Is There Any Way To Salvage Gritty Icing?

Baking By CambriasCakes Updated 8 Sep 2012 , 9:07pm by countrygirll

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CambriasCakes Posted 10 Jun 2010 , 6:37pm
post #1 of 22

Please tell me there's a way! I just made a huge batch and it's terrible. I don't know what I did wrong? It's the same recipe I use all the time and I've never had this problem.

I used 3 cups of butter, 3 cups of Sweetex, 6 lbs of powdered sugar and hot coffee creamer and it came out terribly gritty. The only thing different is it was a new container of Sweetex...think it could have been a bad batch?

ARRGGG! I need it for a cake being picked up this afternoon....anyone know of a way to fix it?

Thanks for any and all help - I appreciate it!

21 replies
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Frotusbush Posted 10 Jun 2010 , 7:17pm
post #2 of 22

You can try straining it through a nylon stocking - this works for lumpy icing. If the gritty bits are large enough it should work for that as well. Good luck!

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CambriasCakes Posted 10 Jun 2010 , 7:34pm
post #3 of 22

At this point, I'm willing to try anything!! Thanks Frotusbush!!!

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cupcakemkr Posted 10 Jun 2010 , 7:53pm
post #4 of 22

Put some HOT cream in it - just a bit - and then beat the bajeeses out of it on medium for 5-10 minutes.

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LisaR64 Posted 10 Jun 2010 , 9:30pm
post #5 of 22

I agree, it sometimes help to add hot liquid to it to melt the icing a little, and then let it firm up again and sometimes that takes care of the grit problem.

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CambriasCakes Posted 11 Jun 2010 , 8:11pm
post #6 of 22

Thanks you guys! I felt like beating the bajeeses out of something when I got done with it! I added hot cream to it but nothing worked. I had to start over from scratch. Bleh!

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Tracy7953 Posted 11 Jun 2010 , 11:04pm
post #7 of 22

I am sorry that beating it didnt work. Does anyone know WHY this happens? It has happened to me a couple of times.

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artscallion Posted 11 Jun 2010 , 11:22pm
post #8 of 22

Did you change the brand of powdered sugar? When you buy powdered sugar pay attention to the number before the "x". That tells you how finely ground to a powder it is. Smooth, uncooked frostings works best with 10X . But some stores may also sell 4x or 6x, which could result in grit.

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cas17 Posted 11 Jun 2010 , 11:43pm
post #9 of 22

has happened to me on a number of occasions. i cannot find the common factor. i only use hi ratio. i only use dominos 10x. i only use hot to very warm creamer. it boggles my mind. BUT it seems sometimes i cannot get all of the PS into my recipe of 1 cup shortening to 1lb of PS to work. the times i try to "force" the last cup or so into the bc it will turn chalky/gritty on me. i don't know if i'm not added enough liquid on those occasions or not but i don't want my icing to be too soft. almost makes me want to only do smbc but then i would have refrigeration issues :\\

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sugarshack Posted 12 Jun 2010 , 4:42am
post #10 of 22

the times this has happened to me, it has been a bad batch of PS...

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CambriasCakes Posted 22 Jun 2010 , 7:01am
post #11 of 22

Hmmm...I've never paid any attention to the number before the "x". I buy the 50lb bags of sugar at Costco and have never noticed that. The ONLY thing I can think of that I did differently was that I let the butter/sweetex mixture beat for quite a bit while I walked out of the kitchen and into the garage. I must have let it beat for about 10 minutes but I'm not sure if this would have made a difference.
Actually, I think I read a post on here some time ago that the longer you beat the butter and shortening, the fluffier your icing comes out. Maybe not....??

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Doug Posted 22 Jun 2010 , 11:43am
post #12 of 22

I put all the fats and liquids in at start and then beat long time until all liquid is incorporated and it's light and fluffy.

then add PS and beat very long time on SLOW (on my KA: 2) speed.

only it is too stiff do I add any liquid once PS is in and then only cold.

never gritty, just smooth and light.


-----

wonders if adding hot liquid didn't cause some of the sugar to melt and then as it cooled recrystallize into bigger gritty chunks.

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jjkarm Posted 22 Jun 2010 , 2:19pm
post #13 of 22

I agree that there are bad packages of powdered sugar. I use the same couple of brands all the time and 95% of the time they're great, but every once in a while I'll get a bag that's gritty.

When I open a new bag of powdered sugar, I always rub a small amount between my fingers or put it on my tongue. You can tell right away if it's gritty.

I recently made gum paste and forgot to test the sugar. While I was kneading it, I realized the sugar was gritty. I could feel and hear the sugar crystal as I worked with it. Not sure why this happens, but just make sure to test a new bag for gritty-ness every time you open one.
HTH thumbs_up.gif

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katlvr99 Posted 4 Jul 2012 , 1:50am
post #14 of 22

I am brand new to this site. I made home made chocolate frosting, followed the recipe to the letter; it came out GRITTY, GRITTY, GRITTY. I was so upset. I didn't want to throw all that goodness away. I thought, there must be a way to fix this problem, and WALA, I found all of you.

THANK YOU, to all of you for posting on here to add warm cream and beat the "bejeasus" out of it. It worked like a dream. Great flavor, great texture. Awesome. You all are wonderful.

I saw where someone said it might be the powdered sugar. Well, I bought the sugar that was on sale, humpf, I will never do that again.

