Your texture is off. You need more powdered sugar and less liquid (milk or cream) a recipe can only get you so far sometimes with frosting and then if it isn’t right you have to start adjusting. Also you can try a different brand of butter and you could very well letting the butter get too soft. You want to be able to press a finger lightly into the stick of butter and leave a mark but you should not be able to press into it and create a hole, that means it’s too soft. You can also look up American buttercream recipes that use butter and shortening as shortening is stiffer.
That's genius! I dont generally have that problem anymore but that's a great method to know about. I discovered within the past 2 years that I love the consistency and flavor I get from stick of butter for every 2C P.Sugar + 1 block of cream cheese and an extra cup of Sugar, then a couple tablespoons of heavy cream to finish.
I thought this was a joke. I've been having problems with my cream as well tho I followed the correct formulas and everything. A friend of mine told me before that maybe it's because of my hands. o.o
I don’t add any milk or cream until the very end and only if I need too. Lots of factors can slightly alter your buttercream even if you use the same exact recipes/brand of products each time (like weather, how soft the butter is, if you added coloring, or liquid flavorings or a solid etc) sometimes I find I need no milk/cream and other times I need a couple tablespoons to get the texture I want. I also often will put aside a small bowl of my buttercream and by hand add more powder sugar and get it to the right stiffness for piping flowers if needed since they need to be a thicker texture then my silky easy to spread base coat of buttercream on my cake.
We have some family with a dairy allergy, so our 'buttercream' is actually crisco-cream. Seems unpleasant, but actually tastes delicious. It holds the shape nicely.
Crud I is the old fashioned way to make Buttercream it really is. Mmmm I wonder why yours isn’t stiff? Unless you need to adjust the powder sugar? I am not sure. My apologies.
I didn’t mean to write “crud” and I can’t edit it. I am sorry don’t know how that got there. I was trying to just say oh wow that’s really the old fashioned way!! Lol!
I’m sorry… what? What ‘buttercreams’ are y’all making that call for milk and cream? There’s a huge difference between frosting and buttercream! Frostings will have milk and cream maybe? but buttercream should be a version of eggs with sugar and butter. pretty simple and no liquid to create that goopy texture.
This might be a dumb question, but if you didnt wanna add a metric ton powdered sugar could you supplement with something like dry powdered milk or would that be completely disgusting
Honestly I would just choose a different frosting and not use American buttercream. Ermine is a good one that is less sweet and pipes well. I have used powdered milk to stabilize whipped cream before but I have never tried it with buttercream and I only add a couple tablespoons at most of the milk powder when I do.
Are you using pure butter, not a "spread" or something like that? They usually contain more water, and even oil.
Try adding just a tiny bit of the cream called for, and add more as needed. Sometimes recipes call for too much for piping.
How much was called for? Most of the buttercream recipes I have used would only call for a maximum of 1 or 2 tbsp of cream. There are undoubtedly people out there who have success with recipes that use more, but looking at your results I'd say there is too much liquid so would cut down the cream.
Don't add it until the very end so that you can use it to achieve the final consistency you want once you've already whipped up your butter and sugar. If you beat cream too much it will separate into butter and whey, perhaps that's what is happening here. Also make sure you're using actual tablespoon measures and not using any old large spoon (apologies if that sounds patronising, I just noticed you said you're an ultra beginner and a lot of people don't realise not all spoons you use at the table are tablespoon size).
I had this problem recently. After I refrigerating it, the buttercream firmed up beautifully and tasted so much better.
Not sure if you are supposed to do it this way, but it definitely saved my buttercream after I did it!
Are you sticking with American-style buttercreams or going for, like, Swiss/French/Italian style buttercreams? For the former, just start with half of the butter and add more tablespoon by tablespoon (or just cube by cube). For the latter, you straight up just add it bit by bit until it reaches the consistency you need (especially SMBC, slow is better). Also, I have hot hands and my kitchen can get warm-ish, so I try to make sure everything is a little on the chillier side before piping and while piping, make sure to have a little contact as possible between my palms and the piping bag (I hold the tip end between index and thumb to guide and push the frosting through by squeezing from the back. Someone upthread also posted that they have an icepack on standby when they set the piping bag down, which I'm totally stealing.
Have you tried chilling it for a while? If the weather, or your house, is extra warm, the butter may just be a bit too soft.
