How do bakerys leave cream cheese and sour cream butter cream based cupcakes out?!!? Also...

Some cream cheese icings are shelf stable... it depends on the recipe.

The chocolate sour cream buttercream is a new one to me.  Unless they made ganache with sour cream?  I'd have to know the recipe.  If it is ganache (looks very dark and fudge-like) it can be left out.

How much buttercream do you add that 1/4 cup to?  A little dairy won't matter and can be left out.  I add heavy cream to powdered sugar based buttercream to thin it and it is shelf stable. 

It's not uncommon for bakeries to use frosting's supplied from large manufactures like Bakemark or Dawn. They sell cream cheese frosting in buckets that are shelf stable. I don't know what the real ingredients are but it doesn't taste like real cream cheese frosting to me. It's like whip cream filled cream puffs that bakeries leave out in un-refrigerated display cases...............real whip cream requires refrigeration, fake stuff doesn't.

You can't add enough sugar to real cream cheese to make it shelf stable.

Simple - whatever they are making is shelf stable.  The American National Standards Institute (guidelines used by most health departments) says something is shelf stable if it has a water activity of  .85 or below, or a pH of 4.6 and above.  Science proves that under these conditions, the bacteria that causes food born illness cannot grow and thrive.  When you add pounds of powdered sugar to cream cheese, you are drastically lowering the water activity level way under .85 (sugar eats water by osmosis).  That's why, even with a little cream or sour cream added, ABC icing is shelf stable.

So is ganache - I don't know why people here even question this!  There is so much sugar in chocolate and the pH is so high that its' completely shelf stable.

Storefronts in the US have a manager's certificate and food handler's cards from the ANSI (just like I do) and have passed a health department inspection along with submitting recipes that meet HD guidelines (just like I did).  I think this is pretty universal state to state but I could be wrong.

Home businesses are a different animal.

Hope this helps!

FromScratchSF is right... 100%.

Now not ALL recipes will get you to that magic number for water activity, and you should get your recipe tested by the state lab to confirm.  The state lab here does it for $15.00 per recipe. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by LovelyCakes4Us 


Thanks now I don't have to buy nasty fake powdered cream cheese! Yippy! safe serve this month, I'm glad to know that my cream cheese is shelf stable...

Yes, absolutely get your recipe tested before you declare your cream cheese icing shelf stable and store it in the temperature danger zone.  You could make someone really, really ill.

Clarification - most ABC recipes call for 1/2 lb cream cheese, 1/2 lb butter (or shortening) + 2 lbs PS (or around those ratios).  I'm not aware of any icing recipe that is 100% cream cheese + powdered sugar.  That would be gross and unworkable I think.  

ABC really isn't my area of expertise so I don't really know recipe variations or all the different things people do with it. but I think they all start with the above base recipe.

No... that wouldn't be workable at all (the all cream cheese and PS), and I don't know anyone who does that... LOL.  I don't use ABC much either, but I have in the past, and I have also made cream cheese icing much like the ratio you posted. 

I believe Earlene Moore has a CC icing on her site that is shelf stable. I found a site with the recipe here http://www.texascottagefoodlaw.com/Resources/Recipes/CreamCheeseButtercreamEarlene.aspx

Quote:

Originally Posted by FromScratchSF 

Simple - whatever they are making is shelf stable.  The American National Standards Institute (guidelines used by most health departments) says something is shelf stable if it has a water activity of  .85 or below, or a pH of 4.6 and above.  Science proves that under these conditions, the bacteria that causes food born illness cannot grow and thrive.  When you add pounds of powdered sugar to cream cheese, you are drastically lowering the water activity level way under .85 (sugar eats water by osmosis).  That's why, even with a little cream or sour cream added, ABC icing is shelf stable.

 

So is ganache - I don't know why people here even question this!  There is so much sugar in chocolate and the pH is so high that its' completely shelf stable.

 

Well I have to correct some of the above.  My education taught me that bacteria like pH to be higher than 4--the closer it is to 7, the happier the little buggers are to eat and reproduce.  So I went to the link at Earlene's recipe in this thread. Thanks for posting it.

First of all, what is permitted to a cottage food operator varies from state to state.  The recipe link is ONLY good for the State of Texas.

Second: here is a link to the link to TX regulations http://www.texascottagefoodlaw.com/Resources/FoodTesting.aspx  and the regs themselves 

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dshs.state.tx.us%2Ffoodestablishments%2Fpdf%2FTFERFIMSeptember282006.pdf&ei=3xzeTpPsKsSFsgK5so30Dw&usg=AFQjCNEnMryhl3x2kED2FVTjhX-99_32sA&sig2=0rEM1DaYKlzZscBVF4sJAQ

I downloaded the rules and read pages 11-13 carefully:  correct info is that a LOW pH is what protects against bacterial growth. The pH and water activity must both be LOWER than set limits, as you can see from the two tables on page 13.  That is, FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS.

FYI a partial answer to the original question: I have read the ingredients lists of commercial icings, and they contain potassium sorbate and other chemical preservatives. 

Commercial sour cream naturally contains a fair bit of acid, and when you load it with sugar, it may comply with safe rules for commercial restaurants and bakeries but NOT some state cottage food regs.

I will finally say that food establishments usually replenish room-temperature products every few hours from chilled products stored in production fridges.  Food put out for sale must be covered if not packaged, and must comply with holding temperature times in some local jurisdictions.  

Those regulations are the same as they are here in NH, or at least they were back when I was still at home.  I would imagine that most states are the same as you aren't going to change the fact that bacteria don't like those conditions from state to state.  No one has said to not take a look at your state's regulations... this was just to answer the question as to if either options could be shelf stable.  The answer was yes... but that not all recipes are created equally.

The sour cream is added to regular butter cream so it's not just sour cream and sugar... it's shortening, butter, sugar, salt, and a wee bit of sour cream.  And the cream cheese is also added to regular buttercream... nowhere in this thread has anyone ever suggested that people use cream cheese or sour cream alone mixed with sugar and I don't know why people keep saying things like you can't add enough sugar to cream cheese/sour cream to make it shelf stable... that was never questioned.