TIL my buttercream frosting problem took three days to fix

I kept getting these tiny lumps in my Swiss meringue buttercream, no matter how much I whipped it. I thought it was the butter temperature, so I tried warming it, cooling it, even using a different brand. Turns out my sugar wasn't dissolving completely in the egg whites over the double boiler, and those undissolved grains were the lumps. I had to start over twice and watch the thermometer like a hawk until it hit 160 degrees exactly. Has anyone else had this happen with Swiss meringue?

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3 Comments

zara5126mo ago

My cousin's wedding cake last year had the same gritty texture. The baker swore it was the humidity, but we all noticed those tiny sugar crystals. She ended up redoing the whole batch of frosting at 2 AM, using a finer caster sugar and checking it every minute. It was a whole drama. Do you think using superfine sugar from the start would help avoid that?

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julia926mo ago

Oh man, that "whole drama" sounds like my last attempt, which ended up looking like sweetened beach sand.

1

reese_ward506mo ago

My last batch took four tries because I kept missing that exact 160 degree mark. Superfine sugar is a total game changer for getting it smooth.

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