Soften fats for buttercream
I am trying to make a stable buttercream and I am using butter and shortening [in the UK we call it trex or cookeen].
However, in this cold weather the fats are not getting to room temperature.
What is the best to soften them?
I don't own a microwave.
Best Answer
I have had to deal with this several times recently as the people who I bought my house from didn't see fit to have a radiator in the kitchen, so it is often cold in the winter. There's 2 things you need to deal with, one is getting the butter up to temperature and the other is keeping it there. Radiators do work, but are often too hot and if you lose track you can end up melting your butter.
What I do to get the butter up to temperature is to cut the butter/shortening up into cubes and submerge it in warm water. Not hot water, but somewhere between normal room temperature and body temperature unless the butter is fridge temperature in which case I use body temperature water.
Once I make a buttercream I use a warm water bath to keep the buttercream up to a workable temperature, basically I have a roasting tray of warm water and set the bowl with the buttercream in it. If I'm piping it I will put the side of the piping bag in the warm water, which also works when piping stiff doughs like Viennese cookie dough.
Pictures about "Soften fats for buttercream"
How soft should buttercream butter be?
However, it only takes an hour or two for butter from the fridge to warm to room temperature. The butter should be soft enough to indent with your finger using a bit of pressure, but not soft enough to totally squish in the packaging.Can I use lard in buttercream icing?
Lard is the best substitute for those who don't mind using animal fats in their baking. However, we don't recommend it as a shortening substitute in buttercream frosting.Can you use Copha instead of shortening?
Even though it might seem so, Copha, Crisco and Solite are not equivalent at all. Whenever the recipe calls for Crisco or Solite, you can usually swap it with Copha, but you can't always swap it the other way around.How do you soften vegetable shortening?
Slicing the Copha into thin slices and leaving the slices on a plate will help it to soften more quickly. It may also help to beat the room temperature Copha on its own for a few minutes first, so that it is really soft, before you add the butter.How to Soften Refrigerated Buttercream Frosting
More answers regarding soften fats for buttercream
Answer 2
You need to increase the surface area of the butter or fat exposed to room air.
You can do that by measuring the amount called for by the recipe, than do any of:
- cut into small pieces with a knife, spread apart on a sheet
- chunk it with a spoon into many pieces, spread apart on a sheet
- roll the glob into a thin sheet (done between pieces of wax paper)
- freeze it the night before, then use a coarse shredder to grate the frozen piece, spreading the grinds over a baking sheet
I like the simplicity and orderliness of the first method.
The easiest method of all if you can do it: store the shortening in a warmer location. Obviously, you can not do this with butter.
Answer 3
Chop the fats into small cubes and leave them near (but not on) a heat source like a radiator. Chopping them small allows them to warm up more quickly and evenly.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Karolina Grabowska, Alex Green, Tim Douglas, Tim Douglas