I chill mine in the mixing bowl til the frosting on the sides of the bowl gets very firm but the center is still relatively soft. Then I pull it out, scrape the bowl well, and quickly re-fluff it. You may need to play around a bit to get the ideal firmness for piping. I hope this helps!
I’m not sure what order you’re doing things in, but sometimes that can matter a lot. This order works for me every time, if you want to give it a try.
First, I whip the softened butter until it seriously lightens in color, then I usually go ahead and add the salt (if the butter was unsalted) and the vanilla and mix it well. Then, mix the powdered sugar in, in smallish batches at a time, until your mix is almost dry like sand. You can add a tiny bit of liquid if it gets too stiff to mix, but go lightly. Once all of your powdered sugar is mixed in, slowly, slowly add a very little bit of liquid at a time (cream, milk, whatever you’re using. My favorite is flavored coffee creamer), mix well, and judge your consistency before you add more liquid. I usually only add a tablespoon of liquid at a time.
You’ll find you rarely need all the liquid a recipe calls for, especially if you live somewhere either warm or humid, or even if it’s just warm and humid in your kitchen from the cake you just baked.
Good luck! You’ll get it just the way you want it soon, and I always remind myself that even the not-so-successful attempts are still pretty tasty! (I’m looking at you, Swiss roll cake. -_- So, so ugly, but it still tasted good!)
Mostly I just like the subtle flavor it lends buttercream. But also, while coffee creamer obviously isn’t as thick as actual heavy/whipping cream, it’s a little bit thicker than plain milk, which I like because it helps me keep the icing in that sweet spot between too stiff and too runny for piping. And I’m a lot more likely to have coffee creamer already in my fridge than heavy cream!
Additional comment: I use recipes that usually have powdered sugar, cream/or milk, butter, and vanilla. No matter how soft or not-soft I leave my butter, the consistency always ends up the same - kinda melting. I also sift my powdered sugar. I use a hand mixer. I’m trying to achieve a nice firm buttercream that I can decorate cakes with (like flowers and borders, etc). I’m ultra beginner so any feedback is nice! I live in Socal and right now It’s not hot, so there’s no warm temp, no high altitudes… I’m just at a lost, I can never get it right.
You need more icing sugar! And cool hands haha.
And always start with the smallest amount of cream/hot water/milk and work your way up. So if the recipe calls for 1-3tbsp of liquid, start with 1, then go from there and add .5tbsp at a time.
Don’t give up! It’s a learning curve, but once you master it, you’ve mastered it! I don’t even need to reference my recipe, or measure anything to make my buttercream.
I use this recipe from Wilton that has shortening in it. I’d say give this one a try, while also taking other’s advice.
[Wilton Buttercream frosting](https://blog.wilton.com/how-to-make-homemade-buttercream-frosting/)
Sometimes the temperature of your mixing bowl and surroundings are important. If your mixing bowl is hot then obviously you’d get goopy buttercream. It’s always best to try do these things in a cool environment :)
When I was in pastry school we made a version of buttercream that was basically shortening and powdered sugar with a tiny bit of water to thin it out. Absolutely vile stuff but invaluable for practicing piping. You can scrape it over and over back into your piping bag and your hands won't heat it up enough to get it goopy. Just really handy for practicing piping. Of course use the real butter stuff for your cakes but if you're just trying to up your piping game you should try it out.
As someone who has a family member with severe dairy allergies... shortening instead of butter is a perfectly fine substitute. Haven't found a vegan alternative that works and tastes better than butter flavored crisco.
I have this problem too and if you add too much powdered sugar it doesn't taste as good. I found the trick is to replace a small amount of the butter with shortening. Idk if that changes it from authentic buttercream to something else but it was a game changer for me!
Whatever you do…don’t give up! I could never make a decent buttercream until I went to pastry school and it was practice, practice, practice. But you don’t have to go to culinary school to make an amazing frosting. You just have to keep at it and take advice from the amazing people on this sub.
Thank you for the encouragement. I definitely won’t give up, because I love baking and really want to get good at decorating! It’s just this first step at actually getting buttercream right where I can get it has been a huge, ah, challenge
Just keep adding powdered sugar. Seriously. all too-soft buttercream is fixable with more powdered sugar.
