I was wondering if a buttercream icing is a stiff icing?

Question

I am getting married in 6 months and since it's a small wedding, I plan to make my own "cupcake tier" for our "wedding cake". I was just wondering if a buttercream icing is a good stiffer icing that will hold up to the humidity of the summer, or is there a different kind of icing recipe that would be better?? Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Buttercream icing is made with butter and icing sugar, so the more icing sugar you use, the stiffer the icing would be. I would imagine that because of the butter content it may not be the best icing to use if you are planning to use a lot of it, though I have to confess that I don't really understand the term "cupcake tier". If it is to be used to sandwich halves of cakes together than that would be ok, but I would be wary about using it to "coat" a cake with...

EDIT
I just did a quick search on Google and there are lots of sites to look at for info there...
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2003-33,GGLD:en&q=Cake+Icing

PS...Many congratulations on your coming wedding!

Answer 2

Hmmm. It's not an extremely stiff icing, but it is made of butter, which resists humidity. Not heat, though. Royal icing is pretty traditional.

It is the weirdest thing, but my daughter was decorating a cake at school and using "buttercream" icing. Naturally, I tried a little glop -- and it was pure butter, I think! Now, that sounds *very* weird and not tasty at all, but it was on top of a chocolate glaze, and it worked pretty well as long as you had some cake with it. Being butter, it also kept its form very well.

You might try experimenting at home with icings to see what you like best. As long as the cake will be refrigerated/in an air-conditioned hall, I don't think the heat and humidity will affect it.

Oh, here we go:

http://www.baking911.com/cakes/wedding.htm

Much info about the butter cream and royal icing that sounds on-target. I'd forgotten about the fondant -- that's what I used on my wedding rehearsal cake, with a nice strawberry jam underlayer. I used fresh flowers, too, but you may prefer fake ones if it's an outdoor wedding. (See note on site about fresh flowers wilting at 89 degrees.) Whatever -- have a beautiful marriage, and a lovely cake!

Answer 3

Oh definitely. Don't use a whipped cream frosting in the summer. Butter cream is a much better and safer bet for your wedding. Remember that the more butter you use the more likely it will be to wilt. Substitute half butter and half crisco. I know, I know, we don't like to think about eating crisco, no one does, but if you have ever eaten cake at a wedding, you've eaten it and didn't even know it. I would suggest a really good strong vanilla (white vanilla) It just makes a difference in how everything will taste. I think that your cupcake tier idea is a great one. My son just got married and the amount of money shelled out was astronomical and ridiculous. Trust me, everyone will think it is a cute idea and it will be a hit. Oh and one more thing, have a great wedding and a really happy life.

Answer 4

Not a stiff icing, and because of the butter content it might be iffy for an outdoor wedding. You might do better using fondant, or a rolled icing, or a royal icing. Good luck!

Answer 5

I would avoid real butter cream, but if you want to use it. Frost the cupcakes and put them in the refrigerator over night. this will make the butter cream solid. You can easily transport them and after about 30 minutes at room temp it will soften up. If it is going to be really hot out, over say 85 to 90, then reconsider the frosting or use one with shortening in it as well as butter.

Answer 6

Royal Icing is the best to use, it can be picked up from your local bakery or cake shop....
you can use a piping bag and fine tip with butter cream to create a decorative boarder around the edge