Every time I make buttercream, it ends up looking kind of lumpy and separated instead of that silky smooth texture you see on bakery cakes. I'm beating butter with powdered sugar but something's going wrong.
The graininess usually comes from either cold butter or not beating it long enough - you need to cream that butter alone first for a good 2-3 minutes until it's pale and fluffy before you even add the sugar. Once you start adding powdered sugar, go slow and let each addition fully incorporate, and make sure your butter stays at room temperature throughout (not cold from the fridge). If it still looks separated or broken, try adding a tablespoon of milk or cream and beating it out - sometimes the mixture just needs a little help coming back together. Also sift your powdered sugar before mixing if you haven't been doing that, since lumps in the sugar itself can definitely mess up your texture.
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