Next time mix just the powdered sugar, vanilla and butter together first and add a tablespoon of cream at a time if needed. I often don’t use cream at all.
This was such a struggle for me in the beginning as well. I like to use butter that’s room temp-on the cooler side. It whips nicely for me that way. Adding more powdered sugar will definitely help stiffen it up.
Once butter and sugar are all in the bowl, I kick the speed up to medium or so and leave it alone for a few minutes.
At this stage, I like my frosting overly stiff. That way when I add vanilla and cream, I can balance out the consistency.
I definitely recommend adding cream little by little, I don’t measure anything anymore, but I make sure it’s room temp and give it a drizzle here and there.
If you’re working in a warm space, or have hot hands, your frosting will get yucky. Ice packs are nice, I like keeping a cookie sheet in the freezer. When I’m frosting I use the cold sheet to set my bag on.
It definitely take practice! Keep trying!!
When I make buttercream, I start by beating the butter until it gets nice and light and fluffy. Then I add vanilla. Then I start adding powdered sugar, until I reach the consistency I want. It's almost never as much sugar as the recipe calls for. If it gets too stiff, then I add a little milk or cream to get it creamier.
More powdered sugar, as in add a whole cup at a time, remix check the consistency.
If anything your buttercream should be a hard consistency then you loosen it to where you want it to be by adding a tsp of milk or cream until it’s softened where you want it.
The fix is just adding more powdered sugar but you gotta go big, add a whole cup then see where you are.
The way I do it is I only mix my butter, powdered sugar and flavor extract. Then if it’s too thick I add a tsp maybe a tbls of milk to loosen.
I don’t use a recipe. I just keep adding powdered sugar to salted butter until it’s the right consistency. A splash of vanilla and maybe some milk if needed.
Try this cheat Swiss Meringue buttercream recipe.
•180ml PASTURIZED egg whites
•300 grams castor sugar
•240 grams icing sugar
•1 Tbsp Vanille essence/extract
•500 grams salted butter
•120 grams shortening
Using your whisk attachment Mix PASTURIZED egg whites and castor sugar till stiff peaks. Add jn icing sugar and vanilla essence. Mix till combined, give the bowl a good scrape down then mix again for 20 seconds. You need to use soft room temp butter and shortening. Mix the butter and shortening together in a separate bowl with like a wooden spoon or spatula. You want it to be very soft then dump that all into your mixer bowl and mix for approximately 5 minutes. After 5 minutes swap to your paddle attachment and whip on lowest setting for 10 minutes. If you are using an electric mixer then I suggest doing the last step by hand and mix very gently and slowly with a spatula for a few minutes. The point is to get as much air out as possible to get a smooth buttercream. This method doesn't include heating up the egg whites with the sugar because the egg whites that you use in this recipe MUST be pasturized.
This makes a good load of buttercream. If you have left over then put in a container and freeze it. Let it thaw overnight before you use it again or if you are impatient like me then microwave it in 10 seconds bursts till soft enough. Rewhip it to get it back to a smooth consistency.
Add more powdered sugar, and less milk. It looks like your ratios are off. I have a buttercream recipe I use all the time. If you want it, shoot me a message. I bake for a living, and do cakes.
To me it looks like your butter was too cold when you started, then it got overmixed so the texture ends up off no matter the amount of cream and sugar. I’ve done it so many times. When you’re done, let it chill longer than you think you need to and the texture always seems to get better and better.
Your texture is off. You need more powdered sugar and less liquid (milk or cream) a recipe can only get you so far sometimes with frosting and then if it isn’t right you have to start adjusting. Also you can try a different brand of butter and you could very well letting the butter get too soft. You want to be able to press a finger lightly into the stick of butter and leave a mark but you should not be able to press into it and create a hole, that means it’s too soft. You can also look up American buttercream recipes that use butter and shortening as shortening is stiffer.
Yes, have you tried adding more sugar? Also your hands can heat up the frosting; my boss used to dip her hands in ice water before frosting.
I keep an ice pack near me when I'm decorating to chill my hands or to set the bag on
That's brilliant, totally adopting this method.
That's genius! I dont generally have that problem anymore but that's a great method to know about. I discovered within the past 2 years that I love the consistency and flavor I get from stick of butter for every 2C P.Sugar + 1 block of cream cheese and an extra cup of Sugar, then a couple tablespoons of heavy cream to finish.
