Does the icing below need to be refrigerated? I am baking a cake and icing with the recipe below. It is for a dessert auction, but there is no room for refrigeration. It will be out of the fridge but in a cool room for a couple hours prior to the auction, then out another couple hours before it is "won." I was under the impression that buttercream frosting is fine to leave out.
***Lemon Icing***
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine (at room temperature)
1 lemon, grated rind only
1 lemon, juiced
2 teaspoons cream (or more, until spreading consistency)
yellow food coloring, if desired
Butter does not actually have to be refrigerated. It needs to be kept cool but not cold and not refrigerated.
I own a cake decorating business. Your cake will be fine. The sugar slows down the affect of cream souring/spoiling. And butter, technically doesn't have to be refrigerated (that's why butter wells work). I specialize in butter cream...I use real butter and milk or cream all the time. Most frostings can be unrefrigerated for up to three days.
I always refrigerate my cakes while they are with me. When I deliver them, I let the clients know the cakes will be fine during their event, but they would probably be better off refrigerating the leftovers. I tell them this in case they aren't going to have all the left overs eaten in two days. Otherwise, I would be in BIG trouble on wedding days. I often have to deliver those cakes in the morning and they aren't eaten until late afternoon or evening.
p.s. As a side note, use real butter. It will taste better and frost better. Margarine sometimes separates or gets too soft.
No. The sugar acts as a preservative. Buttercream frosting is fine at room temperature for days and days and days.
Yes, it should be fine.. for a few hours.
Unless the room is super warm, then it could melt..
Heck We can leave a Butter cream icing cake covered on the counter for days. No problems.. Think of all the Wedding Cakes that sit out for many, many hours at a time..
It should be fine. When I decorated cakes, we had a 5 gallon bucket of icing that stayed in a shelf.
The only issue I can foresee is if you are planning to do a lot of colorful decoration... Depending on what you use, the colors may bleed, which worsens when the icing gets too warm.
Unless it's really warm, it should be fine. Buttercream is usually fine left out :-)
It should be okay until the room heats up.
My friend bakes cakes for parties and she freezes the cakes for an hour or so before the party time so that it is still cool a couple hours later when it is going to be served.
No worries. It can be out for a few hours. (Frankly, it would probably be fine being out a day or two. That's a minimal amount of cream.)
And I agree with S.B. Use butter, not margarine.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
ANY frosting that uses milk or cream it must be kept in the fridge OR the milk will sour or separate the substance. It will go bad in a few hours.
Just because there is butter in it has no effect on it at all.
The CREAM is the reason it must be kept in the fridge.
Butter cream frosting is butter and powdered sugar creamed together. Maybe some vanilla, crisco, or salt. But I've never used milk or cream in it.
Should be fine.
I always keep baked goods on the counter, that's just what I was taught growing up. This includes frosted cakes and cookies. We eat them within a day or two. It's always been fine.
We keep our butter in a butter dish on the counter for our morning toast an only keep extra sticks in the freezer or fridge... so... it could be out for a week, easily. The frosting will be fine.
