I need it to make shell, star and more on a Baby Shower cake. I don't want it to droop. Can someone. Please, Help. I had Made a Birthday cake and it was droopy...I was so upset...Thanks for your help

Ina Garten has one that I like and it holds up quite well. I chilled it overnite before using it though.
1 pound cream cheese at room temp (use only philly - full fat!) (2 packages - rectangle ones)
3/4 pound butter at room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 pounds icing sugar
pinch salt

cream cheese and butter, add the rest and chill over nite!

This is why I hate carrot cake frosting but it tastes so good!

I frost the outside of the cake and fill it with cream cheese frosting but use regular old buttercream to make the decorations and borders. You could always stiffen cc frosting a bit by adding more sugar but sometimes that ruins the flavor.

I've also replaced half of the butter with shortening and 1/4t butter extract to make it a bit more heat resistant with mixed results.

For the record, I've heard that cheaper brands of butter have more water so perhaps a good brand makes a difference. When I use Land o Lakes or Kellers it turns out better than store brand.

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 1/2 pounds powdered sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

I try to keep the cake in the refrigerator and bring it to room temp before serving to preserve the flavor. We have put our heads together so many times on this one but no solution. The problem for me is that I use all European buttercreams that are less sweet. This is the only one that uses powdered sugar. The result is a sugar jolt if it is a thicker consistency.

I do make my cc frosting, chill it, then mix it just enough to get my smooth consistency back, and frost the cake or cupcakes with the cool frosting to keep the shape. Then back into the refrigerator until 1/2 hour to 45 minutes before serving. My paid cakes are delivered cold.

I've used a similar recipe as erin 2345 mentioned, but to give it an even stiffer consistency I've added some melted white chocolate as well and then some lemon extract which I think keeps the chocolate flavour at bay.

TO ALL>>>THANKS FOR YOUR POST.

Until recently I had not known that there was a big difference in the buttercreams that americans use and the Europeans use. Scp1127, you said that you use all European buttercreams. Do you mind sharing a recipe of such? thank you. I appreciate your sharing your recipe for the buttercream that Ina garten uses. That was you, wasn't it? If not Thank you to whoever shared it. I love watching her when I get the chance.

Erin2345, thanks for sharing the cream cheese recipe. I at first thought it was scp1127, but wanted to write back and give credit where credit was due.

yeah, Jules, not me. My only Ina recipe has a raw egg in it and I cannot find pasteurized eggs.

My computer tends to cut off in the middle of a longer post. So I will type it elsewhere and copy it here. I have FBC, IMBC, and I only use one recipe for SMBC with brown sugar. The others are considered Mousselines, I think. They are custards that you then treat just like IMBC by mixing to room temp and then add the butter as usual.

Imagenthatnj has one of my recipes saved so I hope she pops in with the recipe. I think it's the FBC.

Here is the French Buttercream:

I found this recipe before I knew anything about European buttercreams. I just thought I stumbled on a miracle. It is very simple, just the opposite of Italian Meringue Buttercream.

9 egg yolks
1 1/2 c sugar
1 c water
6 sticks unsalted butter, slightly soft
flavoring
1 tsp boiling water

Beat yolks until light in color. Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and cook over med heat to a temp of 238 degrees. With mixer running on med, pour the hot sugar syrup in a steady stream down the side of the bowl. Beat the mixture on med speed until room temp. Add the butter a little at a time and beat until fully incorporated. Add flavoring. The boiling water is optional, but gives it a sheen.

This will cover an eight inch, three layer cake.

Here is the Italian Meringue Buttercream:

I am a stickler for respecting copyrights and trademarks. There are many recipes for this particular European Buttercream, as it is centuries old.

I had tried several recipes, but the one that was by far the best is from Warren Brown's book, Cake Love. He is also kind enough to share the recipe on his site, as well as a great how-to video. I think what set his recipe apart is the temperature of the sugar syrup, which is slightly higher than most. This increase is justified by the amount the syrup will coll on its way from the stove to the mixer, and then during the steady stream into the bowl. Since adopting this procedure, I feel that my Italian Buttercream is more stable and just slightly stiffer than my previous recipe results.

I would also like to take this opportunity to recommend this book in general to aspiring scratch bakers. The recipes taste good and he gives such great instructions.

Here is the link to his site. It is there that you will find the recipe and the video tutorial.

http://www.cakelove.com/

Read this thread & checked out the site. What a great site. I watched the video on his yellow cake. Which book of his would you recommend. I do both scratch & doctored, but would love to find a good enough white to get away from it. Is there a certain book with a good white?

It's the original, Cake Love.

I use his yellow cake as my base, but I did change it quite a bit. Between his tips, the reat recipes, and the tutorials, it is a perfect place to start scratch baking.

I have always use dalcohol to flavor my baked goods, so his use of alcohol is in line with my baking preferences.

He suggests brandy in that cake. I use Hennessy. Cognac is aged brandy and it gets sweeter as it gets older. Hennessy smells sweet and mellow. In baking, the smell of the spirit when you open the bottle is the end flavor you will get.

Thank you so much scp1127. Will go look at this recipe and website. You are very helpful and informative and I love learning from people like you.