Tehre are people who think cheese needs refrigeration. It doesn't. It will get more well aged and if there are mold spoors around it will get moldy....but it won't "spoil" in the sense that it will grow bacteria and make you sick. It's a CYA maneuver....like the wool sweater that says dry clean only. Do you refrigerate a cake that contains milk? or rolls made with egg yolks? How about a danish with a cream cheese filling? Or those wedding mints made with cream cheese? If you leave a cream cheese frosting out in a very warm room it may get too soft and sink into the cake....the way a butter cream will do. By the way....do you refrigerate a buttercream frosted cake? That contains dairy. How about chocolate truffle candy?

Here's a caramel buttercream that I've tried just recently, and liked very much. It's very light and has a subtle caramel flavor. You may try adding more caramel to give it a more pronounced caramel flavor (I haven't tried this, so I don't know how much it will affect the final consistency.) From: Baked Explorations 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/3 cup flour 1 1/2 cups whole milk 1/3 cup heavy cream 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into small pieces 1 tsp vanilla 1/3 cup caramel (I have been too lazy to make my own caramel sauce from scratch - so I've been using a store bought caramel sauce.) In a medium sauce pan, whisk the sugar and flour together. Add the milk and cream and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened, about 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until cool. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter and vanilla, mix until thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy. Add the 1/3 cup of the caramel and continue mixing until combined. If the frosting is too soft,put the bowl in the refrigerator to chill slightly, then beat again until it is the proper consistency. If the frosting is too firm, set the bowl over a pot of simmering water and beat with a wooden spoon until it is the proper consistency. After frosting the cake, you can store it at room temperature for up to 3 days, as long as the weather is cool. Otherwise, place the cake in a cake saver and refrigerate it for up to 3 days. If you chill the cake, let it sit at room temp for at least 2 hours before serving. Oly

There is a product that is like a non dairy whipped cream. Pastry Pride and Flavor Right are two brands. You whip it up like whipped cream but it has the consistency of icing. It tastes fine on it's own and is extremely low sugar and dairy free. You can flavor it with cocoa powders,pudding mix or custard mix. You can even mix cream cheese into it. I use it more for fillings ( makes a lovely custard) than I do icing since everyone loves my buttercream. But it does taste good and is extremely stable. It pipes well. You can freeze the unwhipped and even freeze it whipped. It can be left out at room temperature even in warm conditions for 24 hours and remain stable.It does tend to crust however after a longer time out. If I can't use buttercream for some reason I use it. It is excellent in hot weather. The only icing I can't stand is fondant. It looks good and you can look like an artist without too much practice creating fabulous "looking" cakes but I prefer not to have to chew my icing. LOL

Thanks plllog--it was fine unrefrigerated for the time I had it here! Sorry sushi pup, cake all gone! So as not to be tempted -- because I'm making a checkerboard lemon cake today for a friend's birthday tomorrow -- I gave away the cake with the Nutella and buttercream frosting to friends. Wow, it was good, and I'm glad it's now far far away and others are enjoying it. Hmmmm, what to do with the leftover Nutella in the jar??? OH, I KNOW!!! Get a spoon!!!!! lol ! Smiles, Sooz