Hi everyone! 

Okay so I've been baking for a while now but I still am having trouble getting the buttercream down. My family always complains whenever I make the buttercream rather that using the canned icing. It's so frustrating! Whenever I make it the buttercream comes out too sweet, really loose, and has a bit of an aftertaste. Also, if I use food coloring in my homemade frosting it has little steaks of white in it. Correct me if I'm wrong but I supposed to: sift the powdered sugar, let the butter get to room temperature, use vanilla extract, cream the butter, put in the powdered sugar a little bit at a time, right? I follow the recipe and the process to a point and it STILL comes out wrong! I'm at my wits end. I know practice makes perfect but theres got to be a point where I get it right. I just want my buttercream to taste like it does from a bakery. Sorry for the long rant. Thanks for reading!

...............buttercream comes out too sweet, really loose, and has a bit of an aftertaste. Also, if I use food coloring in my homemade frosting it has little steaks of white in it.............

Try this recipe:  http://www.cakecentral.com/recipe/22469/2-icing   Do take the time to read through the whole post as there is helpful hints within the replies.   Are you using good brands of ingredients?  C & H powdered sugar; pure butter; etc?  Yes, it's helpful to sift the sugar.  Cream the butter (mix on low to med) before adding sugar should prevent your white 'dots'.   As for it being too sweet.....all I can say is that is what icing is suppose to be.  No you cannot leave out 1/2 the sugar to keep the sweetness down (I've had students who did that LOL)   One of the best hints I can give you is to let it mix for a long time... as the recipe says.  Many say only to mix it until the sugar is incorporated - not more than 3-5 minutes- but that is not enough to give you the right consistency. 

Don't forget there are many other options apart from American Buttercream to try, if you don't like the ABC maybe try Swiss Meringue Buttercream (seems like a lot more work but it really isn't once you get the hang of it), coked flour frosting, Italian Meringue buttercream, 7 minute frostings, ganache or even a hybrid between two that you like.

So many to choose from, each with their own pro's and con's. 

I use the Wilton recipe and it works great! I always get compliments on how my frosting is so much better than store bought. I usually put in  cup of vegetable shorting, 1 tsp of vanilla, a little milk and 1 tbsp meringue powder(I use egg whites) and then mix. Add in a pinch of salt and 4 cups of powdered sugar. Once it's all mixed together I add milk until the right consistency. It's doesn't take more than 10 minutes and is very easy. Tell me if it works for you! 

Good luck!

Hi!

I have just discovered that if you add some cream cheese, (doesn't have to be a lot) you can get your buttercream to taste like store-bought!  (you should have a good recipe :)

Just thought that was a fun tip!

ptL - Shelby