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Was it worth spending 4 hours fixing a buttercream that split, or should I have just started over?
So I was making a big batch of Swiss meringue buttercream for my sister's wedding cake last month. Everything looked perfect until I added the butter and it split into a greasy mess. I spent 4 hours trying to fix it - warming it, cooling it, whipping it with more butter. Finally got it smooth again but I was exhausted and rushed the actual cake assembly. Ended up with some wonky layers. My friend said I should have just tossed it and started fresh, but that seemed wasteful with 6 sticks of butter. What do you all do when buttercream splits? Keep trying to fix it or cut your losses?
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barbara_jenkins6610d ago
You're right that tossing 6 sticks of butter feels like throwing money in the trash... but 4 hours is a lot of time too. Time is worth something. I've had buttercream split on me before and I usually try to fix it once, maybe twice, then call it quits. The thing is, once you get it smooth again you're still dealing with buttercream that's been overworked and might act weird on the cake. Sometimes it's better to just start fresh and save yourself the headache later, even if it hurts to waste the ingredients.
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taylor_patel10d ago
Ngl, "might act weird on the cake" is the most relatable thing I've heard all day. Like yeah, you can salvage a split buttercream, but then it's basically a ticking time bomb on your counter. I swear, I've had a "saved" batch suddenly go greasy the second I tried to pipe rosettes. Honestly, at that point you're not saving time, you're just throwing good money after bad AND wasting 4 hours. Tbh, sometimes the real flex is knowing when to yeet that butter into the trash and start over.
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