thaw on it’s own, or if it’s still just a little too cold, you can speed up the process by heating a portion of the buttercream and mixing it back in.
Simply take out about a third of the cold buttercream and melt it in the microwave use 5 to 10 second intervals, stirring in between. You want it to be melted to a liquid, but be careful not to scorch it.
Then mix the melted buttercream with the cold buttercream using the paddle attachment of your mixer for several minutes.
The warm buttercream and cold buttercream should even out to the right temperature for a smooth, creamy buttercream. If the buttercream is still too cold, you can repeat the process by melting just a bit more and then mixing it back in
I don’t normally use a thermometer, I go by looks, but it’s nice to know temperature ranges. Anything between 70 F and 80 F will be workable, but closer to 70 F it will be stiffer and closer to 80 F it will be looser.
What can you do with leftover buttercream?
I always make extra buttercream on purpose. I don’t ever want to run out of frosting for a particular design, and having leftovers is a result of that. Depending on what flavor, color, and amount I have leftover, it will get reused for various purposes.
Unflavored, uncolored buttercream can go right back into the freezer to be mixed with a new batch.
Flavored buttercream can either be used for another small cake, cupcakes, or perhaps spread on a small batch of cookies.
Colored buttercream might get used for another project if the color works, or I’ve found that it’s fun to save all the little scraps of color and use them for some abstract painting. You can check out a video on that here.
How do you store cake frosted with buttercream?
If the buttercream is already on the cake, storage is a little bit different. Most buttercream frosted cakes will be ok to leave out at room temperature for a day.
If you won’t be eating them right away, it’s best to move the cake to the fridge, lightly covered. Frosted cakes can be stored long term in the freezer as long as they are very well wrapped.
Whether you’re storing cake in the fridge or the freezer, the primary concern is how well the cake itself will keep rather than the buttercream. Buttercream will not really “go bad” per se, but it can develop freezer burn or start to pick up weird odors from the fridge. So use your best judgement based on the type of cake and any fillings to determine how long it will last.
Frosted cake slices or cupcakes can also be frozen if they are well wrapped.
How to thaw frozen frosted cake
When you are ready to eat you frosted cake, simply let it sit out at room temperature to thaw. This could take anywhere from a few minutes for a small slice of cake to several hours for a whole cake.
In any of these cases, please please PLEASE let your cake and frosting come back to room temperature before you eat it. Buttercream just isn’t meant to be eaten cold!
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