Okay....crazy has now set in! I am in the middle of a cake that is iced in buttercream and I go to do some decorating on the sides with buttercream as well and about 20 minutes after I start decorating, some of the decorations start pulling the icing off the cake! I mean, you can actually see the actual cake again!

What am I doing so wrong??? Any tips, ideas would be VERY appreciated!!!

Are you using the crisco shortening in your frosting with the 0 trans fat. I had that happen a year or so ago. If not boy I am not really sure why. What kind of buttercream are you using? Maybe some others will be able to help if we had a little more info.

Yes I am using that crisco shortening. The recipe is as follows:
Cream 1/2 cup softened butter, a cup and half of shortening, 1/4 tsp almond, and 2 tbsp vanilla.

Mix thoroughly on low speed until smooth. Begin adding 2 lbs sifted powdered sugar and 1/3 cup of water alternately.

Since I live in Georgia and it's humid here, I add 2 tsp of meringue powder.

So what am I doing wrong???

That recipe should probably have 2 Tablespoons of meringue powder, not tspns. Not sure if that's your problem though.

Your cake wasn't frozen when you iced it, was it? I've had that problem if I didn't let it thaw enough. Also, it seems to help me if you do a crumb coat first - then ice it after it crusts.

I feel your pain... had the same thing happen to a weddiing cake but didn't happen until I got to the event.

I was going to sugget the meringue powder but I see you add that already.. what about cutting back on the liquid?? That's not much liquid but it might help. Also.. ease up on how much you are putting on the side maybe... not so heavy icing.

The problem is most likely the new Crisco. The only fix is to use another fat.

When you said that the decorations started to pull the icing off your cake, were your decorations heavy? Sometimes if you use fondant decorations for example on buttercream, the fondant can be a little heavy and slide off.. but usually only with a meringue buttercream. I am not sure if that is your problem, though. Hmmm..

Thanks for all your help (and sympathy)! I really appreciate it. My cakes weren't frozen, next time I will add more meringue and use a different fat.....live and learn I guess!

You know another problem might be your house could be too hot. I know I've turned off the air when it was nice one day and my frosting came off my cake too. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what was happening and then the next day it dawned on me that the house was probably too hot. Put your a/c up to at least 73ish and see if that might help. Make sure you refridgerate the cake when completed to. HTH Good luck!

I had this happen to a choclate cake I made but when I tried it on a white cake I worked fine. I have only had problems on my choc. cakes.

And my cake is chocolate! Grrrr.....

heat + humidity + butter in frosting = disaster

I had a wedding cake do me like that on the day of. I stopped using butter and used only shortening and some butter flavoring. I also aerate my buttercream to make it lighter.

Hope this helps.

I agree. Heat + humidity + butter = melting icing. I agree to use 2 TBL meringue powder to help stabilize it. Good luck!

I had that happen to me before and discovered my icing was just too thick. I didnt realize it should me a medium consistancy to frost. I learned the hard way. What am I talking about, I'm still learning the hard way. I made a cake yesterday and the icing was coming off. I wet my spreader and that helped a lot.

Agree with karema on the 'too thick' thing that might be an issue. that's happened to me, too.

comparing my recipe to yours, you have almost twice the amount of fat in yours that I do. When I see recipes like this, my first thought is 'no wonder it's sliding off the cake with all that grease in it'. I only use 1-1/3 cups fat to 2 cups p.sugar. it crusts great, i've never had a melt down, and i've had zero issues with the new crisco. http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-6992-Indydebis-Crisco-Based-Buttercream-Icing.html

another thought is that you could be putting it on too thick and the cake maybe just too warm to hold up the icing.

I ice my cakes while they are cold (not frozen, just cold) makes it easier. I also do a nice crumb coat and then put it back into the fridge to get the crumb coat set, then I do another coat. Sometimes I do three coats if its a chocolate or red velvet cake.

And I agree, the icing itself may have been too thick and you didn't press hard enough to get it to stick to the cake..the weight of it just lost the battle.