Ultimate Guide to Storing Frosting: Tips for Saving Premade and Leftover Buttercream
Whether you're an experienced baker or just beginning, knowing how to store buttercream can save you time and effort. Since it stores so well, I frequently prepare my buttercream in advance and save leftovers for future projects. Here’s a simple guide on storing buttercream in the refrigerator or freezer and answers to some common questions.
What frostings can you pre-make and store?
Nearly all the buttercreams featured on my site can be refrigerated or frozen using the methods outlined below.
The following buttercreams from my site are suitable for advance preparation and storage:
- American Buttercream (excluding cream cheese variations)
- Russian Buttercream
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Italian Meringue Buttercream
- Ermine Buttercream
- French Buttercream
- German Buttercream
- Sugarologie Buttercreams
The following frostings from my site are NOT suitable for making ahead of time:
I advise against making Cream Cheese American Buttercreams for storage. Due to the stabilizers in the cream cheese, re-mixing before use may cause the frosting to become too loose.
Additionally, I do not recommend pre-making or storing Whipped Cream Frostings, as they are delicate foams that tend to lose volume over time. While stabilizers can help, their preparation is straightforward enough that it's best to make them just before use.
How long can you store frosting?
Based on my experience, the buttercreams listed above can be stored for up to three weeks in the refrigerator and three months in the freezer. However, since butter is such a fantastic item to store in your freezer, I bet you could keep buttercreams in the freezer for even longer, given that you keep the container air-tight.
How far in advance can you make frosting for a cake?
The timing for making frosting depends on your schedule and the complexity of your cake. If you have a full day available, preparing and assembling the cake in one go is entirely feasible.
Personally, I prefer not to complete all the steps in one day for more involved cakes, like layer cakes. Instead, I like to prepare the components in advance, allowing a separate day just for assembly and decoration. This approach is particularly helpful when making dozens of cupcakes.
Typically, I prepare the frosting at least 1 to 2 days before the assembly day. Here’s a general timeline that works well for me:
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Assembly Day can also be the day you intend to serve the cake, and I’ll soon have a more detailed tutorial on best practices for storing pre-made and leftover cake.
Step-by-step Tutorial: How I Store Frostings
Place the frosting on a sheet of plastic wrap (1a). Fold the plastic to fully encase the frosting, ensuring an airtight seal on all sides (1b). I prefer to shape the frosting into flat squares for easy stacking and storage (1c). Flattening the frosting also increases the surface area, allowing it to thaw more quickly.
Once you have a nice square (1d), label it with the type of buttercream and the date (1e). Store it in the refrigerator for up to three weeks or freeze it for up to three months. For longer storage in the freezer, I recommend placing the frosting squares in zip-top freezer bags to protect them from absorbing any odors.
To use frozen buttercream, transfer it from the freezer to the refrigerator the day before you need it. Place buttercream stored in the fridge on the countertop until it softens slightly, which you can typically determine by bending the square of buttercream easily (2a). Then, place the softened buttercream into a mixing bowl (2b).
Using the paddle attachment (3a), mix on low speed until the buttercream becomes smooth and creamy (3b). Depending on the temperature of your buttercream, this can take up to 10 minutes (or maybe even more), but in the end, you should get a smooth, satiny buttercream ready to frost and pipe with.
How do I fix buttercream that has separated after thawing and mixing?
Sometimes, when remixing buttercream, you might notice it separating or looking broken and curdled. This is often due to the combination of cold butter and a broken emulsion. It’s a common issue with True Buttercreams. Sometimes, it occurs with American Buttercreams, though typically only if you've added a significant amount of liquid, purees, or other water-based elements.
A broken buttercream is fixable.
Continue using the paddle attachment, or switch to the whisk to speed up the process. Rebuilding the emulsion involves mixing and time, the duration of which depends on the buttercream type and the degree of separation. Applying a bit of heat to the bowl with a hair dryer can hasten this process. However, I recommend allowing the buttercream to naturally come to room temperature, which could take several minutes. Keep mixing on medium speed until it re-emulsifies.
