This cake is really starting to wear on me! Ok I made the all shortening buttercream version and added meringue powder for stability because this cake will be outside. Now when I added the color (americolor) gel it's all grainy looking. What's the problem? I've never had this happen before, but I've never added meringue powder before either. Help!

Have you changed brands of powder sugar? Check to see if your powder sugar is pure cane or cane sugar and not beat sugar or listed as just sugar in the ingredients.

It's the same brand powdered sugar I always use. It has to be the merigue powder because that's the first time I've tried it in buttercream. I even sifted it before I added it. You can't see it in the white icing, but when I colored the other part brown you can see tiny little specks of brown that are not mixing in. I mixed it in the KA for a long time but it didn't seem to help. I guess I'm out of luck unless someone here knows a trick to getting the color smoother. This will be the last time I add MP to my buttercream!

i use MP in every batch of bc and have never had this problem...humm

maybe the mp was old, or what about the color. I have never used americolor yet. was it old, does it seperate and need to be shaken?

This is the weirdest icing experience ever. Remind me to never do another cake that will be outdoors! The brown icing had little tiny specks that would not mix in, but then I made some green and it was fine. What the heck????