Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Buttercream
Decorating By Jackie Updated 26 May 2016 , 8:00pm by gfbaby
So far I think am getting better every time I do my butter cream I just started baking 4 mouth ago and I think am doing very good now I discover that if I add one or two TB spoon of merengue powder I do it because I live in the USVI and is very hot THANK YOU all for your advice I like the tips
AWill you be posting a link to this fabulous catchall goto document when you have it compiled? That will be awesome
Hi could it be that you have too much sugar I stop using butter in my butter cream I use VELVOKIS made by ROBERTS I know this is made in Barbados but I saw it on line and this holds very good better than Crisco and I add 2 or 3 tablespoons of merengue powder for every 8 cups on the recipe and I add butter flavor essence and I use milk instead of water am from the Virgin Islands and it took me a few mouths before I got a way to make buttercream that I can work with and not crack or melt hope this helps am learning to but being that I did catering as part time I test deferent recipe also use a recipe that I learn at Crafty's call Pipping Buttercream and borders the recipe that he have in that class is excellent and so easy.
Please include a section on natural flavorings for buttercream -- some folks don't go for the artificial flavors.
Also, include info on storability of buttercream, as I use a recipe that breaks down if I freeze the extra buttercream, and sometimes beating it for several minutes doesn't work. I also like to use real butter vs. shortening, but does that effect the life of the buttercream?
AWhat a fabulous idea!
I started Cake Decorating in January as a hobby and have discovered a real passion for it. I took the Wilton courses at my local Michael's and one of the hardest things for me so far is getting the correct consistency. It seems to be different for crumb coating, icing, piping (and even that depends upon WHAT you are piping) <>. At first it was always too stiff for whatever I was doing and now it's always too thin, lol!
And there are several buttercream recipes out there: Swiss Meringue, American Meringue, regular old buttercream, "crusting" buttercream... It's confusing for a newbie.
I'm eagerly looking forward to this blog!
Thank you!
Carol
........why does buttercream crack? Do I need more powder sugar? .........
There are several reason this mught b e happening. It would hlp as another poster suggested if you would post the recipe you are using. But....consider this: ince you say it doesn't helppen all the time: your board is not thick/strong enough to support the cake so the cake/icing flexes when you move it.
OR you may need a bit more 'fat' (be it butter, shortening or whatever you are using). Sometimes it could be just as little as 1/4 cup that will make the difference.
........is it ok to store a buttercream iced cake in the fridge over night?.....
Sure. Just be aware that when it comes out of the frig it will sweat some until it comes to room temp. Do NOT touch the cake at all - it will dry up just fine on it's own
............. include info on storability of buttercream, as I use a recipe that breaks down if I freeze the extra buttercream, and sometimes beating it for several minutes doesn't work. I also like to use real butter vs. shortening, but does that effect the life of the buttercream?.........
ABC (American B'cream - using shortening &/or part butter) does not break down when fzn. It must be the recipe you are using. Yes, using all butter will effect the life of b'cream. It will need to be refrig'd at all times until just before serving. I have always used 1/2 butter/1/2 Crico and never had it breakdown when fzn. It also does not need to be kept in the frig up to 3 days but I usually did.
Hi everyone, new to this site, so still feeling my way around but this looks like a very interesting subject to follow 
hmmm i believe its on this site and called Quick and Easy Vanilla Buttercream. I use half shortening and half butter, confectioners sugar, pinch of salt, vanilla extract, and heavy cream. I personally don't like those buttercreams that are too sugary, so this one was perfect!
AI have always used heavy whipping cream in my buttercream frosting in place of the water or milk. Its amazing! ! Lol one thing i like to do if i want it thinner is use half of the cream and the other half milk.
Just when I think I've got my ABC mastered, I learn something new to tweak it. What started as a simple BC recipe has morphed into a completely different recipe :) I had no idea you could add whipping cream to it! Do you use heavy or light cream? Or does it not matter? Does it change the texture of the frosting? Ooh so excited to add this to my recipe!
I've used heavy whipping cream in my icing for years. It makes the icing a little richer. I heat mine up so it blends better with the butter and sugar. You can add as much as you want and whip the daylights out of it and make it really fluffy. That's how I make my icing for cupcakes.
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I've used heavy whipping cream in my icing for years. It makes the icing a little richer. I heat mine up so it blends better with the butter and sugar. You can add as much as you want and whip the daylights out of it and make it really fluffy. That's how I make my icing for cupcakes.
AnnieCahill: this sounds delicious. Does it still crust in the American Buttercream?
I'd like to try it and make another 'camo' cake.
AMine doesn't crust but that's because I have more fat in my recipe (so it doesn't crust). If you use cream in place of your normal liquid I wouldn't imagine it would affect the crusting much. I add lots of cream to mine, like 1/3 cup most of the time.
I added the whipping cream to my buttercream for my SIL's baby shower cake (still working on it...). OMG, yum! And I learned a new trick I wanted to pass along. To get my BC silky smooth I add another batch I made earlier to my mixer until the BC is even with the top of the bowl, set it at med-low and let it whip away for about 8-10 mins. It reduces the air bubbles, I think, and comes out perfect for smoothing on the cake! Don't know if anyone had posted that earlier, but I was impressed it came out so well and wanted to share 
If you want one that will last, Kitchen Aid makes an excellent one. Another nice thing is that older accessories can be used with a new mixer. Their mixer is dependable and will take a lot of hard use. They are now available in a wide variety of colors as well as the basic neutrals.
How much powdered sugar and shortening do you use when adding 1/4 cup whipping cream to your Buttercream Frosting? (I guess, basically, I'm asking for the recipe that you use. I would love to try a Buttercream Frosting with whipping cream in it.) Thanks for any help.
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