If you have a recipe for a real butter buttercream icing recipe, NO CRISCO, please email me. i tried a recipe and have to keep adding powder sugar to thicken it up, i already added a total of 3 bags, it is still runny, it will fall off the cake. wedding cake due next weekend and bride didnt want crisco icing . as she said,
thanks
brandy

Could you please post the recipe you used. I don't understand why it would be *runny*...........you didn't melt the butter did you?

I use serious_cakes buttercream recipe, but it does have some shortening in it.......although it has a lot of butter and does taste like real butter cream.

Did you have a tasting with this bride?

go to southernliving . com (yep, the magazine) and they have a recipe for vanilla buttercream that i use. all buttercream.. amazing taste..tinker w/the extracts to make it even better.

be warned, you can add crisco & have it not taste greasy if you only add a little... b/c this icing will begin to glisten/soften if you're not careful with the temps /if it sits near a window (like while you're transporting in the car..)

2 cups unsalted butter
4 1/2 cups powder sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp hot water

butter in bowl mix, till fluffy add sugar, vanilla & water, beat well,,,, beat for 5 minutes fast, it should turn white ( which it didnt)
and i keep adding sugar and it is RUNNY , not even like mayonaise.

What size were the bags of confectioners sugar? I dont see how you could add 3 bags and 4sticks of butter and have it be runny????

Two cups is a lot of butter, so there isnt a correct ratio of sugar/fat in my view. I have found that most butter creams with crisco can have butter subsituted for the crisco, just they are very temperature sensitive.
As well, BC made with butter won't become pure white no matter how much you beat it, because butter is made with cream which is well quite simply, cream coloured in nature. And unless you are using a clear vanilla, the vanilla will also alter the colour slightly.

This is what I use.
1 cup salted butter
1-2 tsp. van.
2 pound bag powdered sugar
throw in some popcorn salt
enough milk for the right consistincey
usually about 8 tbls.
I think maybe you are using too much butter.

the recipe is in the back, Buttercream, i checked again it does call for this
2 cups butter
4 1/2 cups powder sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp hot water...

i just confused and need something...

i guess you need to go with the swiss meringue buttercream or the italian meringue buttercream. lots of recipes on this site.. hth all butter .. no shortening

Unless you melted the butter it shouldn't be runny after 3 bags of PS was added to it.

Are you using 10x powdered sugar? Are you mixing it in a stand mixer or hand mixer?

2cups of butter to 4 1/2 cups of PS is a bit off in my opinion too. My rule of thumb is to every cup of fat I need about 1lb of PS (approx 4 cups).

I noticed you're in LA which is very humid and warm. Please beware that using an "all butter" buttercream icing will be risky. You'll need to really be sure that icing is stable so that it's not melting off your cake.

I highly recommend that you use 1/2 butter and 1/2 hi-ratio shortening or another icing that will hold up in the LA heat and humidity. Especially for a wedding cake.

I'm sorry you're having trouble with this batch, I really don't know what could have happened to make it "runny".

Edit to add that my rule of 1 cup of fat to 1lb of PS really depends on the temperature/time of year. Sometimes I need more PS sometimes I use less. It's temperamental.

the 1 tablespoon of hot water may have melted the butter a bit, but it shouldn't still be runny.
Try IMBC - italian meringue butercream. It's very smooth and not difficult to make, and I never have problems whipping it to thickness. I use "Classic Vanilla Buttercream" on the food network site. it's fantastic, and crisco free.

4 1/2 cups of powdered sugar is just over a pound, or just over 1/2 bag. 2 cups of butter is a whole box. This is way off.

My recipe proportions are (along with the other misc ingreds):
2 cups butter
1 cup crisco
3 lbs of confectioners sugar (that's 12 cups!)

Maybe you need to put it in the fridge for a few hours or overnight and see how it is in the morning.

