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Buttercream 101

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I guess I can no longer put this post off, today we’re having the talk. You know…the buttercream talk. Now don’t get me wrong here, I love making and working with buttercream. If there’s one thing I’ve got down…it’s buttercream. I’ve made literately hundreds of batches and I’m almost positive I could make it with my eyes closed, it’s really that simple.

But for some reason many “seasoned” bakers get up tight about it… like crazy particular and determined their way is the best way. Others simply stress about it. I get buttercream questions all the time from readers wanting to know why theirs is runny, or too sweet, or the wrong color and so on and so on and so on. You can see why I’ve put this off right?? So let me calm those nerves… buttercream is flexible, there’s no one right way. Aside from the powdered sugar literally everything can be swapped out for something else and amounts can even be altered. It’s very much a personal preference kind of thing. I can’t tell you what’s perfect or what will be your favorite way. But I can give your lots of information to help and explain how I do it my way. Good? Ok…so grab your a coffee and get comfy because we have a lot to chat about. :)

What exactly are we talking about here? There are actually several different types of buttercream Italian, Swiss, Meringue, American…and each have their strength and weaknesses.
What I’m going to be talking about today is American buttercream often referred to as just buttercream. Which is an icing made with either all butter or a butter-shortening combo, and sometimes just shortening. This is where the debate comes in…how can it be called buttercream without butter. Thankfully I’m not going to cover that one today so we can just skip that controversy. Icing buttercream…doesn’t matter what you call it to me cake is still naked with out it. ;)

So what do I use? 99% of the time I use a combo of butter and shortening, known as decorators buttercream. I use this lots because I am often baking decorated treats. I like the taste of it, it’s not to sweet, or too buttery, it’s smooth, it crusts well, flexible, and it just really great to work with. I have had many many compliments on this simple recipe…so yes, even with shortening in it…people seem to love it.

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INGREDIENTS
2 sticks unsalted butter (Land O’ Lakes)
1 cup Crisco shortening (Crisco)
1 TBS clear vanilla extract (Wilton)
1 2lb bag of powdered sugar (Domino)

4-8 TBS milk (brand varies)

This is a large batch of buttercream and makes about 5 cups of icing. It can easily be cut in half. I make this much because running out of icing is always such a pain, so I’d rather have more and store extras if needed. It will easily ice two 8 inch cakes or 24 cupcakes.

As you see I have listed brands, and that’s for a reason. I am very brand loyal, because brands do matter. Like I said have made many batches of buttercream and I always seem to be happiest with this comb. This is my buttercream dream team if you will. I’ve never had any luck with cheap butters and off brand powdered sugars often have a gritty feel to me. Another big reason for me is that being a military family we move a lot. So I like that these brands are always around pretty much no matter where we are. Nothing stinks more then perfecting a recipe that you can no longer get ingredients for. Which brings me to the Wilton clear vanilla extract. Often people don’t realize that the regular vanilla extract they are using is actually darkening your buttercream. Clear vanilla won’t tint your buttercream, you can get it as close to white as possible, which is helpful even when your coloring the buttercream. I use Wilton because again it’s obtainable…even when were in nowhere’s ville. I can pick this up at Wal-Mart. And I have found no slack in the flavor. Many people prefer to use almond flavoring instead, honestly I don’t really like almond flavoring at all..but that’s just me! The one ingredient I can say I’m not strict about is milk. I’m generally a 1% kinda girl.As I said above all of the ingredients can be be changed around. If you aren’t crazy about the thought of  shortening, take it out and double the butter. If you’d like a stronger butter flavor you can actually buy butter extract at your grocery store. If it’s to sweet add a pinch or two of salt or you can use salted butter. Of course the flavoring can be switched out (we’ll get to that more below) and milk can be changed by preference. The fatter the milk the richer your buttercream will be, you can even use heavy cream instead making it pretty rich. The best way for you to find out what works for you…is to try it out!

