Buttercream fails- chemistry to the rescue
How adding cream cheese fixed my buttercream chemically. Buttercream is basically an emulsion plus a sugar suspension, and adding cream cheese changed several physical properties at once. What happened when you added too much sugar In an American-style buttercream, powdered sugar does a few things: absorbs water thickens the frosting stabilizes the fat structure increases sweetness But when you add too much , the system becomes overloaded with solid sugar particles. Instead of a smooth fat-water emulsion, you get: a dense paste reduced free moisture graininess or stiffness overwhelming sweetness The sugar particles compete strongly for available water because sugar is highly hygroscopic (water-attracting). Why cream cheese fixed it Cream cheese contains: water milk proteins milk fat acids (lactic acid) Each component helped. 1. Added water rehydrated the sugar The excess powdered sugar needed more moisture to dissolve partially and lubricate the particles. Cream cheese is roughly half ...