Well, you asked for real Buttercream. The above answers are about Real Butter in icing. If you meant Real Buttercream, the following recipe is REAL BUTTERCREAM:

1 and 1/2 pounds of granulated sugar and 1 and 1/2 cups of cold water in pan and bring to a boil. With a thermometer, allow to boil - without stirring - until 240 degrees. (If you don't have a thermometer, allow it to boil for several minutes until the bubbles are small and it looks thick.)

While the above is boiling, whip 9 Egg Whites to stiff peak.

Slowly drizzle the hot syrup into the egg whites while mixer is running. Keep the mixer running and when the bowl gets cool enough to hold your hand on the bottom, slowly begin to add chunks of 2 and 1/2 pounds of Butter. Add 1 Tabl. Vanilla Extract.

If the Buttercream is too "runny" it just means it was too warm when you added the butter - no proble, allow to chill a bit.

If the buttercream is too "stiff", place some in the microwave and soften and re-whip.

This is a professional buttercream - it ices so easily and is smooth and non-crusting.

Good luck!

Well, you asked for real Buttercream. The above answers are about Real Butter in icing. If you meant Real Buttercream, the following recipe is REAL BUTTERCREAM:

1 and 1/2 pounds of granulated sugar and 1 and 1/2 cups of cold water in pan and bring to a boil. With a thermometer, allow to boil - without stirring - until 240 degrees. (If you don't have a thermometer, allow it to boil for several minutes until the bubbles are small and it looks thick.)

While the above is boiling, whip 9 Egg Whites to stiff peak.

Slowly drizzle the hot syrup into the egg whites while mixer is running. Keep the mixer running and when the bowl gets cool enough to hold your hand on the bottom, slowly begin to add chunks of 2 and 1/2 pounds of Butter. Add 1 Tabl. Vanilla Extract.

If the Buttercream is too "runny" it just means it was too warm when you added the butter - no proble, allow to chill a bit.

If the buttercream is too "stiff", place some in the microwave and soften and re-whip.

This is a professional buttercream - it ices so easily and is smooth and non-crusting.

Good luck!

just trying to find a good butter recipe for butterceam instead of using the wilton method or alot of crisco recipe, the one i used i keep checking the recipe and i read it right
2 cups butter
4 1/2 cups of powder sugar with 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1 tbsp hot water. just thought it would have been alot stiffer.

wanting a good tasting buttercream recipe for this cake and so on. this one is NOT the one.
i w ill try other recipes. thanks
brandy

Actually, they're is no one REAL buttercream. There are several different types. The one you describe is a an Italian buttercream. The kind we were describing is known as simple, or American buttercream. There are also decorators, Swiss, French and German, all made differently, and all considered real buttercreams.

American is the only one that would include crisco. Italian, along with Swiss are the types used most often in American bakeries, and probably what the OP's client was thinking of.

Swiss buttercream is similar to the Italian buttercream recipe bakingpw posted, except you avoid the simple syrup step by heating the whites and sugar together before whipping them, finally adding the butter.

I am thinking that this should have been 2 STICKS of butter instead of 2lbs?! This can't be right...

I use about 1 pound of butter to 1 pound of sugar.

My recipe is:

2 cups butter (4 sticks)
7 cups confectioners sugar
1 packed dream whip ( I think it aides in reducing the sweetness a bit)
1 tbl butter vanilla flavoring
Dashes of hot liquid as needed

I'll add in some HR shortening if it's going to be in a humid/hot climate.

It's never runny. Actually.. it's sometimes too stiff and I end up needing to add extra liquid.

i don't know if the weather is affecting your buttercream. i made a batch of smbc a couple days ago and it wouldn't even whip back after i added the butter.(i've never had problems before) i had to refrigerate for 30 minutes before it whipped back to a good consistency. make sure your kitchen is cool. i would seriously reconsider the ALL BUTTER buttercream in the summer unless ur sure u can keep it coool the whole time. good luck with ur cake.