John Myers
After baking your last cake you have leftover buttercream and don’t know what to do with it? We will tell you whether you can freeze buttercream or even whole pastries with buttercream and whether they are still edible after thawing.
In a nutshell:
- freezing is possible
- thaw in the fridge
- Whip the cream again
- up to 6 months shelf life.
Freeze buttercream?
Depending on the ingredients in your buttercream, it will be more or less suitable for freezing . With a few tricks, however, you can still save and reuse most types after defrosting. Here we show you how to freeze the different types.
American buttercream
Simple buttercream like American buttercream is just butter and powdered sugar. Therefore, you can freeze them without hesitation and use them again after thawing. Airtight cans are best for storing in the freezer. After defrosting, you should whip the buttercream well again so that you have an airy cream for your cakes and pastries.
Buttercream with pudding
The pudding contains starch , which loses its binding capacity at very low temperatures. Therefore, freezing and thawing buttercream with pudding (German buttercream) becomes liquid and inedible. Therefore, buttercream that contains custard is not suitable for freezing and should be used within a few days.
Buttercream with egg white
The consistency of buttercream with egg white can change as a result of freezing. If the cream curdles after thawing, you should gently heat it and then whip it vigorously again . After that it has a suitable consistency again and you can fill and decorate your cake with it.
Italian buttercream, which is made with egg whites, should be thawed slowly. When it has reached room temperature, you should whip it vigorously again. If the cream is too runny, you can add a little more butter and stir in. If the cream is too thick, carefully heat it over the water bath and then whip it up again.
French buttercream contains egg yolks or whole eggs. You can also freeze this buttercream. However, it quickly becomes liquid at room temperature. Therefore, you should defrost them in the refrigerator and whip them cold so that the cream retains a nice consistency.
Freeze frosting
You can also freeze buttercream with cream cheese. As with the other varieties, you should whip the frosting up well after defrosting, as the cream cheese may get a crumbly consistency from freezing.
Freeze buttercream cake?
If you have already processed your buttercream, you can also freeze the entire cake or the finished pastry. However, you should make sure that the pastry is packed airtight to avoid freezer burn. To thaw your cake, place it in the fridge about 24 hours before serving . This allows the buttercream cake to thaw slowly and keeps a nice consistency. If you want your cake to thaw faster, you can also cut it into ready-made pieces before freezing and then just thaw the pieces again.
Durability
If you pack the buttercream or cake airtight, you can use it for up to 6 months without hesitation.