After the buttercream is re-emulsified, it may look very aerated with large air pockets. If using the whisk attachment, switch back to the paddle for final smoothing.
To prevent your buttercream separation after cold storage, ensure it is flexible and bendy before mixing, as demonstrated in the above picture. This flexibility typically indicates that the buttercream is at the optimal temperature for maintaining and smoothing the emulsion. If you prefer to use a thermometer, aim for a temperature range of 65-75 °F (18-24 °C).
Another way to prevent separation is to consider using one of my True Buttercreams incorporating Frosting Butter. These buttercreams remain creamy and do not appear curdled or separated even after being stored and re-whipped. The methodical approach to building the emulsion in these Frosting Butter True Buttercreams results in a more homogeneous and stable frosting.
If you'd like to get a more detail tutorial on broken or curdled buttercreams, check out this post here.
Does freezing or refrigeration affect the buttercream's texture, color, or taste?
Freezing or refrigeration should not significantly affect the taste of the buttercream if it is adequately protected from air exposure. Ensure it is airtight to maintain quality.
There should also be no negative effects on the buttercream's texture if you follow the thawing process outlined above.
If you’ve dyed your buttercream, some diffusion will occur, making it appear darker or more saturated. This is more apparent with the True Buttercreams, which have more water-based ingredients and allow water-based dyes to diffuse more readily. If you use oil-based dyes (such as Colour Mill), there is minimal diffusion of color, and it stays relatively consistent.
Ready to try out some of my buttercreams?
Step by step:
Video
Read this before you begin
Measure by weight, if possible.
Measuring by weight is the best way for you to replicate my recipes. I develop recipes using ingredients (even liquids) measured in grams, which is why you see them listed first in the recipe cards. For measurements under 5 grams, I will typically only list the volumetric measurements (teaspoons, etc.), as most home scales are not precise for such small weights.
In most cases, I have converted grams to volumetric measurements (aka US customary units) for bakers who prefer this method. However, the measurements are not as precise and may have awkward proportions. The recipes should still work, but for the ultimate precision, try to use weight.
This is the OXO scale I use daily. I also purchased this budget version of a good scale, which I keep at my Mom’s house for baking. If you’re interested in other tools I use for my baking, I’ve compiled a list here.
Use room temperature ingredients.
All my ingredients should be used at room temperature, or 65-75 °F/18-24 °C. I will always indicate if you need something outside this range. If no details are given, room temperature is the default.
Pay attention to the ingredient descriptions.
I try not to be brand-specific, but I will always note an interesting result from a type of ingredient, be it negative or positive.
A specific note regarding salt: I use Diamond Crystal Kosher salt for everything on this site except for frostings. In frostings, you want the salt to dissolve more easily, and kosher salt tends to leave granules behind. If you substitute table salt (more finely granulated) for recipes that list kosher salt, you must use half the volume indicated in my recipes.
Substitutions are hard.
That’s not to say they’re impossible, though. For instance, in many cases, substituting reduced fat for whole milk (and thus reducing fat by less than 2%) will probably be fine. Using applesauce for oil or even Greek yogurt when sour cream is listed will definitely alter the fat content and adversely affect the crumb texture and density of the cake.
I experiment for hours to get these recipes to work for us. First, try to make them as written or use one of my tested substitutions, which I often dedicate a section to. Then, if necessary, you can make modifications afterward. Even then I would be pretty cautious, as substitutions are one of the hardest things to investigate in recipe development.
Read all the recipe instructions before beginning.
I’m in the “Pre-read the Chapter before Class Lecture” club... and I invite you to join! Baking new recipes can be intimidating, so let’s set you up for success. I want you to think about timeframes. Most fillings and frostings can be made ahead of time, and give you an extra day for mental space. Also, as you become a more proficient baker, you can anticipate and recognize steps. (“Oh, this has a meringue step, so I’ll need an extra clean bowl…” etc.) Ensure you go down the ingredient list and have everything at the right temperature.
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Recipe Card - Adriana's Notes
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