NCEPR - Frosting and refrigeration

[eponinepontmercy]

DD requested chocolate cupcakes with strawberry frosting for her birthday.  I know regular buttercream doesn't have to be refrigerated, but what if I add fruit?  The recipes I've seen say to add a few tablespoons of strawberry puree to a basic buttercream recipe.

I was hoping to do them tonight, but I can't fit 48 cupcakes in my fridge.  The party is tomorrow.

[winecat]

It's fine to leave out at room temp. I replace the all milk in buttercream with fruit puree to get more fruit flavor.

[pixy0stix]

Sept 4, 2015 8:49:02 GMT -5 winecat said:

It's fine to leave out at room temp. I replace the all milk in buttercream with fruit puree to get more fruit flavor.

And it's the best strawberry frosting on the face of this earth.

[winecat]

Sept 4, 2015 8:49:20 GMT -5 @majorwife said:

are you opposed to strawberry extract and red dye? i wouldnt go to all the work to add a puree, but thats me

It's not too much work- pretty quick and easy actually.  I don't strain the fruit puree to get the seeds out and I use frozen fruit usually so thaw and puree in a food processor.  

[eponinepontmercy]

Sept 4, 2015 8:49:20 GMT -5 @majorwife said:

are you opposed to strawberry extract and red dye? i wouldnt go to all the work to add a puree, but thats me

It's just frozen strawberries, defrosted and thrown in the Ninja, and we already have them.  If the flavor isn't strong enough, I'll run out for some extract.

Point 2 as to why I want to do them tonight.  If the frosting doesn't work out, I still have time for a plan b.  

[eponinepontmercy]

Sept 4, 2015 8:51:47 GMT -5 winecat said:

Sept 4, 2015 8:49:20 GMT -5 @majorwife said:

are you opposed to strawberry extract and red dye? i wouldnt go to all the work to add a puree, but thats me

It's not too much work- pretty quick and easy actually.  I don't strain the fruit puree to get the seeds out and I use frozen fruit usually so thaw and puree in a food processor.  

I was going to strain them because the seeds annoy me when I make smoothies.  Should I not bother?

[cap]

You could make the frosting tonight and stick it in the fridge, then frost in the morning, if you're really worried about it. You'd need a little extra time to let it soften up some, though.

[arterr0]

Most frostings are fine left out overnight because the sugar concentration is high enough to prevent bacterial growth.

Agree with using real strawberry purée. I also throw in an ounce of pulverized freeze-dried strawberries and a touch of strawberry extract (not artificial flavoring), but I'm high maintenance like that.

[winecat]

Sept 4, 2015 8:53:15 GMT -5 eponinepontmercy said:

Sept 4, 2015 8:51:47 GMT -5 winecat said:

It's not too much work- pretty quick and easy actually.  I don't strain the fruit puree to get the seeds out and I use frozen fruit usually so thaw and puree in a food processor.  

I was going to strain them because the seeds annoy me when I make smoothies.  Should I not bother?

I make sure the fruit is soft if it has been frozen and then I let the food processor run for a while to make sure it's smooth so there's rarely a seed that you can see.  The food processor seems to do a better job with the seeds than a blender.  

[eponinepontmercy]

Sept 4, 2015 9:00:57 GMT -5 winecat said:

Sept 4, 2015 8:53:15 GMT -5 eponinepontmercy said:

I was going to strain them because the seeds annoy me when I make smoothies.  Should I not bother?

I make sure the fruit is soft if it has been frozen and then I let the food processor run for a while to make sure it's smooth so there's rarely a seed that you can see.  The food processor seems to do a better job with the seeds than a blender.  

Thanks for the tip!  I'll ask DH if he'd rather wash the food processor or the sieve.    (His contribution to party prep is washing dishes.)

[aurora]

Sept 4, 2015 8:57:24 GMT -5 arterr0 said:

Most frostings are fine left out overnight because the sugar concentration is high enough to prevent bacterial growth.
...

I did not know this was the reason.

Since I already learned my new thing for today, can I start my long weekend now?

[winecat]

Sept 4, 2015 9:16:05 GMT -5 aurora said:

Sept 4, 2015 8:57:24 GMT -5 arterr0 said:

Most frostings are fine left out overnight because the sugar concentration is high enough to prevent bacterial growth.
...

I did not know this was the reason.

Since I already learned my new thing for today, can I start my long weekend now?

My frostings were tested for water motility and pH.  They can all be left out, including the cream cheese which blows the health dept inspectors' minds.  You can definitely start your weekend now if you get some baked goods.  

