The one thing that helped cut the sweetness for me was to cut back on the flavoring & increase the creamer. For the 6 qt I use 4 T Vanilla, 2 T Butavan & 14 T Creamer. Also, I noticed when I increased the vanilla & decreased the Butavan (which is very rich) it helped cut the sweetness.

I've made it 3 times and it crust's so fast on me!!! Should I increase the amount of creamer? I am already putting 14-15 Tablespoons of creamer and it is smooth (still have some air bubbles), but it crusts to fast for me. Any suggestions?

I finally get it! I tried to make a modified batch last night using Sharon's technique, but I only did 4c fat and 4 lbs PS, but apparently that isn't enought to fill up my 5qt Heavy Duty KA which is still double what I normally make. My mixer never really got out of the "sucking" sound stage and hence still had quite a bit of air in it.

Fortunately (but actually unfortunately) the cake that I frosted with it had a serious decorating disaster so I had to make a fresh batch.

I used 2c Alpine, 5 sticks of butter (2 1/2c), 4 1/2 lbs PS, 3T flavoring and 9T hot creamer. It came out perfect. The only thing that messed this batch up was when I separated some out to color it got air pockets in it again.

Hopefully it will turn out the same next time. So happy to see the results. Thanks Sharon for a great technique!

I sounds like this recipe makes alot of buttercream. So I'm wondering how long this keeps for? I would live to try the recipe but I do not usually need that much buttercream in one week.

I use 16 TBSP liquid TOTAL. I usually mix my flavorings (maybe 2 TBSP) and add the additional 14 TBSP liquid creamer. Works good for me! I also have a 5 qt K5 mixer, not the six quart.

Alvarezmom. I would use less creamer and more liquid. I noticed when I use more creamer it crusts quicker.

Sassy, do you have high humidity? We do and I have to use less liquid in the summer

I too freeze it successfully

This recipe had been a godsend for me. Thanks for the tips about the creamer. Sometime i get a perfectly smooth batch, other times it comes out grainy, even though i followed the instructions to the T. Last night I made it into espresso flavor by dissolving 2 tbls espresso power into the liquid, and i used heavy cream instead of cream. It had a medium crust. It tasted really good. The coffee cut through the sweetness. I do find it being too sweet and i usually do double up on the flavoring.
Its good to know that i can freeze this recipe.
One thing i did notice is that when my machine heats up, it heats the buttercream too, and that is when i tend to get the grainy texture. So i'm not sure whether i should simply mix it for less minutes. but then i wonder if it would still be smooth?

Dandelion, I live in SE Louisiana, so it's wet-blanket humidity around here pretty much year round lol.

The batch I made last yesterday turned out much better than I thought it would, though. It stiffened up a little after cooling/sitting. But, what I'm happiest about is that it's still AIRLESS! Usually, even if it's smooth and airless after when I make it, it develops some air bubbles as it sits over night. Not this time, though...still smooooooth! Yay! Maybe one day I'll figure out the magic combination lol.

Rosamatsas, that espresso flavor sounds delish!

I believe i have a 5 quart mixer, and it comes up within a 1/2 inch of the top. I also find that i get a few air bubbles in it occasionally. If the batch doesn't come out perfectly smooth, what i do is fix it during the icing process. I have a pot of super hot water next to me and for the final pass with y scraper (or spatula) i dip it for a few second into the hot water, wipe the wet off, then use it to smooth out the surface. Works charms when i get air bubble.
I do love this recipe for those summer months.

Exactly how long does this BC last? I know it lasts longer than regular BC, but exactly how long???

I'm curious as to how this tastes compared to IndyDebis recipe (what I usually make). I just ordered Sharon's buttercream DVD, but I LOVE indydebis recipe so much I'm afraid to try a new one

I had planned today to make a batch of this, and I'm glad I checked on here, because I also have 4.5 Qt KA. It was almost coming out of the bowl. I used the recipe above. My variations were, high ration shortening, 2 TBS of Clear Vanilla and 1 tbs of butter flavor. I ended up using about the same amount of creamer liquid as above. My results were mixed. The flavor was a bit chemical(possible due to clear vanilla) and powdery. My texture seems very stiff and when I pull the back of a spoon through it, I find some air bubbles. Nonetheless, since I plan to use it in the next few days, I left it at the stiff consistency and colored it. I plan to thin it out a bit when I get ready to re-whip in a few days. I love SS's videos and I thought this recipe would be a great buttercream for an outdoor cake. I'm in Florida and need something that won't melt off the cake [/quote]

I reflected a little on what could have gone wrong with this recipe, as I had made it once before when first viewing the buttercream video. I think these things may have made a difference in why my BC was so stiff and powdery and grainy.

Creamer- I used store brand not coffeemate. I picked up some coffeemate this week, and noticed it has a much more smaller grain than store brand.

Powder sugar- I used Target Brand ( the one in red package) I now purchased Domino as the package does state it's pure cane. Target brand does note specify.

I also think P.Sugar may need to be adjusted depending on the area you live in, versus just dumping all of it in the bowl.

