Why Buttercream Icings Has Chalky After Taste?
Baking By sweet4tooth Updated 3 Jan 2006 , 1:46pm by m0use
I want someone to tell me why all my buttercream icings has a chalky after taste inside the mouth. The powdered sugar doesn't dissolve completely. I can feel it on my fingers the sandy texture. How can I solve this problem? Could it be the powdered sugar? Please help. It is driving me crazy.
Thank you.
Sweet4tooth
Sweet4tooth, are you using pure icing sugar?? Or a mixture that contains cornflour/cornstarch? This could be giving you the chalky taste. The grainy texture would come from you not having sifted the icing sugar properly, or sifting it with a sieve that is not fine enough.
Hope this helps
Nati
High humidty will increase the grit factor. Make sure your crisco/butter are whipped before adding the pwd sugar. Slowly add the pwd sugar. Add a bit of heavy cream for a smoother consistency. I've never had good results just using water.
hth
Are these icings stiff enough to be used for making rose? Are they strong to decorate a wedding cakes?
sweet4tooth, I made some diabetic buttercream one time using cornstarch and it had a real bad chalky taste, don't know if you used cornstarch in yours, but if you could tell us the recipe you used we could try and figure it out. Good luck
It might be the brand of shortening you are using if your icing is gritty in addition to the powdered sugar. I ONLY use Crisco for my shortening (if I had money for the nicer shortenings I would get them but for now Crisco works just fine) and I also buy the C&H powdered sugar. This combination seems to work the best for me.
I used the buttercream recipe that is on this web-site and the one on Wilton's web-site. About the sugar I was using the Wal-mart brand and the shortening it is Crisco. Would you think this could be the reason. Please help me. I need to solve this proplem before I make my sister's wedding cake.
Thanks a lot.
Sweet4tooth
Sam's club pwd sugar is excellent. It's cheap and has a very low grit factor. It has a very fine texture.
Ok, I use wal-mart shortening & their powder sugar. I have never had this problem. However, I found out something interesting when my back went out. I could not use my kitchen aid mixer cause I couldn't lift it. So I used my hand mixer & boy what a difference. It was not smooth at all. I think using the commercial type mixers is the answer. Could that be the problem?
I swear I was thinking about this post today. I had another cake due, and was mixing my crisco and butter and Walmart powdered sugar - (I use a KA too) when I was done mixing it, I had everyone in the house take a spoon and try it....no one thought it was gritty or chalky. Maybe that is the secret...using that mixer? I use those same ingredients each time I make buttercream and never have any trouble.
Sweet4tooth, are you using pure icing sugar?? Or a mixture that contains cornflour/cornstarch? This could be giving you the chalky taste. The grainy texture would come from you not having sifted the icing sugar properly, or sifting it with a sieve that is not fine enough.
Hope this helps
Nati
Nati, in Canada and the U.S., the powdered sugar all has some cornstarch or anti-clumping additive in it, to counter humidity or clumping factors.
Sometimes the issue is the type of sugar. Beet sugar tastes just as good as cane sugar but the processing is different. It normally has a different anti-clumping additive and in the processing at the manufacturing level, it appears that it is not put through as fine a sieve process. Therefore the sugar particles are usually not as fine.
To avoid the risk of grittiness, your best bet is to purchase Pure Cane Sugar that has been manufactured by being processed through a 10X mesh sieve grid. Also, where grittiness is an issue, re-sifting your powdered sugar through a very fine sieve, a few times may counter this problem.
Not all powdered sugar is put through as fine a mesh sieve grid so switching to one that has been put through a 10X will mean that your sugar particles are finer and therefore less gritty.
Another issue can be if you are adding regular salt to your recipe. Sometimes switching to a finer salt like popcorn salt and dissolving it in your liquid before adding it helps.
Also sometimes the addition of meringue powder can cause grittiness, again sifting it may help or adding it to your liquid may help.
Powdered sugar is very sensitive to humidity changes as is all sugar. This is one of the reasons why I sift all sugar before using it. I know many people do not believe in sifting, but I find it a good precaution.
Some people also believe that using high ratio shortening as opposed to Crisco shortening, better enables the shortening to absorb the powdered sugar and to result in a more smooth texture.
Hugs Squirrelly
Sam's club pwd sugar is excellent. It's cheap and has a very low grit factor. It has a very fine texture.
I used to use theirs too without any problems, but I can't justify the cost of the membership right now when I don't shop there much lately, besides I can go with my In-laws if I ever want stuff from there.
Some people also believe that using high ratio shortening as opposed to Crisco shortening, better enables the shortening to absorb the powdered sugar and to result in a more smooth texture.
Thanks Squirrelly...I could not remember the name of the "nicer" shortening 
I also just remembered, I don't use extra salt in my icing recipe because I use salted butter.
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