Perfect Buttercream!!

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything on my cake blog, but a friend asked me for my recipe for buttercream and I couldn’t seem to find the exact recipe that I always use, so I’m posting that now. I’ve tweaked it several times over the years, and this is by far the best recipe I’ve ever used for taste, texture, and spreadability. You can replace the hi-ratio shortening with all butter; however, your icing will not be as stable, and will definitely not hold up in warmer weather. This makes a large recipe, so you need a large capacity heavy stand mixer. I prefer a KitchenAid 6 qt. model. 

Cathy’s Buttercream (American style)

3/4 lb. butter (3 cubes), softened

12 oz. hi-ratio shortening (NO Crisco)

Butter Vanilla flavoring (to taste)

3/4 tsp. salt

3 lb. sifted powdered sugar

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Beat butter, shortening, butter vanilla, and salt in KitchenAid mixer with flat beater attachment for several minutes until very light and fluffy. Add sugar and cream and beat until smooth and fluffy on low to medium speed. You do not want to incorporate too much air. This makes a full bowl (6 qt.), so I usually cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel while mixing to avoid a “sugar storm” in my kitchen. 

These cakes and cupcakes are all iced with buttercream

Another Buttercream Icing Recipe

Occasionally, I have been using another buttercream icing recipe. This is another recipe that I got from Minette Rushing, owner of Custom Cakes in Savannah Georgia. A friend of mine hooked me up with Minette on Facebook. She does absolutely incredible work and I have incorporated many of her ideas and recipes into my work. This icing requires the use of high-ratio cake and icing shortening for the best results. It turns out super smooth. It is a non-crusting buttercream, so if you want to transfer a pattern onto the surface, you need to refrigerate the cake until the surface has hardened.

Minette's Buttercream Icing

1 lb. high-ratio cake and icing shortening

1 lb. lightly salted butter (softened)

2 lb. sifted powdered sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

Flavoring to taste (I used butter vanilla flavoring)

Beat shortening and butter together on medium speed until white and fluffy (several minutes). Add flavoring and salt, and beat. Add powdered sugar and combine on low speed until fully incorporated and very smooth. 

Here is a youtube video by Minette showing the process...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw6Q6AUXFFA

Yum...sugar cookies for baby shower!!

Who needs a cake for a baby shower, when you can have yummy sugar cookies...or even better, do both, and get a sugar high. Anyway, as you can see, I had some more fun with my Cricut Cake, cutting out simple baby designs and then embellishing them a little with buttercream frosting. I've had friends ask me for my sugar cookie and icing recipes, so I will share those here. For my sugar cookie recipe, click here. The secret to making the cookie dough is to beat the wet ingredients until light and fluffy, and then mix in the dry ingredients until just incorporated, being careful not to mix more than necessary. This will keep your cookies nice and tender. Roll your cookies out on a floured surface, being careful not to roll out too thin. Transfer them onto your baking sheet and then lightly brush the excess flour off with a small paint brush. If your cookies are small, bake them only for the minimum amount of time, 6 minutes. The cookies that you see in the pictures here are 4 inch cookies, and I bake them for 7 minutes. They will not look  brown at all when you take them out of the oven. I let them rest on the cookie sheet for a few minutes while I bake the next batch, and then take them off to let cool on a wire rack. As soon as they are cool (only a few minutes), you can stack them to save room on your cooling rack. When they are completely cool, you can dip small cookies in fondant, or pour and smooth on for the larger cookies. Once the fondant is set, you can decorate with buttercream frosting. My oldest son still enjoys Mom's sugar cookies, even though he is 33 yrs. old. So, even though I can't send him fancy decorated cookies, I usually make heart shaped cookies for Valentine's Day, just spread my buttercream icing on them, and add a few sprinkles. Then I wrap them individually and pack them well in a box with styrofoam peanuts. Below is my poured fondant recipe, as well as my tweaked buttercream icing recipe.


Poured Fondant
This will be a bit difficult, because I never measure my ingredients for my poured fondant, so make sure you experiment on your family first to get the proper consistency.


Powdered sugar
Corn syrup
Flavoring (I usually just use vanilla or butter vanilla)
Warm water


I make the fondant in my KitchenAid mixer, but you can even mix this up by hand, as long as you take time to get all the sugar lumps out. Add powdered sugar to bowl. How much will depend on how many cookies you have to dip. I normally fill my bowl approximately half way. Add about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of light corn syrup and desired amount of flavoring. Then, add warm tap water, a little at a time until your fondant is thin enough for dipping, but not so thin that you can see through it. Mix with flat beater on low speed until smooth. You do not want to add air bubbles to the fondant. With a little practice, you will know when you have the proper consistency. Now, put a cooling rack over a cookie sheet. As you dip the cookies, let the excess drip off, then using your finger, scrape off the edge of the cookie, and put on the cooling rack to allow to drip off any more excess fondant and set. Before the fondant sets, you can add sprinkles if desired, or make designs with colored fondant. 


Tweaked Buttercream Icing Recipe
This recipe makes enough to ice and decorate a 1/4 sheet or 2 layer 8 inch round cake. When I make this recipe, I usually double the amount. It will stay good in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks or so. Just soften it up for a few seconds in the microwave and stir before using.


