Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Buttercream

Decorating By Jackie Updated 26 May 2016 , 8:00pm by gfbaby

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cheatize Posted 11 May 2010 , 4:47am
post #421 of 707

I just sat and read this whole thread. For those who already know quite a bit about buttercream, I thought you might like the notes I made. (For example, I already know about foam rollers, Viva, scrapers, cornstarch, and meringue powder. What I was looking for are some tips to tweak what I already do.)

Land O Lakes butter- whiter than other brands

In small amounts add:
Flour- for less greasiness
Lemon juice- for less sweetness
Corn syrup- for better/smoother texture
Vinegar- for less cracking

By small amounts, I mean the general consensus is somewhere between 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons. While some use a cup or more, most use measuring spoons of those ingredients.

Hopefully this will help someone who doesn't have the time or inclination to read the entire thread.

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mumof3 Posted 11 May 2010 , 5:24am
post #422 of 707
Quote:
Originally Posted by cheatize

I just sat and read this whole thread. For those who already know quite a bit about buttercream, I thought you might like the notes I made. (For example, I already know about foam rollers, Viva, scrapers, cornstarch, and meringue powder. What I was looking for are some tips to tweak what I already do.)

Land O Lakes butter- whiter than other brands

In small amounts add:
Flour- for less greasiness
Lemon juice- for less sweetness
Corn syrup- for better/smoother texture
Vinegar- for less cracking

By small amounts, I mean the general consensus is somewhere between 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons. While some use a cup or more, most use measuring spoons of those ingredients.

Hopefully this will help someone who doesn't have the time or inclination to read the entire thread.


Cheatize you are a star!!!!

I was one of those who doesn't have time/or the inclination to read the entire thread.

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Chef_Girl Posted 19 May 2010 , 3:29pm
post #423 of 707

Hopefully I'm in the right forum - this is my first post. I bought the 28lb But-R-Creme tub white icing for the Wilton cake decorating course I'm taking. It requires alot of icing & just don't have time to make it all the time. My question is that is there anyway to make the base icing thicker either by putting more shortening or powder sugar? I need a stiff consistency to make decorations like roses and the way the icing is right now it is too soft for this. Icing tastes great though icon_biggrin.gif Thanks.

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jayarr Posted 21 May 2010 , 5:15pm
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Great post !

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sweethappy Posted 24 May 2010 , 7:29am
post #425 of 707

Can some one please help me out, I need a buttercream receipt but not to sweeeet? I live in England and we dont have shortening here.

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Barbara001 Posted 26 May 2010 , 2:13am
post #426 of 707

Ok I have read almost all of the post. Some people are saying something about Upside down trick? Does anyone have the link to to this, I could not find it. Also some people say put flower, or corn syrup in the butter cream frosting. Does it really make a difference? adding putting vinegar?

Thanks

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terriann1023 Posted 3 Jun 2010 , 11:57am
post #427 of 707

ok I am fairly new to cake decorating, so can someone please explain:
1. why you would want buttercream to crust?
2. How to do a crumb coat correctly?
3. How to use paper towels to smooth out the icing
Thanks everyone. Making a cake for this weekend and would love some answers quick if anyone can so I can do this cake a little better then the last.

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maz6870 Posted 6 Jun 2010 , 9:44am
post #428 of 707

Sweethappy

I too live in England, we do have shortening - just by a different name - we call it vegetable fat most common name is Trex, Flora do one too, white flora I think! It took me ages to find this out for myself about a year ago, hope it helps you

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divinecc Posted 16 Jun 2010 , 4:05pm
post #429 of 707

Hi! I am new to cake central and would really love to read this article...where can I find it when you are done..or are you done already?

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Hollandy Posted 17 Jun 2010 , 11:21am
post #430 of 707

Hi Jackie - you said in your original post "I am putting together an article, the title will be "Everything you ever wanted to know about buttercream"

Can you give me a link to that article? I would really appreciate it! This one post is 31+pages long and for a newbie that's 100% intimidating!

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Sweetgrl1963 Posted 21 Jun 2010 , 2:14pm
post #431 of 707

All I can say is that I struggled with getting buttercream smooth for several years, even after using the VIVA method I was not always satisfied.
Then I was introduced to Sharon Zambito's DVd. I use her recipe for buttercream, as well as her tehnique for icing the cake. And I get superb results every time now.. But I do cover 99% of my cakes with fondant.

