First, you need to know your enemy. Or rather, your frosting. There are two main teams in the buttercream league.
Team One: American Buttercream. It’s the heavy-lifter of the frosting world. Just butter, powdered sugar, and a splash of milk or vanilla.
Team Two: Swiss, Italian, or French Meringue Buttercream. These are the fancy pants. They use egg whites or yolks, cooked sugar, and a lot of arm work.
Why does this matter? Because eggs change the game. Completely.
The Egg (or No Egg) Situation
Let’s get real about American buttercream. It contains zero eggs. It’s basically just butter and sugar. Sugar is a natural preservative.
That means you can leave a dollop of American buttercream out on your counter for two or three days. Seriously. It won’t turn into a science experiment.
But please, don’t leave it out for a week. Your counter isn’t a museum. Frosting deserves better.