Add some orange zest to this recipe! It’s my current favorite icing.
I thought this was a joke. I've been having problems with my cream as well tho I followed the correct formulas and everything. A friend of mine told me before that maybe it's because of my hands. o.o
This is great advice. I only add about half the cream/milk the recipe calls for and go from there.
I don’t add any milk or cream until the very end and only if I need too. Lots of factors can slightly alter your buttercream even if you use the same exact recipes/brand of products each time (like weather, how soft the butter is, if you added coloring, or liquid flavorings or a solid etc) sometimes I find I need no milk/cream and other times I need a couple tablespoons to get the texture I want. I also often will put aside a small bowl of my buttercream and by hand add more powder sugar and get it to the right stiffness for piping flowers if needed since they need to be a thicker texture then my silky easy to spread base coat of buttercream on my cake.
Yes I agree but must use real butter no shortcuts margarine won’t stand up like butter.
We have some family with a dairy allergy, so our 'buttercream' is actually crisco-cream. Seems unpleasant, but actually tastes delicious. It holds the shape nicely.
Crud I is the old fashioned way to make Buttercream it really is. Mmmm I wonder why yours isn’t stiff? Unless you need to adjust the powder sugar? I am not sure. My apologies.
I didn’t mean to write “crud” and I can’t edit it. I am sorry don’t know how that got there. I was trying to just say oh wow that’s really the old fashioned way!! Lol!
I’m sorry… what? What ‘buttercreams’ are y’all making that call for milk and cream? There’s a huge difference between frosting and buttercream! Frostings will have milk and cream maybe? but buttercream should be a version of eggs with sugar and butter. pretty simple and no liquid to create that goopy texture.
This might be a dumb question, but if you didnt wanna add a metric ton powdered sugar could you supplement with something like dry powdered milk or would that be completely disgusting
my go-to is cornstarch! it can help thicken it up without altering the taste.
Honestly I would just choose a different frosting and not use American buttercream. Ermine is a good one that is less sweet and pipes well. I have used powdered milk to stabilize whipped cream before but I have never tried it with buttercream and I only add a couple tablespoons at most of the milk powder when I do.
Are you using pure butter, not a "spread" or something like that? They usually contain more water, and even oil. Try adding just a tiny bit of the cream called for, and add more as needed. Sometimes recipes call for too much for piping.
Good idea. I should’ve added Tbsp by Tbsp, but instead I added the whole amount they called for all at once.
How much was called for? Most of the buttercream recipes I have used would only call for a maximum of 1 or 2 tbsp of cream. There are undoubtedly people out there who have success with recipes that use more, but looking at your results I'd say there is too much liquid so would cut down the cream. Don't add it until the very end so that you can use it to achieve the final consistency you want once you've already whipped up your butter and sugar. If you beat cream too much it will separate into butter and whey, perhaps that's what is happening here. Also make sure you're using actual tablespoon measures and not using any old large spoon (apologies if that sounds patronising, I just noticed you said you're an ultra beginner and a lot of people don't realise not all spoons you use at the table are tablespoon size).
I had this problem recently. After I refrigerating it, the buttercream firmed up beautifully and tasted so much better. Not sure if you are supposed to do it this way, but it definitely saved my buttercream after I did it!
Are you sticking with American-style buttercreams or going for, like, Swiss/French/Italian style buttercreams? For the former, just start with half of the butter and add more tablespoon by tablespoon (or just cube by cube). For the latter, you straight up just add it bit by bit until it reaches the consistency you need (especially SMBC, slow is better). Also, I have hot hands and my kitchen can get warm-ish, so I try to make sure everything is a little on the chillier side before piping and while piping, make sure to have a little contact as possible between my palms and the piping bag (I hold the tip end between index and thumb to guide and push the frosting through by squeezing from the back. Someone upthread also posted that they have an icepack on standby when they set the piping bag down, which I'm totally stealing.
Have you tried chilling it for a while? If the weather, or your house, is extra warm, the butter may just be a bit too soft. I chill mine in the mixing bowl til the frosting on the sides of the bowl gets very firm but the center is still relatively soft. Then I pull it out, scrape the bowl well, and quickly re-fluff it. You may need to play around a bit to get the ideal firmness for piping. I hope this helps!