You all saved me.

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BakingIrene Posted 4 Jul 2012 , 2:16am
post #15 of 22

It was Domino 10X sugar which was not correctly bagged at the factory. They either bagged 6X or a mix of 6X and granulated. Many people have reported the same problem and it turns out to always be Domino. There appears to be no quality control in the factory regarding the sieves used for the different grades. Or else some extremely stupid person is dumping the grains that can'tr pass 10X sieves back into the production line.

Adding hot extra liquid dissolves those larger sugar grains. Beating longer also helps that process. The result is that the icing does get more fluffy.

If you still have the bag, contact Domino with any production code info. And maybe take the bag back to where you bought it from...because it is NOT 10X "powdered" regardless of what it says.

Yes I have worked in food packing and I know how products fail the processing like sieving or filtering. It's blatantly obvious as soon as you use a microscope...

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kelleym Posted 4 Jul 2012 , 2:23am
post #16 of 22
Quote:
Originally Posted by BakingIrene

It was Domino 10X sugar which was not correctly bagged at the factory. They either bagged 6X or a mix of 6X and granulated. Many people have reported the same problem and it turns out to always be Domino. There appears to be no quality control in the factory regarding the sieves used for the different grades. Or else some extremely stupid person is dumping the grains that can'tr pass 10X sieves back into the production line.

Adding hot extra liquid dissolves those larger sugar grains. Beating longer also helps that process. The result is that the icing does get more fluffy.

If you still have the bag, contact Domino with any production code info. And maybe take the bag back to where you bought it from...because it is NOT 10X "powdered" regardless of what it says.

Yes I have worked in food packing and I know how products fail the processing like sieving or filtering. It's blatantly obvious as soon as you use a microscope...



I'm sorry, I must have missed something - how did you know it was Domino?

The only times this has happened to me has been with Target Market Pantry brand.

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BakingIrene Posted 4 Jul 2012 , 3:00am
post #17 of 22

Why did I say it was Domino brand or another label packed at their plant?

Quote:
Originally Posted by cas17

has happened to me on a number of occasions. i cannot find the common factor. i only use hi ratio. i only use dominos 10x. i only use hot to very warm creamer. it boggles my mind. BUT it seems sometimes i cannot get all of the PS into my recipe of 1 cup shortening to 1lb of PS to work. the times i try to "force" the last cup or so into the bc it will turn chalky/gritty on me. i don't know if i'm not added enough liquid on those occasions or not but i don't want my icing to be too soft. almost makes me want to only do smbc but then i would have refrigeration issues :\\




also

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopic-714046-15.html the top post

And here's a link from Domino Sugar: https://shop.dominosugar.com/Confectioners-Sugar/25-lb

If you read carefully, you can see that the 25lb bulk pack is 6X NOT 10X.

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MarianInFL Posted 4 Jul 2012 , 3:09am
post #18 of 22

Glad to know that about Domino Sugar! I used to buy the 10 lb bag at BJs and it used to be fine. Then I got a few bags that were awful! You could tell immediately it was different. It was clumpy. I thought it had gotten wet. So I stopped buying it there and only buy the two pound bags at Publix, which gets expensive. I'll have to try the 10 lb bags again.

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BakingIrene Posted 4 Jul 2012 , 3:21am
post #19 of 22

I have been reading various postings and all of them on Cake Central.. Couldn't find the really bad ( and gross) experience...never mind.

I was looking for some chance to move the discussion past the idea on many other CC threads that beet sugar is the cause of the grittiness. I grew up making icing with powdered beet sugar. When I moved, I switched to cane sugar...absolutely no difference whatsoever and I am a VERY picky baker.

So having found the info from the horse's mouth, it makes sense that people are having trouble with bulk Domino and bulk off labels.

Dollars to donuts those bulk bags all come from the Domino plant, because off label food is the stuff left after the name brand gets packed for each day's work. They don't waste food, they don't hold it because equipment has to be sanitized daily, so they pack into bulk bags by weight and sell at the lower price.

OK and none of this applies to Canadian sugar. I buy Rogers, Redpath, no-name, and bulk from BulkBarn. NEVER had this experience. In some parts of Canada they sell Crystal Sugar which is US owned and equally consistently good.

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carmijok Posted 4 Jul 2012 , 6:15am
post #20 of 22

I use C&H pure cane powdered sugar and never had the grittiness problem...but the bakery I worked for used Dominoes and they had a grittiness issue several times.
I would freeze your gritty BC and use it for when you do piped decor like borders or perhaps as the stuff you use to attach fondant or gum paste decor to your cake. At least it wouldn't go to waste!

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sweettreat101 Posted 5 Jul 2012 , 8:39am
post #21 of 22

I tried Domino and didn't like it at all. I use C&H pure cane sugar or Sunny Select pure cane sugar and I have never had a problem with my frosting being gritty. Targets Market Pantry is horrible. Thought I would give it a try on a batch of MMF. Never again. Some people swear the problems beet sugar.

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countrygirll Posted 8 Sep 2012 , 9:07pm
post #22 of 22

Today I ran into the same issue for a second time. I'm beginning to think it's because of the humidity in my area as when I began making it, it was fine....but after the whipping stage, it started to become gritty. I didn't have any cream in the house, so I used hot water, just a tad, and whipped it up.....perfect! Cake Central members to the rescue!!! thank you! thumbs_up.gif

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