Buttercream Recipes

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• In medium bowl, mix powdered sugar and butter with spoon or electric mixer on low speed. Stir in vanilla and 1 tablespoon of the milk.
• Gradually beat in just enough remaining milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time. If frosting becomes too thin, beat in a small amount of powdered sugar. Frosts 13x9-inch cake generously, or fills and frosts an 8- or 9-inch two-layer cake.

QUICK AND ALMOST-PROFESSIONAL BUTTERCREAM ICING

Steps:

• Cream room temperature butter with a hand mixer, the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, or a wooden spoon until smooth and fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until fully incorporated. Beat in vanilla extract.
• Pour in milk and beat for an additional 3 to 4 minutes. Add food coloring, if using, and beat for thirty seconds until smooth or until desired color is reached.

BASIC BUTTERCREAM ICING

Steps:

• Beat the room temperature butter with hand-held beaters or a stand-mixer (see notes) in a bowl until pale and fluffy (approximately 3-4 minutes).
• Slowly add the icing sugar, milk/cream and optional vanilla extract, pinch of salt and food colouring and continue to beat until smooth and creamy.
• Spread the buttercream frosting over a cooled cake or cupcakes and serve.
• Store the iced cake or cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
• Place the icing sugar into the Thermomix bowl and mix for 10 seconds, Speed 9.
• Add the butter, cream/milk and optional vanilla extract, pinch of salt and food colouring to the bowl. Mix for 30 seconds, Speed 4 (scraping down the sides occasionally).
• Spread the buttercream frosting over a cooled cake or cupcakes and serve.
• Store the iced cake or cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

ITALIAN BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Place the egg whites and 1/3 cup of the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until the egg whites reach the soft peak stage.
• Meanwhile, pour the remaining sugar and 1/3 cup water in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and bring to the soft-ball stage, without stirring, 240 degrees F.
• The egg whites and syrup should be ready at about the same time. If one is ready before the other then you can remove the pan from the heat or stop whipping for a few minutes.
• Continue to whip the egg whites on medium-high speed and slowly drizzle in the hot syrup, aiming the syrup between the side of the bowl and the beaters. Continue to whip until both the bottom of the bowl and the mixture are cool, 10 to 15 minutes. The mixture should be thick and will form firm peaks at this point. Beat in the salt. At this point you have an Italian meringue.
• While still beating on medium-high, add the butter, a few pieces at a time. As the butter is added, the buttercream may appear to thin out some, but it will thicken into firm peaks once all of the butter is added. Beat in the vanilla extract. If the buttercream is still too loose, beat on high speed until thickened.
• Use right away or refrigerate in an airtight container overnight. The buttercream may need to be beaten slightly to smooth out before using.

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add 4 and 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, the heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to medium-high speed and beat for 2 full minutes. Taste. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. I always add 1/8 teaspoon.
• You can control the consistency at this point- add up to 1/2 cup more confectioners' sugar if frosting is too thin or more heavy cream if frosting is too thick (add only 1 Tablespoon at a time, beat together, then taste and add more if desired).
• Use immediately or cover tightly and store for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer. After freezing, thaw in the refrigerator then beat the frosting on medium speed for a few seconds so it's creamy again. After thawing or refrigerating, beating in a splash of heavy cream or milk will help thin the frosting out again, if needed.

BUTTERCREAM ICING

Steps:

• Beat 600g sifted icing sugar and 300g butter together with your chosen flavouring and colouring if using, add 2-3 tablespoons of boiling water to loosen and beat until smooth.
• Fill a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe onto cupcakes or smear in the middle and over the top of a 20cm cake using a palette knife.

EASY VANILLA BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Cut the butter (250g) into cubes (about 1″) and beat in an electic mixer until soft.
• Add the icing sugar (500g) and beat until fully combined - I prefer to add the sugar a couple of spoonfuls at a time as this minimises the amount of sugar that flies out all over the kitchen! You'll find that at first it'll start to look lumpy but keep persevering and it'll smooth out.
• Add the vanilla extract (½ tsp) and mix until fully combined.
• (See note about about the required consistency) Take a look at the consistency of the icing, is it spreadable? If not add ½ tsp milk and mix until fully combined. Check the consistency again and repeat until it is just spreadable.
• Once you've got the icing to the right consistency - have fun piping, spreading, or just licking if off the spoon!

QUICK VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.
• Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

THE BEST BUTTERCREAM FROSTING RECIPE

Steps:

• Get out the salted butter! Trust me and use salted butter, it's the secret ingredient!
• Beat the butter until it is light and creamy. This is important as you are adding the icing sugar next. If the butter isn't creamy you can get lumps in the icing.
• Add in the icing sugar. Again, if you are like me and can taste stale icing sugar, you will need a fresh bag.
• Add in the cream.. I used 4 tablespoons for my preference, you adjust to what you want.
• Stiffer icing = less cream. Lighter icing = more cream. Adjust the amount to your liking by adding one tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
• Add the vanilla then keep mixing it until fluffy and thoroughly combined.

BASIC BUTTERCREAM ICING

Steps:

• Beat the butter in a large bowl until soft. Add half of the icing sugar and beat until smooth.
• Add the remaining icing sugar and one tablespoon of the milk and vanilla extract and beat the mixture until creamy and smooth. Beat in the remaining milk, if necessary, to loosen the mixture.
• Stir in the food colouring, if using, until well combined.
• For the orange buttercream variation, omit the milk and vanilla from the basic recipe. Stir in the orange zest and juice until thoroughly combined.
• For the chocolate variation, omit the milk from the basic recipe. Cream the butter and sugar, as above, also adding the cocoa powder. Allow the melted chocolate to cool for 10 minutes before adding to the whipped butter and sugar. Beat until well combined.

GERMAN BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• Make milk mixture: In a medium saucepan (preferably one with sloped sides), whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt until combined. Add about 1/4 cup of milk to the sugar mixture, whisking to form a thick paste. This will keep the mixture from forming clumps when you add the remaining milk. Add the rest of the milk to the pot, whisking to incorporate it.
• Beat the eggs: Use a fork to lightly beat the egg yolks until they are runny.
• Finish the custard: Return the pot to the stove and heat the custard mixture to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat, constantly stirring with the whisk. The mixture will thicken considerably in 2-3 minutes. In order to tell if the custard is ready: dip a spoon in the custard and it should be thick enough for its edges to hold a line drawn with your finger on the back of the spoon. Stir in the vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth and combined.
• Cover and chill the custard: Cover and chill the custard until cool (or until it reaches room temperature). You can press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the custard and chill it for up to 2 days in the refrigerator. If you chill it, it needs to be brought to room temperature before proceeding.
• Store buttercream: Once mixed, use the buttercream as desired . Store in a food storage container for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 2 months.

BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• After weighing out ingrediants, put them all in the bowl.
• Mix it all until it is pretty stiff.
• Now you can put it on your cake! (Or just eat the buttercream by itself, I don't really recommend it though...)
• Don't forget the washing up!