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TSI-love Posted 22 Jun 2010 , 1:34am
post #432 of 707

This is such an awesome site!!! I see that there's over 30 pages on this topic, but in the interest of time, I was hoping somebody could point me in the right direction. I use Wilton's recipe with the merangue powder, crisco, 10x and milk. It does crust rather nicely, and I'm still working on patience between icing it and waiting to do the viva paper towel method, but I'm getting there. My questions really are:

1. I know high ratio is the way to go, but I would have to order it. Since I am just a beginner, I am getting the crisco from the store. I am using the Walmart brand shortening, but does it make a difference if I use the regular or the all vegetable?

2. I am having a super hard time writing.... Partly because I have only written on a cake twice I believe now, but it is not helping that my icing seems like it deteriorates. I don't know if it is because it gets too warm or what, but it seems like by the time I frost it and get to the writing/decorating with the buttercream, it looks all piece-y, kind of deteriorated like when you chew a piece of gum too long. Any suggestions on what I'm doing???

Thank you so much, and if I ever discover any awesome secrets, I will definitely be sharing them here!!!

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Tiffthebaker Posted 24 Jun 2010 , 2:26am
post #433 of 707

Ok I have a question for anyone who can help me with this. I have only been decorating cakes for a few months now, and just recently I have started having a hard time getting my BC perfectly smooth with the VIVA method. The first few cakes I did turned out great, but now it seems when I get to the paper towel step (after my BC has already crusted) that the BC crusts too much maybe, it looks like it gets cracks in it, maybe like "elephant skin" almost. Help?!?! The only thing I can think of that I am doing differently is before, I would let my BC crust for about 30 min, then smooth with the VIVA. Now, I might let the BC crust for 2 hours before I smooth with the VIVA. Could this be making the difference?

Thanks in advance for any help with this....I'm puzzled!

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HIGGER0821 Posted 24 Jun 2010 , 9:36am
post #434 of 707

Made a camo cake and the colors ran. Why ? :::{

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tokazodo Posted 26 Jun 2010 , 5:44pm
post #435 of 707

One day while making butter cream, I was out of milk and substituted soy milk. I did not like the results. The butter cream did not hold together well, and after refrigerating and attempting to use the left overs, the butter cream broke down. It was very watery.
I use half and half when ever I can, and Corn Syrup to thin. Like someone mentioned before, I always start out adding smaller amounts. It's easier to add liquid, then it is to remove it from butter cream icing.

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jayarr Posted 10 Jul 2010 , 5:39am
post #436 of 707

This Buttercream Icing is good for icing and cake decorating , you can use it as a filling, to pipe figurines or roses, and for borders too.

* You will need:

1 cupscups butter (2 bars)

2 cupscups shortening (Crisco is a very good one)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 tsp butter flavor

2 pound sugar powder ( C & H is a very good one)

1 tbs meringue powdermeringue powder ( to created a smoother texture)

2 tbs water (more or less depending of the humidity)

* Procedure

1. In a Mixer, cream butter, shortening and salt together.
2. Add all the three flavors (butter, vanilla, almond) and mix well.
3. Add 1/2 of the sugar powder, 1 tbs water and the meringue powder, mix well.
4. Add sugar a little bit at the time until you get your desired consistency, add more water if needed.

To keep this icing moist, keep it covered and refrigerated if you are not going to used immediately.

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jayarr Posted 10 Jul 2010 , 5:41am
post #437 of 707

This Buttercream Icing is good for icing and cake decorating , you can use it as a filling, to pipe figurines or roses, and for borders too.

* You will need:

1 cupscups butter (2 bars)

2 cupscups shortening (Crisco is a very good one)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 tsp butter flavor

2 pound sugar powder ( C & H is a very good one)

1 tbs meringue powdermeringue powder ( to created a smoother texture)

2 tbs water (more or less depending of the humidity)

* Procedure

1. In a Mixer, cream butter, shortening and salt together.
2. Add all the three flavors (butter, vanilla, almond) and mix well.
3. Add 1/2 of the sugar powder, 1 tbs water and the meringue powder, mix well.
4. Add sugar a little bit at the time until you get your desired consistency, add more water if needed.

