Buttercream Icing - Buttercream Frosting - Buttercream Icing 101
Buttermilk Icing Recipes - How To Make Buttercream Icing

Buttercream Icing - Buttercream Icing 101

There are many versions of “Buttercream” icing or frosting. Some are made with eggs and all butter. Some varieties, you have to cook your sugar to a softball stage. Others are 100% shortening or a combination of shortening and butter.

Each decorator has his or her favorite. I, personally, think that the best taste and textured recipe is the one that has you cook your sugar, add to whipped eggs and use pounds of butter per batch. BUT…. I live in a state that can easily be a 100 degrees for days on end during the summer and you know what butter does on hot days. It melts! A greasy puddle of melted icing on a cake plate is not something I want to look at or eat. 

Your top notch decorators have a few options we don’t. They have huge refrigerators to store their cakes in, and refrigerated vehicles that they can use to deliver decorated cakes. I even know a few that refuse to deliver at all. If you want their cake, you come and get it and it’s your responsibility if it melts. These decorators don’t even turn on their ovens for a wedding cake for less than $2,000.

 

The following recipes for Buttercream Icing/Frosting holds up pretty well in the heat and humidity, but if you know that your cake will be out in very high temperatures, then don’t use any butter and use only a high quality shortening.

Shortening:

Solid Vegetable Shortenings definitely have their place in baking. So I’m going to talk taste test and say that Crisco Shortening is the hands down winner. It has a clean taste with the melting point of 106 degrees F.

Butter melts somewhere between 88 and 98 degrees F. depending on the amount of fat in the brand. You can see that if you need to serve a pure buttercream decorated cake, on a hot August afternoon, you could have melted roses (and I do mean greasy puddles) on the tablecloth. This is when a good quality shortening will be a great blessing. I have been told by decorator friends that some of the warehouse brand shortenings leave a grainy consistency to the icing no matter what you do.

Powdered (Confectioner's) Sugar:

Please use a cane sugar. I prefer C&H Powdered (confectioners) Sugar Many of the cheaper brands use sugar beets for their base. I don’t know the chemistry behind it but you definitely get different textures to your icing that can vary from batch to batch. I spent a few months being very frustrated with the quality of my icing until a kind lady did a bit of trouble shooting for me. She recommended the cane sugar and I’ve been blessing her ever since.

Top-Quality Brands: Please be safe, buy a quality brands and then stick with them for the best results. 

A friend of mine, who is a wonderful cook and baker, travels a lot and she often prepares treats for her hosts. She’s learned to ask the host to have her favorite shortening and flour on hand. She has even made up a little makeup-type case that carries her favorite extracts and precious spices. This way she knows what she is working with, how it handles, and what tastes she can expect for the finished product. Some surprises are NOT pleasant!

Storing Buttercream Icing/Frosting:

• If you are not going to be using the buttercream icing right away, place it in a clean, sealable bowl. Store it in the refrigerator, but please don’t place it next to the marinating salmon, garlic, or broccoli. You do NOT want those flavors in your icing! I like to use my icing within a few days, but buttercream icing will hold in the cold refrigerator for a couple of weeks, if necessary.

• I often make a double batch of buttercream icing the night before I have a baking project. This way I know that I have plenty of icing, it’s fresh, and I don’t have to make it while I’m in the middle of baking the cakes. The extra icing can always be used for a batch of cupcakes.

• When you remove the icing from the refrigerator, you might notice that the icing has taken on a sponge-like texture. Do yourself a favor and place the icing in a bowl and mix by hand, using a back and forth, smashing motion, with a spoon or icing spatula. What you want to do is to smash the bubbles out of the icing. This extra step will help to give you the smoothest icing for a pretty top and sides of the cake. I have found that you will get an even better texture of icing if it is at room temperature before you try to do your icing.

Bad Buttercream Icing Days: 

One thing that seems very silly but is true. There are Bad Buttercream Icing Days! I’ve asked quite a few decorators about this and every one says "Yes, there are lousy days." I’m not sure what causes the problem: 

• It could be that every human has bad days so they blame the buttercream icing.

• It may be the humidity or that there is a low pressure system hanging over your town.

I just know why, but it is a perceived fact! The way I have handled the problem is that I changed the decoration on the cake since I couldn’t get the smooth top or sides as I originally planned. Writing a greeting on a messy top would look awful, so I changed the design idea and put flowers everywhere. I could have also done a basket weave technique around the sides. Just go with the flow and don’t get frustrated! Aunt Martha won’t chuck the cake at you if you don’t write her name on the top this time. Remember that you are creating something that is to be eaten so have fun with it.

Different Types of Stand Mixers:

If you have a heavy-duty counter mixer, you can prepare a whole batch at one time. If you are using a hand mixer, divide the recipe in half. If you notice the mixer getting hot, please stop and let the machine cool off. I also prefer to mix the buttercream icing on a low setting on my electric mixer. It seems that the higher setting will do the job faster, but you also will get a spongy texture to the buttercream icing. I don’t want that quality in my final ice coating or flowers on the cake.
 

Using Weight Scales:

Buttercream Icing Recipe I
My favorite version of Buttercream Icing to use for decorating.

Recipe Type: Buttercream Icing 101
Yields: 1 batch Buttercream Icing
Prep time: 30 min

Ingredients:

This icing is used for icing cakes and cookies as well as for borders and art work on cakes. It also makes a good tasting filling between layers of the cake and under a Fondant Icing. You can make roses out of Buttercream Icing, but the drying time is 3 or more days depending on the humidity.

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, room temperature
2 cups Crisco shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon butter flavoring (Wilton’s makes the best flavored version)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I use Wilton’s Clear Vanilla)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 pounds powdered (confectioners') cane sugar, divided*
1 tablespoon meringue powder (optional but the texture will be smoother)**
Water or milk as necessary (I usually add about 2 tablespoons but you may need more or less depending on the humidity in your neighborhood)

* 2 pounds un-sifted powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar) = about 8 to 9 cups.

Makes about 3 1/2 pounds of Buttercream Icing.

 

Buttercream Icing Recipe II- Holds up in humidity better – Faux Fondant

This recipe and the instructions are from a lovely lady name "Sewsweet."  I thank her very much. I like this recipe better than Wilton’s buttercream because it tastes less sweet and uses half the amount of Crisco shortening.

Ingredients:

* Use a paper towel that has no design imprinted for smoothing your icing The trick is to smooth it with Viva paper towels when the icing is slightly crusted.

Preparation:

Into the mixer bowl, place the Crisco shortening and cream until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar to the creamed shortening in the mixer bowl and mix. Add 1/2 cup cornstarch and beat well on low for about 15 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the water and the powdered milk; add the vanilla extract, butter extract, almond extract, and crème royale or crème bouquet, and salt. Add to the shortening/sugar mixture and combine until well mixed.

This icing needs to be made ahead of time. As it sets up it gets firmer. When ready to use, just rewhip on low and you get a smooth, non-airy buttercream icing.

NOTE: This buttercream icing can be kept out of the refrigerator for around 2 weeks. I usually use it so fast that I hardly ever get it in the refrigerator unless I am preparing large batches. It can also be frozen. The cornstarch helps humidity as well as helping to cut the sweetness. Play with it and use whatever flavorings you like.

Chocolate Buttercream Icing Recipe:

I just add Hershey's Cocoa, but any powdered cocoa would work. Some extra hot water will probably need to be added to the buttercream icing mixture. If you want a darker brown color, you can also add a little brown food coloring.