Either way...everyone loved it, and after some alterations by adding flavored liquid creamer I made it work. And just covered up the grainy spos with decorations.

Made my third batch of this recipe yesterday in my 4.5 quart kitchenaid. Previously I had used 4 cups of store brand shortening that had 3.5 trans fat with 4 lbsl(16 cups) of powered sugar, 2 tbs of creme bouquet, and 10-13 tbs of coffemate liquid. It came out OK with small tiny air bubbles which easily smoothed out. My last batch I used 4.5 cups of hi-ratio shortening, 18 cups of PS, 2 tbs of creme bouquet, 11-14 tbs of coffemate liquid. This was much better, no air bubbles, smooth! I first creamed the 4.5 cups of shortening for about a minute, added the creme bouquet and let cream for about 30 seconds. I added about 9 tbs of coffemate liquid. Let that cream together. I separated my PS into 3 batches, adding 6 cups of PS in each batch. On speed 1, I added 6 cups it came together easily. Stopped, scrapped, and started KA and added 2 tbs of liquid, added 2nd batch. Once it came together again, I stopped scrapped down and started adding the 3rd batch. As soon as I started hearing the sucking noise(which was about half way through of adding third batch of PS), I added more liquid and continued to add the rest of PS. If you still hear the sucking noise add a few more drops. Keep scraping down because it will come over the bowl. In my 4.5 KA the icing was up past the paddle and into the springs. Once the icing was scraped down into the bowl I had no more sucking noise and I turned up the speed to 6 and let it mix for 6 minutes. It came out perfect! Sorry for the long post but I know how frustrating this can be, hope it helps.

VNatividad thank you very much!!! I will certainly follow what you did and I'll report to you...
I too have a 4.5qt KA and have struggled sooo much trying to get a smooth batch!! so far, I've never been completely satisfied...once I remember getting a semi-smooth batch and I was ecstatic
I'll continue trying

This post has been so helpful! I haven't tried this method/recipe yet, but plan to soon. I have a few questions to those of you who have had success with it.

1. When you leave it sitting, do you cover it with plastic wrap?

2. Also, when leaving it sitting, do you leave at room temp or put in the refrigerator?

3. I saw that it can be frozen, but once thawed, how do you mix it without it getting air in it? What speed?

4. Also, if I freeze it, it is likely because I used some, but not all of it. If that's the case, when I remix it, it won't fill up the entire 5 quarts, so what do I do to prevent air in it?

Thanks so much and congrats to everyone who has had success with it!

Wendy's Receipe worked for me FINALLY! I went through so many variations trying to get bubbless BC in my 6qt Kitchenaid. I am in Florida and had to add two additional tbs, to get a good thickness and no "sucking". I did the happy dance. Oh and I quit using CK and purchased Sweetex. I think that was the key to my success.

Where do you find the Wedding Bouquet or Creme Bouquet (or whatever it was called). Thanks.

fondant so ur ce. c o m

thank you so much!!

I made your buttercream a few weeks back and was thrilled! Made it last week, exact same way, and it was grainy, full of air pockets, and wouldn't crust for anything. I am going to try again tomorrow - I will master it!!!!!!

My 1st try making this BC today...it turned out awful. It was for my daughter's preschool "graduation" cake and it looks so bad that I can't even post a picture. The taste is great, but I've never seen BC filled with so many air pockets...totally impossible to get smooth. It also didn't crust one bit which was a major disappointment. What did I do wrong? Shouldn't this crust easily? I used 8 T coffee cream mixture, 1 stick of unsalted butter and 1.5 lbs WalMart shortening (2 lbs per the 4.5 quart recipe). I sifted my PS (4.5 lbs), could this be the problem? I know that PS is poured straight from the bag in the you tube video...did I create my air pockets with the sifting? I guess I can use the rest of the icing for filling cake layers...

You know, the first few times I made this -- no problemo!!! But the last two times I had the same issue, nonstop airbubbles that would NOT whip out. I didn't do anything different. Any suggestions??

Can this be...I'm almost in tears!!! See my previous post, it has taken me a year to want to try this buttercream again...I was totally crushed last time.
Now I have a better mixer (7 q Cuisinart) and today I finally went and bought a $13 tub of CK hi-ratio (3 lbs). I have to admit, I was scared to start, so I read all the pages of this posting..again..and watched Sharon's youtube video...again.
I followed QueenOfSweet's 6 q recipe...perfection!!! I used 1 extra T of creamer because I live in a very dry state. I have never experienced buttercream this velvety, fantastic tasting etc. I jumped up and down and forced everyone to taste it...rave reviews!! This is it!!! Soooooooo happy!!!!!
This posting is to those people who had tons of air pockets and wanted to give up. I'm a believer now

Hey - good question on sifting the PS.  Figured pre-sifting would mean I'm starting with a smoother texture...I always worry about having "chunks" of powdered sugar hidden in there that never incorporate, but I see it being poured right out of the bag in the video. 

Anyone have any experience with this?