[aurora]

Sept 4, 2015 9:22:19 GMT -5 winecat said:

Sept 4, 2015 9:16:05 GMT -5 aurora said:

I did not know this was the reason.

Since I already learned my new thing for today, can I start my long weekend now?

My frostings were tested for water motility and pH.  They can all be left out, including the cream cheese which blows the health dept inspectors' minds.  You can definitely start your weekend now if you get some baked goods. 

Do you deliver in the metro area?

[winecat]

Sept 4, 2015 9:27:20 GMT -5 aurora said:

Sept 4, 2015 9:22:19 GMT -5 winecat said:

My frostings were tested for water motility and pH.  They can all be left out, including the cream cheese which blows the health dept inspectors' minds.  You can definitely start your weekend now if you get some baked goods. 

Do you deliver in the metro area?

I do!    But have to tame the beast of my house this morning.  

[rondonalddo]

For future reference, a jar of strawberry jam added to buttercream tastes great (well, for Swiss meringue buttercream, but I'm sure it's the same for regular buttercream)! Just spin it in the food processor first to smooth it out. (And then add more butter if it thins out the frosting too much.)

[debatethis]

Sept 4, 2015 8:53:15 GMT -5 eponinepontmercy said:

Sept 4, 2015 8:51:47 GMT -5 winecat said:

It's not too much work- pretty quick and easy actually.  I don't strain the fruit puree to get the seeds out and I use frozen fruit usually so thaw and puree in a food processor.  

I was going to strain them because the seeds annoy me when I make smoothies.  Should I not bother?

I run them through a mesh sieve after I puree them for stuff like buttercream. It just looks nicer as a finished product (IMO). As to your original question, it's totally fine to leave them overnight unless your house is going to be really warm and then you'll have some sad sad cupcakes tomorrow.

[debatethis]

Sept 4, 2015 9:22:19 GMT -5 winecat said:

Sept 4, 2015 9:16:05 GMT -5 aurora said:

I did not know this was the reason.

Since I already learned my new thing for today, can I start my long weekend now?

My frostings were tested for water motility and pH.  They can all be left out, including the cream cheese which blows the health dept inspectors' minds.  You can definitely start your weekend now if you get some baked goods.  

You are SERIOUS about your frosting, lol.

[rondonalddo]

Also, if you have leftover frosting, buy some graham crackers. Strawberry frosting with graham crackers is THE BEST. And now that's all I'm going to want for the rest of the day.

[winecat]

Sept 4, 2015 10:29:16 GMT -5 debatethis said:

Sept 4, 2015 9:22:19 GMT -5 winecat said:

My frostings were tested for water motility and pH.  They can all be left out, including the cream cheese which blows the health dept inspectors' minds.  You can definitely start your weekend now if you get some baked goods.  

You are SERIOUS about your frosting, lol.

Very serious.  It's the best part!

I didn't want to have to serve people cold cupcakes so I had to get everything tested 3 times. And now that I have a food truck, it's really helpful.  

I can't imagine what it would have done to my production time to have to let the buttercreams come to room temp each morning.  

[debatethis]

Sept 4, 2015 10:37:16 GMT -5 winecat said:

Sept 4, 2015 10:29:16 GMT -5 debatethis said:

You are SERIOUS about your frosting, lol.

Very serious.  It's the best part!

I didn't want to have to serve people cold cupcakes so I had to get everything tested 3 times. And now that I have a food truck, it's really helpful.  

I can't imagine what it would have done to my production time to have to let the buttercreams come to room temp each morning.  

Oh awesome. DH runs a bakery and they make buttercream frosting in 25 gallon buckets. It takes ~24 hrs to come to room temp if they need a whole bucket at once. I can't imagine having to do that on a smaller scale, it really would kill production time.

[winecat]

Sept 4, 2015 10:47:16 GMT -5 debatethis said:

Sept 4, 2015 10:37:16 GMT -5 winecat said:

Very serious.  It's the best part!

I didn't want to have to serve people cold cupcakes so I had to get everything tested 3 times. And now that I have a food truck, it's really helpful.  

I can't imagine what it would have done to my production time to have to let the buttercreams come to room temp each morning.  

Oh awesome. DH runs a bakery and they make buttercream frosting in 25 gallon buckets. It takes ~24 hrs to come to room temp if they need a whole bucket at once. I can't imagine having to do that on a smaller scale, it really would kill production time.

I don't think my health department would have "allowed" a 24 period to come to room temp.  I had one inspector tell me that if I was going to serve "cooked vegetable" (aka pumpkin) cupcakes that I needed to a) keep the cake refrigerated, b) get the cake tested for safety or c) throw them away after being at room temp for 4 hours.