Forum: cooking.stackexchange.com
Tags: <sugar><butter><shortening>
Title: How can I keep my buttercream from becomming grainy?
Question: I am making buttercream icing, but the powdered sugar does not dissolve with the butter and shortening. The icing is grainy. How can I prevent this?

Answers:
sents: text: This can have different reasons.
text: How long did you mix it?
text: The transition between grainy and creamy can come late and suddenly, but it should happen eventually.
text: Was the butter cold?
text: I have been getting the best results with room-temperature butter.
text: Did you sieve the powdered sugar?
text: If not, that may be the problem.
text: Or did it perhaps get wet at some point and crystallize again?
text: If all these are NOT the problem, try adding some milk, or if you plan to use it anyway, vanilla essence, in small drops, while stirring.
text: I hope one of these will help :).
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/26972/Layna
score: 8
sents: text: Just like when making fudge, Mother used to fold this by hand in a metal bowl on her lap.
text: Honestly I think it's the slight impartation of body temperature which induces the sugar granules (microgranules) to break down a bit, you know, just this side of syrup.
text: The smallest taste every once in awhile marks your progress.
text: (It was really nice to be reminded of this.)
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/28723/Tom Raywood
score: 4
sents: text: Follow all of Layna's answer , and also sift the sugar, and keep everything at room temperature.
text: If you use milk, only a half teaspoon.
text: Remember you can't rush perfection.
text: The trick with all cooking baking and even life is patience.
text: Grainy is a texture, not a flavor.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/27621/Heath James Cadriel
score: 3
sents: text: Start with room temperature butter.
text: Beat it for 2 or 3 minutes.
text: Put the splash cover over the mixer bowl.
text: Start the mixer and then ...
text: THIS IS THE KEY ... add the sieved icing sugar (powdered sugar) TABLESPOON BY TABLESPOON beating well between each addition.
text: I searched the internet trying to find out how to lose the grainy texture & the above 'be very patient' method worked!
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/51677/user51677
score: 2
sents: text: This was an issue I had that drove me crazy for such a long time!
text: We're talking throwing-spatulas-across-the-kitchen-frustrated.
text: The magic fix is to use ONLY PURE CANE SUGAR.
text: I know it sounds too easy, but after reading labels on the sugar I was buying (store brand because, hello, it's cheaper and what's the difference, really?)
text: I noticed that the ingredients only say "sugar".
text: Which likely means that it comes from beets, rather than sugar cane.
text: Yes, it's a thing.
text: A very common thing, and after delving more into it
text: it turns out that beet sugar also browns differently from cane sugar.
text: Unless the ingredients label specifies "cane sugar" it's likely not made with sugar cane.
text: I don't know the science behind it, but it has been a game changer for me.
text: This, coupled with making sure the butter is (cool) room temp before creaming it and adding the vanilla very last thing have improved my buttercream more than I ever could have imagined.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/72872/Terri Tyree
score: 1
sents: text: Graininess is a matter of perspective.
text: Unfortunately, the American buttercream you're going for is inherently on the grainier side.
text: There are ways to adulterate it so that it's smoother, but in doing so, you'll get away from a pure American buttercream.
text: Contrary to what one commenter said
text: , butter/powdered sugar as a frosting is purely an American invention, popularized by Wilton decorating.
text: French buttercream is made by dissolving sugar in an egg yolk mixture over a Bain Marie and then beating room temperature butter into the cooled mixture.
text: Swiss and Italian meringue buttercreams are similar in that they require dissolving the sugar crystals completely, leading to a perfectly smooth texture.
text: The other European option is German buttercream, which requires a pastry cream which you then beat butter into.
text: The difference between German and french styles is the inclusion of cooked starch in the pastry cream.
text: The last semi(?)
text: American version which is probably easiest (and does not include eggs) is ermine buttercream...
text: I generally see this referred to in older recipes as trailer park frosting, so I wonder if it's German buttercream made without eggs because of poverty.
text: This requires cooking a pudding with water or milk, sugar, and starch, which also dissolves the sugar completely, giving a perfectly smooth texture.
text: However due to the increased moisture content, and relatively low sugar,you should refrigerate this frosting if you plan to keep it more than a few days.
text: If you seriously want to avoid cooking, you can experiment with using more shortening to replace part of the butter, and sugar syrup to replace part of the powdered sugar.
text: However I don't have as much experience with those ingredients.
text: Good luck!
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/56913/kitukwfyer
score: 1

Summary of the answers:
American buttercream tends to be grainy by nature, but using pure cane sugar and adding the sieved icing sugar tablespoon by tablespoon, beating after each addition, will give a smoother result.
Using pure cane sugar and adding the sugar one spoonful at a time are ways to avoid a grainy buttercream. Keeping the mixture slightly warm may also help. However, American buttercream is grainy and trying to make it smooth is changing the product.