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American Buttercream Frosting

This recipe has a story, but doesn't every recipe have a story and sometimes a life lesson attached to it?


I took my first decorating class in 2006 from Hobby Lobby with Wilton. After signing up I was sent home with a recipe for buttercream frosting and the instruction to bring prepared cakes to my first class.


The recipe was 100% shortening, butter flavoring, water and powdered sugar. I thought that was buttercream frosting until I had been decorating for a few years and began exploring more recipes. It occurred to me that buttercream frosting should maybe contain actual butter in it.


And that's when I realized butter can change your world! Well, that and heavy whipping cream. After replacing the shortening and water for those two ingredients the taste, texture, and overall personality of this frosting changed. Vanilla does play a key role in this recipe. I will talk more on vanilla in another post. Yes vanilla is that kind of cake ingredient diva that she needs her own post. Let's be real, anything that has to soak in alcohol for months needs their own post and possibly a therapist.


The all butter buttercream is so delicious, but not always functions when decorating a cake. See, as cake decorators we have to arch enemies that we battle regularly. Heat and gravity. There are several more villains in the cake decorator's world such as time, butter and egg costs, weather, etc So to combat one of them, heat, I realized why Wilton told me to use a shortening based recipe. It will stabilize your frosting. See Note 1


And voila! My ABC recipe was born. It has become the one of my most requested recipes. I use it as a base for all my frostings. I add Biscoff for my cookie butter frosting recipe, peanut butter for a delicious PB frosting, dehydrated raspberries for a raspberry ABC, anyway you get the point. I hope it becomes your new favorite frosting recipe as it has been a predictable, delicious, crowd pleaser for me.

 

American Buttercream Frosting


  • 2 lbs unsalted butter OR

1 lb butter + 1 lb of shortening

(please see Note 1)

  • 4 pounds of powdered sugar

  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream

  • 3 Tablespoons vanilla


Cream butter in KitchenAid or Bosch mixer.  If using shortening, add shortening then mix with butter until creamy. Add 2 lbs of powdered sugar.  Mix. Then add vanilla and heavy whipping cream.  Add the other 2 lbs of powdered sugar. Mix until smooth and creamy.

 

To remove any air bubbles so frosting goes on smoother I place a small amount in a bowl and smooth it out using a spatula or a wooden spoon. I continue doing this until cake is frosted. Also, I recommend making frosting at least on day before frosting your cake. It give the frosting time to rest and a lot of the air will separate from the frosting.


This recipe makes approximately 6 pounds of frosting. I often cut the recipe in half. Any leftover frosting can be stored in the fridge for 1-2 weeks or freezer for 3-4 months.


Note 1: If you want a more stable buttercream then I would use shortening/butter, 50/50 ratio. What do I mean by stable? Well, butter melts at 82-97 degrees Fahrenheit (32-35 Celsius.) While shortening melts at 111-122 degrees Fahrenheit (45-50 Celsius.) So, if you are doing a cake that will be sitting outside in warm weather it would be a good idea to use this ratio instead of all butter. It also won't melt as quickly from the heat of your hands if you are doing a lot of piping.


 

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