To keep this icing moist, keep it covered and refrigerated if you are not going to used immediately.

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jayarr Posted 10 Jul 2010 , 5:41am
post #438 of 707

This Buttercream Icing is good for icing and cake decorating , you can use it as a filling, to pipe figurines or roses, and for borders too.

* You will need:

1 cupscups butter (2 bars)

2 cupscups shortening (Crisco is a very good one)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 tsp butter flavor

2 pound sugar powder ( C & H is a very good one)

1 tbs meringue powdermeringue powder ( to created a smoother texture)

2 tbs water (more or less depending of the humidity)

* Procedure

1. In a Mixer, cream butter, shortening and salt together.
2. Add all the three flavors (butter, vanilla, almond) and mix well.
3. Add 1/2 of the sugar powder, 1 tbs water and the meringue powder, mix well.
4. Add sugar a little bit at the time until you get your desired consistency, add more water if needed.

To keep this icing moist, keep it covered and refrigerated if you are not going to used immediately.

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breyes Posted 20 Jul 2010 , 1:03pm
post #439 of 707

Hi everyone,
I have read the entire post and have a question...
Can you substitute hi ratio shortening such as Sweetex for Crisco? Will it make a difference in taste, texture, etc. And if you can substitute, are the measurements the same?
Thanks

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Amy80 Posted 20 Jul 2010 , 10:11pm
post #440 of 707

Hi, I'm from Australia and can't find smooth paper towel anywhere. We have the Viva brand but they all seem to have patterns. I love the effect of smoothing with paper towel but would love to get a flat finish with no pattern. Is there anything I can use instead of paper towel? Or is there anyone on here from Australia who can tell me where to find smooth paper towel?

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ginger001 Posted 26 Jul 2010 , 3:02pm
post #441 of 707

i think a good buttercream recipe is very important. i am still confused on using crisco vs. not using crisco and what is the best method to store it. Im new to decorating and so everything about buttercream is so important.
ginger001

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Gerle Posted 28 Jul 2010 , 4:31pm
post #442 of 707

MariaLovesCakes, I'm fairly new at cake decorating, but the instructor in my first class told us that to get a really white BC, you need to use clear flavorings (vanilla, butter, almond) and it's best to use just Crisco shortening, no butter, and you'll get a true white BC. That's what I've been doing, and it really is white.

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tuamor1628 Posted 1 Aug 2010 , 1:28am
post #443 of 707

Does anyone happen to have a good crumbcoat buttercream recipe? Something to go well with the fondant.

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tuamor1628 Posted 1 Aug 2010 , 1:30am
post #444 of 707

Does anyone have a good crumbcoat buttercream recipe? something to go well with the fondant.

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Vegasgirl77 Posted 2 Aug 2010 , 8:02pm
post #445 of 707

All I want to know is how to make the buttercream they make in the supermarket, because I don't like the at-home recipies, they are either too thin or too sugary and the flavor is not as creamy, it hardens up...I just want to be able to make a cake that tastes and feels professional.

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cygem7 Posted 11 Aug 2010 , 4:26pm
post #446 of 707

wow it amazing.........

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cmeventcoordinator Posted 13 Aug 2010 , 6:08pm
post #447 of 707

I make a very simple buttercream using real unsalted sweet cream butter,powdered sugar and HEavy Whipping Cream. I use the Viva Paper towel method for smoothing as well as a hot metal smoothing tool. To get it hot I run it under streaming hot water.

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tweetheart Posted 13 Aug 2010 , 8:30pm
post #448 of 707

I find this to be a very helpful tip when it comes to buttercream, the climate you live in. I am in AZ, and you have to be very careful, I make mine stiffer during the summer, due to the hot temperatures, and during the winter I thin it some.

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saralee1 Posted 20 Aug 2010 , 1:37pm
post #449 of 707

I like to know how to write or make black swirls on a fondant cake with buttercream...will the black bleed unto the fondant?

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jade8 Posted 30 Aug 2010 , 12:46am
post #450 of 707

I may have missed it somewhere along the line but any ideas on where I can get my hands on 6x powdered sugar here in Canada?

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