I am making two wedding cakes that will be transported from austin to san antonio next month (mid-june). I need a buttercream recipe that will really hold up to the heat. I’ve tried the neoclassic buttercream, but it just melts. any recommendations? I would really appreciate the help.

Search the main blog as this issue has been discussed extensively there.  I’m pretty sure people said mousseline works the best.

Hi Miranda - Rose states that the Mousseline Buttercream is the most stable in hot weather, but buttercream is buttercream… if the cake will be exposed to the mid June Texas heat/sun, you might want to rethink buttercream all together, but if the cake will be transported in an airconditioned vehicle, and placed on display in an air conditioned room, you should be fine. 

You might be interested in reading the blog thread “Mousseline the magic buttercream”.  You can read about how well it held up at an extremely warm reception.

http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/questions_and_answers/cake_questions/wedding/

unless you use the untasty confectioner’s sugar buttercream, MOUSSELINE BUTTERCREAM is Cake’s Bible best bet.  You will be fine, just make sure the sun doesn’t hit your cake or cake box.

I agree - Mousseline buttercream is the best for warm weather! You can also try substituting Crisco for some of the butter, though not too much or you will lose the taste. (I would personally not resort to using Crisco because I am disdainful of partially hydrogenated fats… which is why I bake at home in the first place - to avoid trans fats).

crisco has been reformulated, has no trans fat, but it is still iffy because whatever is made of it isn’t a naturally occuring food ingredient!

lots of hydrogenated products out there that gives frostings a baker’s dream to work with.  I’ve worked recently with a commercial “whipped cream toppng” that has ZERO cream!  it is so alike to the flavor of average bakeries.

Didn’t Shirley Corriher use one of the buttercreams (decreasing the butter) for a summer wedding in Atlanta?  It might be worthwhile to check that section in TCB and see which recipe it is.

You can also us a traditional Italian Meringue Buttercream (which is similiar to the mousseline buttercream), which is the most stable of the meringue based buttercreams and will hold up in hot weather as long as the cake is kept out of the sun.

It’s also a good idea to keep the cake in an air conditioned area as long as possible before it needs to be displayed and served.

Roxanne

I believe Mousseline is a traditional Italian Meringue Buttercream.

I don’t know how long it takes to drive from Austin-San Antonio but it sounds as if the cake will be out of refrigeration longer than usual.  If you have an SUV, you might be able to pack it in such a way as to minimize the effect of the heat.  A friend does this when she drives things from San Diego to LA, and doesn’t have the refrigerated truck available.  I’ve been in some cars with such powerful AC that you feel as if you’re in a fridge!  If your AC isn’t that strong, this might help.

Put the tiered cake in a box (I get them at the UPS store) and get a box that is larger than the cake’s box.  For example, if you are doing a 12/9/6, and you use a 16” round board, you would get a 16x16x16 box from UPS.  You would also get a 20x20x20 box to put the 16” in.  My friend uses a garment bag box as the outside box because she’s got a delivery van and has the height to do this.

Put the cake box in the larger box and use ice packs (in baggies) or dry ice (packaged appropriately) in the larger box - you can tape it to the sides of the box or whatever works for you.

The buttercream that Shirley Corriher used, with decreased butter, is TCB’s white chocolate cream cheese buttercream.  Her Cookwise book is fabulous, makes me almost as educated about general cooking principles as the Cake Bible does about cakes!

I love the box-within-a box idea, maybe some dry ice could be incorporated?  Be sure to use the fresh air intake on your car’s AC, so the fumes don’t build up in the closed car.

Good Luck,
Julie