In theory, whipping up a tasty buttercream frosting is a rather easy process. Just beat butter, sugar, and milk together using a stand or hand mixer, and you’ll be left with a soft, fluffy frosting perfect for decorating cakes, cookies, and more. You can also swap in this secret ingredient for extra smooth frosting. In practice, however, bakers know that achieving the perfect frosting texture is not as simple as it sounds. Even if you perfectly time out when you add each ingredient to the mixer, your buttercream may end up crystallized or gritty — not ideal if the goal is a silky smooth finish. This is a result of the sugar not fully dissolving into the rest of the frosting.
As with any other baking task, making frosting requires precision. Room temperature, altitude, and even the humidity can all affect how a recipe turns out. In the case of crystallized buttercream, the problem is often using butter that is too cold, which stops the sugar crystals from melting into the mixture. To fix grainy frosting, heat it up over the stove by either setting up a double boiler or setting a metal bowl directly above the burner. Don’t completely melt the buttercream; only heat it up until a bit of it softens, then mix it again until fluffy.
Smooth out frosting by dissolving the sugar
Another way you could smooth out grainy frosting is to add a splash of milk to the mixture. While beating the buttercream, slowly pour in a small amount of room-temperature milk until you’re satisfied with the texture. Grainy buttercream also presents a yummy opportunity. Instead of dissolving the sugar with milk, try incorporating a teaspoon or two of warm melted chocolate. Not only will this heat up the butter to smooth the mixture, but it will also give the final product a delicious chocolate twist. In some cases, crystalized frosting can also be fixed by simply beating the mixture for a while longer. And if all else fails, you can always try this incredible three-ingredient frosting instead.
There are a few ways to stop your buttercream from becoming gritty in the first place, like using room-temperature butter. The softer the butter, the easier it is to incorporate with the other ingredients. It’s also important to use powdered sugar for this recipe. Unless you really know your way around a stand mixer, coarser sugars typically lead to gritty, sandy frosting. To make the powdered sugar even finer, sift it before adding it to the mixer to get rid of any large chunks. With the proper preparation and a bit of temperature control, you’ll have a luscious frosting ready for decorating — all you’ll need is a spoon and a plastic bag.
