Does homemade buttercream frosting have to be refrigerated?

I’ve seen many questions online about whether buttercream frosting can be stored at room temperature. The answer is, absolutely not! The butter needs to be cold when you make the frosting because it will incorporate better into the cake.

You definitely don’t want to reheat the buttercream before applying it to your cake. And you definitely don’t want to leave it out at room temperature for a long time. In most cases, you can safely store your buttercream at room temperature.

However, if you're making buttercream in large batches, you may want to consider storing it in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it. Storing it in the refrigerator will help keep the buttercream from separating and become lumpy.

Does homemade buttercream frosting need to be kept cold?

You can skip the refrigerator for a few hours, but the longer your homemade buttercream is out at room temperature, the more likely it will become runny and unable to hold its shape.

If you’re planning to keep the buttercream out for a few hours, put it in a container with a tight lid to help it stay cool and set it in the refrigerator for the first few hours after making. The consistency of a room temperature buttercream frosting is different from a chilled one. A chilled buttercream will be thinner and more spreadable, while a room temperature buttercream will be thicker and more gloppy.

But if your buttercream is too cold, it will break and form cracks on the surface. Here’s what you can do to prevent this: let the buttercream come to room temperature before spreading it on the cooled cake.

You can also place the buttercream in the refrigerator

Can homemade buttercream frosting be refrigerated?

The short answer is yes, you can refrigerate buttercream frosting. It will keep the buttercream from separating, and the cool temperature will prevent it from turning runny when you’re piping it onto your cake. You can also make your frosting a day ahead of time, or freeze it for up to two weeks.

But it should be well-chilled before applying to your cake so it’s easier to work with. If you make your own buttercream frosting, you have more control over the ingredients and nutritional value. However, you need to know that you can keep the buttercream in the refrigerator for up to two days.

Refrigerate the buttercream in an airtight container. When you are ready to use it, take the buttercream out of the refrigerator and let it thaw at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

Can homemade buttercream frosting be warmed up?

You can certainly warm up buttercream frosting before spreading it on cake! To do so, microwave buttercream for about 30 seconds, then stir it until it’s smooth again. You can even add ingredients like cocoa powder or ground nuts or spices to your buttercream before reheating it to make your frosting even more customized.

To make sure your buttercream doesn’t get too soft, you can also chill it in the refrigerator for a few hours. It’s easy to defrost buttercream frosting, either in the refrigerator or in the microwave. Just set the bowl in a saucepan filled with hot water that’s about an inch above the buttercream’s rim.

Let it sit for a few minutes until it becomes malleable. You can even reheat it in the microwave. Just make sure to stop defrosting when the buttercream has returned to a lighter consistency and no longer feels grainy.

Does homemade buttercream frosting need to be kept cold in the

Many people think that the buttercream should be stored in the refrigerator to prevent it from softening. In reality, refrigerating buttercream frosting does not change its consistency or make it set up faster. Buttercream frosting should be stored at room temperature. If you are planning on using it the next day, you will want to keep it in the refrigerator. If you plan to use homemade buttercream within 24 hours, then you should definitely put it in the refrigerator. However, it is perfectly fine to let your buttercream sit out at room temperature for up to two days, as long as the butter isn’t beginning to separate. You definitely don’t want to try to use a buttercream that’s been sitting out at room temperature for more than two days.