Ok heres the deal,

I'm having horrible problems with humidity. I'm not talking warm, hot weather I'm talking cold, freezing weather. Everyday the humidity is between 75-95% . It is not going any lower.

It causes havoc on my buttercream. Air  Bubbles,  Air Bubbles and won't stick to the cake. I have a dehumidifier which I can take down % to about 45-50%. Still not good. 

So am I way off here on this question ... please don't laugh :)

If  I can make my buttercream in a much lower % and not have any air bubbles.

,can I  put it in the frig or freeze it until ready to use and it stay bubble free if the humidity is up when I"m actually working with it  ?

 Or will I be faced with maybe not  the air bubbles but it not sticking to the cake because the humidity is high again? 

I've read everything I can on line and I do all the things thrown out.

cream good

lower speed

just till mixed

praying over it LOL

This is my recipe

1 cup butter 

1 cup crisco  yes sometimes I use high ratio

flavoring

2 lbs C&H powdered sugar

and heavy cream to desired consistency 

Anyone have any suggestions ? 

thanks, 

Wendy

Hello, there are never any stupid questions.   I was looking at your recipe and was wondering if you always use that much "fat" in the recipe, with the butter, crisco and heavy cream?  It was my understanding that if you add heavy cream to anything it's suppose to make it whip up more, so it adds more "air" to it which could explain the air bubbles.  Also, is the icing/frosting not sticking to the cake or is it sliding off, I wasn't clear on that part?  If it slides off, normally the cake is still too warm, if it doesn't stick the icing is too dry or thick add a few drops of water to it.  Most butter cream recipes can be frozen, thawed out and re whipped for use later.  Also, when I was a Wilton Instructor I would tell the student not to overbeat their icings because it also adds air to it.  Hope this helps you get going in the right direction.  Happy caking!

.........just till mixed...........

HA!  That is so wrong.  I know that's what Wilton teaches but it just is so out of date :(

Really don't know if the humidity is the problem or not.  I almost never had to deal with it.

Your recipe is a good one.  I say/suggest you mix on lowest possible speed for up to 10 minutes.  Make sure your beaters are covered with the icing to help eliminate bubbles.

Here is another recipe you might want to try.     http://cakecentral.com/a/2-icing

  It's especially good and *smooth!* :)

That recipe was given to me by another baker. It has become my favorite taste wise.  So that's how I've come up with the fat ratio. :) by her recipe 

In the summer time our humidity is  between 20-25% between 2 and 5 pm. LOL How do I know this ? 

Everyday I've looked it up.  So that was always when I made my frosting  and decorated my cakes. 

That's why with the humidity high now I figured this was the problem. 

I beat for about 5 min or so after it has already been incorporated. The   Mixer is  on the lowest setting not to bog it down. 

I've let it set overnight and folded it with a spatula to help release air bubbles. It did help but they would show up when starting to smooth my icing.

My cakes are cold. Not frozen or in frig for hrs just cold when I begin to frost. It doesn't fall off as if warm cake. This is what happens . After I crumb I let it settle for several hrs if not over nite. I take it out and let it warm up a bit just so it's not so cold. 

When I apply the final coat lately it has been pulling the crumb away like there is condensation on the crumb coat .... then the final coat starts slipping . At this point sometimes parts are exposed from it not adhering anymore. Or the air bubbles show up while I'm trying to smooth. 

takes me forever to smooth. Viva smooth. 

maybe more info I've provided will produce more suggestions :)

thanks, for your time

Wendy

You have 2 issues.

Air bubbles have nothing to do with humidity. It's how your beating or not beating your frosting that creates air pockets. Do a search on making frosting bubble free.

Too much moisture on the exterior of your frosting will make further applications of frosting slide around before adhering. If you blot dry your surface with a paper towel before adding more frosting that will work.

thank you everyone for your ideas and help 

Wendy

kakeladi is absolutely correct! and lots of good ideas already here's a few more--

we would fill the stand mixer with icing up over the top of the beater--not up into the neck but way over the shoulders of the beater--that way less air can be incorporated--

if it's not sticking to the sides of your cake--you mean when you try to apply it? or it bubbles off later?

if it does not adhere:

• shave the edges of your cake to remove the oil
• firmly spread an amount on comparable to spreading mayo, then ice

if it bubbles after it's iced:

• stick a hat pin into each layer through the icing into the cake in an un-obvious place to let the air escape--keep the holes open--

ideas for you

also--a perfect reason to switch to a menigue icing--swiss is my favorite! ha

You want us to bare ourselves while reading this thread? Or while responding? Where I live it's -2 degrees.   

..........My cakes are cold. Not frozen or in frig for hrs just cold when I begin to frost. It doesn't fall off as if warm cake. This is what happens . After I crumb I let it

settle for several hrs if not over nite. I take it out and let it warm up a bit just so it's not so cold.

When I apply the final coat lately it has been pulling the crumb away like there is condensation on the crumb coat .... then the final coat starts slipping ......

I sure don't know where this idea of putting a crumb coated on a *cold*  cake, then putting it in the frig came from.  It is *TOTALLY* UNnecessary!  Why don't you try crumbing, let it sit room temp about 1/2 hour - probably much less, just until you can touch the icing and it doesn't come off on y our finger, then apply the finish coat.

I bet your problem will stop :)

You know that saying   " I'M SO CONFUSED " lol

Ok. almost all of my filling need to be refrigerated. Plus I've  read by many on here to let your cakes settle. .so if they need to be refrig (because of the filling ) and settle I put them in the frig so I don't take a chance on spoilage.

Now I take them out and leave them out for about 1/2 hr to 45 min to get a little closer to room temp then straight from the frig.  They usually have a small amount of condensation on them. 

My buttercream isn't straight from the refrig either . It is room temp.  

How am I suppose to let them settle then if not in frig. I know I read about the tile or something with a little weight just to help with that .  Isn't at least 2 hrs the shortest amount of time for settling ?

This is what is so puzzling to me . These problems have just been popping up in the last  4 month or so. 

I guess I need to tell you the rest of the story

I bake in a camptrailer. I bought a trailer and we gutted it out and fixed it up . I do leave a heater going. I turn on the  dehumidifer when getting ready to work. and have and some of those baskets with dehumidifer pebbles in them. 

It can get very humid in there and really have to watch when I do my dishes not to be getting ready to make frosting . 

BuT.... I wasn't having this problem this summer when I was doing cakes. 

So as Paul Harvey would say " Now you know the rest of the story "  LOL  :)

I can't even begin to tell you how many 100s (1,000s?) of cakes I have made and *never once* did  I let them 'settle'.  Nor put them in the frig unless using fillings that needed to be kept cold which in a busy bakery were almost never used.....so I just don't think that way :)  Also when using a cold filling the cake was worked on &  completed before storing in frig.

........I bake in a camptrailer......

Oh my:)  Reminds me of when I was living in a RV and did some baking.

............problems have just been popping up in the last  4 month or so. ............

I think I'd look at my ingredients.  What, if anything is different?  Even known brands change their formulas from time to time.  Maybe something you are using has changed - and it's not the humidity at all.

 :) My trailer is 29 ft. and actually fixed up pretty cool. The plus side is I can leave my HOUSE kitchen clean !! :)    and shut the door and walk away  LOL

I try and glean all the info I can from this site and I think what part of it is everyone finds what works for them especially with problems that arise.  There is so much information , suggestions and advice that I tend to try many of them :)

I will check my ingred and see if anything has changed . 

 I usually don't have issues with bulging since I don't put my buttercream right up on the edge.

I will give your  way a try and not let them settle and see what happens.

Thanks Kakeladi