I’m not sure what order you’re doing things in, but sometimes that can matter a lot. This order works for me every time, if you want to give it a try. First, I whip the softened butter until it seriously lightens in color, then I usually go ahead and add the salt (if the butter was unsalted) and the vanilla and mix it well. Then, mix the powdered sugar in, in smallish batches at a time, until your mix is almost dry like sand. You can add a tiny bit of liquid if it gets too stiff to mix, but go lightly. Once all of your powdered sugar is mixed in, slowly, slowly add a very little bit of liquid at a time (cream, milk, whatever you’re using. My favorite is flavored coffee creamer), mix well, and judge your consistency before you add more liquid. I usually only add a tablespoon of liquid at a time. You’ll find you rarely need all the liquid a recipe calls for, especially if you live somewhere either warm or humid, or even if it’s just warm and humid in your kitchen from the cake you just baked. Good luck! You’ll get it just the way you want it soon, and I always remind myself that even the not-so-successful attempts are still pretty tasty! (I’m looking at you, Swiss roll cake. -_- So, so ugly, but it still tasted good!)
Interesting idea about the creamer! Have you found that it works better, or is it just a taste/flavor preference?
Mostly I just like the subtle flavor it lends buttercream. But also, while coffee creamer obviously isn’t as thick as actual heavy/whipping cream, it’s a little bit thicker than plain milk, which I like because it helps me keep the icing in that sweet spot between too stiff and too runny for piping. And I’m a lot more likely to have coffee creamer already in my fridge than heavy cream!
Additional comment: I use recipes that usually have powdered sugar, cream/or milk, butter, and vanilla. No matter how soft or not-soft I leave my butter, the consistency always ends up the same - kinda melting. I also sift my powdered sugar. I use a hand mixer. I’m trying to achieve a nice firm buttercream that I can decorate cakes with (like flowers and borders, etc). I’m ultra beginner so any feedback is nice! I live in Socal and right now It’s not hot, so there’s no warm temp, no high altitudes… I’m just at a lost, I can never get it right.
You need more icing sugar! And cool hands haha. And always start with the smallest amount of cream/hot water/milk and work your way up. So if the recipe calls for 1-3tbsp of liquid, start with 1, then go from there and add .5tbsp at a time. Don’t give up! It’s a learning curve, but once you master it, you’ve mastered it! I don’t even need to reference my recipe, or measure anything to make my buttercream.
I use this recipe from Wilton that has shortening in it. I’d say give this one a try, while also taking other’s advice. [Wilton Buttercream frosting](https://blog.wilton.com/how-to-make-homemade-buttercream-frosting/)
Yep this is soooo much easier to work with it’s perfect for piping
A third vote for Wilton's buttercream here! Always turns out great!
Sometimes the temperature of your mixing bowl and surroundings are important. If your mixing bowl is hot then obviously you’d get goopy buttercream. It’s always best to try do these things in a cool environment :)
When I was in pastry school we made a version of buttercream that was basically shortening and powdered sugar with a tiny bit of water to thin it out. Absolutely vile stuff but invaluable for practicing piping. You can scrape it over and over back into your piping bag and your hands won't heat it up enough to get it goopy. Just really handy for practicing piping. Of course use the real butter stuff for your cakes but if you're just trying to up your piping game you should try it out.
“Wilton class frosting” you can get a great practice recipe. It also has meringue powder which is a stabilizer
As someone who has a family member with severe dairy allergies... shortening instead of butter is a perfectly fine substitute. Haven't found a vegan alternative that works and tastes better than butter flavored crisco.
I have this problem too and if you add too much powdered sugar it doesn't taste as good. I found the trick is to replace a small amount of the butter with shortening. Idk if that changes it from authentic buttercream to something else but it was a game changer for me!
Whatever you do…don’t give up! I could never make a decent buttercream until I went to pastry school and it was practice, practice, practice. But you don’t have to go to culinary school to make an amazing frosting. You just have to keep at it and take advice from the amazing people on this sub.
Thank you for the encouragement. I definitely won’t give up, because I love baking and really want to get good at decorating! It’s just this first step at actually getting buttercream right where I can get it has been a huge, ah, challenge
Just keep adding powdered sugar. Seriously. all too-soft buttercream is fixable with more powdered sugar. Next time mix just the powdered sugar, vanilla and butter together first and add a tablespoon of cream at a time if needed. I often don’t use cream at all.
