Buttercream - Less Sweet

Having seen several discussions in the forums about a “less sweet buttercream,” I decided to post my favorite, since I didn’t have it written down anywhere previously, and chiming in on those discussions was, therefore, awkward. Now I can just recommend the link to this recipe. I find that butter makes a recipe cloyingly sweet…so this one is all-Crisco because of that.

Buttercream – Less Sweet

Ingredients

  • Crisco – 492 grams
  • Salt – 1 tsp
  • Sour Cream – 2/3 Cup
  • Clear Vanilla – 2 tsp
  • Lorann Champagne Flavor – 2 tsp
  • Powdered Coffee Creamer, DRY – 1/2 Cup
  • Powdered Sugar – 2 pounds

Instructions

  1. Sift powdered sugar. Combine with powdered creamer and set aside.
  2. Beat shortening with salt until smooth and creamy. Add half of sour cream and flavorings. Beat until smooth and creamy. Add half of powdered sugar mixture and beat until well-combined and creamy. Add remaining sour cream mixture, beat until combined. Add last of powdered sugar mixture and beat until smooth and creamy. Continue beating if a fluffier icing is desired.
  3. This makes a very slightly ivory icing. You may wish to add a bit of icing whitener or a tiny touch of violet coloring if ivory is not the desired outcome.
  4. Crusts…but not heavily. Can be smoothed with Viva or Melvira method after about a half-hour. If using another Lorann flavoring instead of Champagne, add sparingly, a little at a time, as not all Lorann flavors impart the same degree of flavor. 2 Teaspoons would be awful if using their Almond, for instance.

Comments (4)

on

I really want to try this recipe but I'm having a hard time finding the conversion for the 492 grams of crisco. Do you have this measurement in cups perhaps?

on

Crimsicle, Thanks for this recipe - I've never seen one that calls for coffee creamer (which I use everyday!). My question is does this need to be refrigerated due to the addition of sour cream? Also, I always look through the LorAnn oils at my local baking supply shop, but have never seen Champagne. I will look into it further, but if they don't carry it, can you recommend another flavour that might work? Butter Rum maybe?

on

I'm trying to imagine the flavor! With the sour cream in there, is it as tangy as a cream cheese frosting? I want something less sweet, but don't want that much tang. Substituting almond flavoring for the champagne, do you think this would work well with a custard-filled burnt almond cake?

Big question: Can this be covered with fondant? I think the moisture content looks low enough, and in my climate I've had success covering cream cheese icings with fondant.