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Curdled Italian Buttercream


MissJane

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Hello there:)

I had an issue with some Italian buttercream on the weekend that curdled on me after I added some Cannoli filling for taste.

My buttercream consists of :

12 or 1 cup of egg whites

2 1/4 cup of sugar + 1/4 cup water heated to 240degrees

6 sticks of butter

1tsp vanilla

Once I made the Italian buttercream it looks spot on but then I added 3/4 cup of cannoli filling => ( Impasta Ricotta, confectioners sugar, mascarpone, marsala and vanilla). Adding the cannoli cream made it taste absolutley delicious, was such a same I had to throw it out!

I am just wondering if there is some unwritten rule about what I can flavour my buttercream with

Thankyou for your help!:)

-- Jane

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If the cannoli filling was on the cool side it would cause the buttercream to curdle. I would have just kept beating the crap out of it with the mixer and it probably would have come back together just fine.

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I would think that all of that extra liquid in the filling wouldn't emulsify with the buttercream. I don't think beating it more would've helped..it would've just ended up looking like a curdled mess swimming in water.

Maybe next time just add some mascarpone after the buttercream is beaten & marsala in place of the vanilla?

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At some point, there's too much fat and the emulsion falls apart - that could explain the curdling with the cannoli filling; and sometimes when I'm winging it with adding ingredients, I've had similar issues with adding too much cold passion curd to buttercream and the buttercream curdles.

You can try to apply some heat to melt it a little and try to get it to re-emulsify. I've been known to wave the blowtorch around the bottom of the mixer bowl when the weather is cold and the buttercream is too stiff to work with. You can only do this so many times, though, before the buttercream becomes unworkable. In school, the instructor used to take a third of the buttercream out of the bowl and soften it in the microwave and add it to the mixer at low speed to bring it to a working temp.

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I agree with Jeanne. If you don't have a torch, then you may also try a hair dryer. I have a hot air paint stripper that works as well.

John DePaula
formerly of DePaula Confections
Hand-crafted artisanal chocolates & gourmet confections - …Because Pleasure Matters…
--------------------
When asked “What are the secrets of good cooking? Escoffier replied, “There are three: butter, butter and butter.”

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