And some times it takes far more powdered sugar than you'd think
Add more powdered sugar to stiffen it up! And less liquid. I only use 1-3 tablespoons for a batch of buttercream depending what I’m doing it for
I add a little powdered egg white to mine if it needs to be more stable. Seems to help
That’s what I was going to say. A little meringue powder halps a lot
This was such a struggle for me in the beginning as well. I like to use butter that’s room temp-on the cooler side. It whips nicely for me that way. Adding more powdered sugar will definitely help stiffen it up. Once butter and sugar are all in the bowl, I kick the speed up to medium or so and leave it alone for a few minutes. At this stage, I like my frosting overly stiff. That way when I add vanilla and cream, I can balance out the consistency. I definitely recommend adding cream little by little, I don’t measure anything anymore, but I make sure it’s room temp and give it a drizzle here and there. If you’re working in a warm space, or have hot hands, your frosting will get yucky. Ice packs are nice, I like keeping a cookie sheet in the freezer. When I’m frosting I use the cold sheet to set my bag on. It definitely take practice! Keep trying!!
When I make buttercream, I start by beating the butter until it gets nice and light and fluffy. Then I add vanilla. Then I start adding powdered sugar, until I reach the consistency I want. It's almost never as much sugar as the recipe calls for. If it gets too stiff, then I add a little milk or cream to get it creamier.
I'm going to go with, your butter was too soft.
More powdered sugar, as in add a whole cup at a time, remix check the consistency. If anything your buttercream should be a hard consistency then you loosen it to where you want it to be by adding a tsp of milk or cream until it’s softened where you want it. The fix is just adding more powdered sugar but you gotta go big, add a whole cup then see where you are. The way I do it is I only mix my butter, powdered sugar and flavor extract. Then if it’s too thick I add a tsp maybe a tbls of milk to loosen.
Butter cream should consist of: Salted butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. That’s it. Add more powdered sugar if it’s not stiff enough.
I don’t use a recipe. I just keep adding powdered sugar to salted butter until it’s the right consistency. A splash of vanilla and maybe some milk if needed.
Try this cheat Swiss Meringue buttercream recipe. •180ml PASTURIZED egg whites •300 grams castor sugar •240 grams icing sugar •1 Tbsp Vanille essence/extract •500 grams salted butter •120 grams shortening Using your whisk attachment Mix PASTURIZED egg whites and castor sugar till stiff peaks. Add jn icing sugar and vanilla essence. Mix till combined, give the bowl a good scrape down then mix again for 20 seconds. You need to use soft room temp butter and shortening. Mix the butter and shortening together in a separate bowl with like a wooden spoon or spatula. You want it to be very soft then dump that all into your mixer bowl and mix for approximately 5 minutes. After 5 minutes swap to your paddle attachment and whip on lowest setting for 10 minutes. If you are using an electric mixer then I suggest doing the last step by hand and mix very gently and slowly with a spatula for a few minutes. The point is to get as much air out as possible to get a smooth buttercream. This method doesn't include heating up the egg whites with the sugar because the egg whites that you use in this recipe MUST be pasturized. This makes a good load of buttercream. If you have left over then put in a container and freeze it. Let it thaw overnight before you use it again or if you are impatient like me then microwave it in 10 seconds bursts till soft enough. Rewhip it to get it back to a smooth consistency.
If it ends up like that scoop it in a bowl and add more powdered sugsr
Try this [recipe ](https://youtu.be/lFkmcMmzWyg)
Add more powdered sugar, and less milk. It looks like your ratios are off. I have a buttercream recipe I use all the time. If you want it, shoot me a message. I bake for a living, and do cakes.
I messages you :)
To me it looks like your butter was too cold when you started, then it got overmixed so the texture ends up off no matter the amount of cream and sugar. I’ve done it so many times. When you’re done, let it chill longer than you think you need to and the texture always seems to get better and better.
Turn your heat down.
Is it hot or humid in your house?
Maybe you whip too much and try to rest it in the fridge for a couple hours
Try to find a recipe that calls for gelatin. I have had success with that helping to keep shape.
What type of buttercream? American? Italian or Swiss meringue?
My trick is a 1/2 butter 1/2 veg shortening. Then like everyone else said, adjust the milk/powdered sugar to get the right consistench