1 cup Crisco
1/2 cup salted butter (1 cube)
Flavoring to taste (I use butter vanilla)
1/4 -3/8 tsp. salt
6 cups sifted powdered sugar (or about 5 1/2 cups unsifted)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream


You need to use a heavy mixer like a KitchenAid, or something similar, to make this icing. The tweaking I have done to this recipe is not with the ingredients, but with the way I mix it. First, beat the Crisco, butter, salt, and flavoring together on medium speed with the flat beater for several minutes until very light and fluffy. At this point, it will almost look like the finished icing. Then add 1/3 of the sugar and 1/3 of the cream and mix on low until combined. Scrape the bowl and add another 1/3 of each and mix again. Finally, scrape the bowl again, and add the last of the sugar and cream and beat on low until thoroughly combined, being careful to not add extra air into the mixture. The icing should be very smooth and fluffy. The reason for using Crisco is because it holds up better for decorating purposes. If you choose to use all butter, lower the amount of salt to 1/8 tsp. To color the icing, I recommend using liquid paste colors. Also, I drape a kitchen towel around my bowl to help keep some of the sugar dust from flying all over.


Chocolate Buttercream
1 1/2 cups butter (3 cubes)
1/8 tsp. salt
Vanilla to taste
1/2 - 2/3 cup cocoa 
6 cups sifted powdered sugar (5 1/2 unsifted)
5/8-3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup


Mix as directed above, adding cocoa powder in with the first addition. Adjust the amount of cocoa powder depending on the richness of the chocolate you desire.

Updates on Icing Recipes

After doing some tweaking, here are recipes for buttercream icings...especially for our climate here in Colorado Springs. I just like the way the chocolate buttercream tastes when you make it with all butter. You can actually make the regular buttercream using all butter also, but it just doesn't hold up as well for decorating purposes, especially when it gets too warm. If you use the stencil method to press patterns into your icing, and this icing does not crust well for you, just put it in the refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes to let it harden up a bit. While it is still cold, go ahead and press your pattern into the icing.

Buttercream Icing Recipe

12 oz. (1 1/2 cups) high ratio cake shortening

12 oz. (1 1/2 cups) lightly salted butter

3/4  tsp. salt

Butter vanilla flavoring, or vanilla

3 lb. powdered sugar (approx. 12 cups) Sift if lumpy

3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream

With flat beater (not wire whip), beat shortening and butter together with salt and flavoring, on medium high speed for about 5 minutes, until smooth and very light and fluffy. (It should look like fluffy frosting at this point). Add powdered sugar and cream, and beat on low speed. Be careful not to incorporate air bubbles into your icing by beating at a higher speed. Cover bowl with a towel to avoid having a "sugar storm" in your kitchen. This is a good consistency for icing the cake and piping borders. You will need to add extra sugar to stiffen the icing to make flowers.

Chocolate Buttercream Icing Recipe

1 1/2 lb. (3 cups) lightly salted butter

1/4 tsp. salt

Vanilla

3 lb. powdered sugar (Approx. 11 cups  (12 cups sifted)

Approx. 3/4 cup cocoa ( or to taste)

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1 cup - 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream

Mix as directed above, adding the cocoa first, and corn syrup with the cream. Add just enough cream to make the proper icing consistency. If icing is not soft enough to spread, add a bit more cream or corn syrup. If you prefer, you can replace 1/4 cup of the cocoa with 1/4 cup melted chocolate chips. I use the Ghirardelli Bittersweet chocolate chips. 

Updated on 4/20/16

For Paula and Amanda...

My daughter, Paula, is used to me making all the birthday cakes for her family. Well, this year they live in Hawaii, and it's a little difficult for me to ship a birthday cake there. We have been corresponding on the phone and through email, as she is attempting to decorate the first birthday cake for one of her girls. My daughter-in-law, Amanda is in Connecticut and we have also been communicating via email about a birthday cake she is making for another granddaughter, who just happens to have her birthday on the same day as the oldest granddaughter in Hawaii, just a year later. So, because Paula just took Lexi to see Toy Story 3, she is attempting to make a cake with Jessie from Toy Story on it. Lucy is into princesses this year, so Amanda is making a princess doll cake for her party on Saturday. I will be excited to see the final results of both cakes. So you won't have to hunt all over my blog for the buttercream recipe, I am reprinting it. This is the size recipe I use most of the time because I usually need more icing. It will ice and decorate a 1/2 sheet cake nicely. 

Buttercream Icing

2 cups Crisco shortening

1 cup softened salted butter (2 cubes)

Butter vanilla

3/4 t. salt

12 cups sifted powdered sugar (measure after sifting)

5/8 - 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

You need a heavy mixer (like a Kitchenaid) to make this recipe. Beat the Crisco and butter together with the salt and butter vanilla with the flat beater on your mixer for about 5-10 minutes until light and fluffy. (Using the flat beater instead of the wire whisk will keep your icing smoother and without air bubbles.) Gradually add about 4 cups of the sifted powdered sugar at a time, making sure it is completely mixed before adding more. As I do this, I usually cover the bowl with a kitchen towel to avoid getting sugar everywhere. I have learned that from experience. After all the sugar is added, gradually add the cream a little at a time, beating slowly until nice and fluffy. Start out with the smaller amount, and add more to make the proper consistency you need. Use less for a nice crusting buttercream or making decorations and more for a "whipped cream" consistency. When making chocolate buttercream, add the desired amount of cocoa along with the sugar and a bit more cream. You may also add a small amount of corn syrup. If I am icing the entire cake in chocolate buttercream, I will sometimes use all salted butter in the recipe instead of Crisco. If you do this, make sure you decrease the amount of salt to 1/4 tsp. 

Happy decorating, Paula and Amanda, and anyone else reading my blog!! ...and happy bithday Lexi and Lucy!!!