In the heart of Kansas - summers are hot - and humid. We've already had near-100 degree temps and the wedding will be in June.

I need some feedback on the best-smoothing, heat and humidity-resistant pure white buttercreams.

I have to transport the cake two hours so it also needs to be very stable.

I've tried a number of recipes - and so far, I'm a little discouraged.

Do any of you out there live in hot climes and have perfected a buttercream that is very sturdy - and smooths well?

At this point - taste is secondary - but it is ALWAYS appreciated.

Good Morning FunnyCakes!!

Here is a recipe that I posted that holds up very well and that I think tastes awesome!


http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2124-0-White-As-Snow-Buttercream.html


HTH......Hugs, ~Denise

Thank you sooooooo much. I am going to test it out this weekend.

I appreciate your help.

Your very welcome!! Be sure to let me know how it works for you.


Hugs, ~Denise

You know, the problem is that butter melts at about 83.4 and shortening at 98-110F, if you factor in a humidex reading, no icing or fondant is going to be stable. Meringue powder is used as a stabilizer as is flour in areas of high humidity. Usually flour will be added at about 2 tbsp. to 1/3 cup per 4 cups of powdered sugar.
Margarine has a melting point between 91 and 109 with some baking margarines available from baking supplies shops having a higher melting point.
Generally you want to look for an icing with a lower fat ratio and use meringue powder as a stabilizer, possibly flour too. There used to be a product called Stay-Ice used by home bakers but I don't believe it is still available. All of the other icing stabilizers I am aware of, are more for stabilizing the gum hardeners used in fondant etc.
Here is some information which may be useful. You may find these are strictly commercial products but some may work for the homebaker.

There is a product at Cargill Foods.com listed as a bakery icing stabilizer, not sure this link will work:
http://www.cargillfoods.com/pdfs/oil_seeds.pdfs/stearines%20flakes.pdf
Here is a listing from BigBakingBook.com listing suppliers of icing stabilizers.
http://www.bigbakingbook.com/bbbnew/results.asp?tbl=Ingredients
Hugs Squirrelly

Holy Moly! 1/3 cup flour to 4 c p sugar. I only add 2 Tbsp to 2 lbs. So that means I could add up to 6 more Tbsp!

Wow! Good ideas and the food science behind them. Now I better understand the dynamics and the ratios. Denise's reciped fits right into this category.

Thanks for explaining it to me.