CONSISTENCY:
Probably the most important thing about buttercream, other then taste of course, is the consistency. In reality you could really mix up the ingredients however you want,  and as long as it tastes good you’ve got icing. However, chances are that if your making buttercream most likely you are going to decorate a cake or set of cupcakes. Even if you have made the best tasting buttercream in the world if you can’t get it to stay nicely on a cake it’s kind of pointless. (oh yes, I’ve seen cakes fall apart). So really it’s a matter of combining the ingredients to get a great taste along with a usable (decorators) buttercream. This is why I use shortening. Shortening makes a much better buttercream for decorating. It allows the buttercream to hold shape, crust over, and even withstand higher temps. Because butter has a lower melting point then shortening. So especially if your creating a treat that’s going to be sitting outside your going to want more then just butter. This is actually why many people don’t like to use shortening…because it can leave a greasy feel in your mouth. Butter completely melts with your body temp inside your mouth and crisco may not completely melt. Ok I won’t bore you with any more scientific details. Bottom line is shortening allows for nice decorating and as for the greasy issue…I’ve never had one person say they noticed a greasy taste, again personal experience.Milk is the other controlling factor. If I want a very stiff buttercream I put less milk in, if I need a much softer buttercream I add more milk. Did you add way too much milk? Just add a bit more powdered sugar to stiffen it back up a little. When checking your consistency it’s important to keep in mind what else you might do to the buttercream such as coloring or flavoring. If you know your making a deep color or your going to use a lot of liquid flavoring…start with a stiffer buttercream. You can always add more milk.The term crusting is referred to a buttercream that develops a thin “crust” on the top of the icing. Crusting allows for a cake that can be smoothed out. Often done using a Viva paper towel and a smoother. Viva brand in particular is used because it’s a nice soft surface without the rough indents of other paper towels.

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FLAVORING:
Changing the flavor of buttercream is easy, really easy and so much fun!. You can alter your basic buttercream to just about any flavor your would like with just a little experimenting. I have literally used dozens of different things to flavor buttercream. Extracts, candy oils, ice cream syrup, chocolates, fruit, ice cream, coffee creamer, flavor packets…like I said dozens. I can’t tell you exactly what will work and what won’t so once again the best your can do is get in the kitchen and try it out. And some times I mix two flavors like vanilla + root beer to make root beer float! Start out with the basic recipe and add it in when you add the vanilla. Then try it out before putting in the milk, add more flavoring if you need. If you think you may need a lot of flavoring cut back on the milk as well, because too much of a liquid (like ice cream) will soften your buttercream. Then once you’ve got the right flavor you can add a little more milk if needed to soften as needed. Consistency is key here, flavorings need to be strong enough to change the flavor with out destroying the consistency.

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I should also specifically talk about Duncan Hines new flavor creations. After spending a few years experimenting with flavorings these little packets were a game changer. Even though they are specifically made to work with a canned starter icing…I love to use them in my regular buttercream! I use to have a really hard time getting caramel icing but now I just mix in a packet and I have the perfect caramel buttercream. (caramel is really good in cream cheese icing btw)  Easy + yummy = win/win. Winning Duncan Hines national challenge with these guys also helped just a bit ;)

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COLORING:
As you probably know, I love color! If we could we would eat pink broccoli and rainbow rice for dinner. I kid. I kid. I love that I can easily color buttercream just about any color I want to match whatever I am working on. When coloring buttercream your going to want to use gel coloring. Why? Because liquid colors are well liquid and too much will make your icing runny and they just don’t color well, unless your dying eggs. There are three major coloring brands: Americolor, Spectrum, and Wilton. I honestly use all three. Americolor and Spectrum are known as more professional items and generally have to be bought at specialty baking stores or ordered online. I really like them but often I need a color and can’t get to one of those stores and Wilton is available just about everywhere. Wal-Mart, grocery stores, Michael’s Joannes..it’s really easy to get your hands on some and they have a decent selection of colors.

As you get use to coloring buttercream it’s always good to add a small amount, mix then add more as needed. Some colors take just a very small amount. For example..I can’t tell you how many times I got bright pink instead of baby pink. It takes a very small amount of pink to get  nice baby shade. Some colors like black or brown take a lot of coloring. But it’s important to note that as your icing sits it will develop and most likely get a bit darker. It’s helpful to make your buttercream ahead of time if possible so you can give it a chance to show it’s true colors :)

The hardest colors to achieve are black, red, and brown. When making these colors or any other dark color that will require a lot of coloring start with a stiffer buttercream (less milk) so you can account for the coloring making your icing softer. I have found that spectrum and Americolor both have fantastic blacks and reds that make it much easier. For red I try to start out with pink first then add in red. For brown if possible the best way is to use a chocolate recipe..but it that’s not possible and I’m going for a dark brown I throw in a little black and even other colors of icing if I have some.Grey can also be tricky. Often when you add a small amount of black to make grey it actually turns to a light purple. I found an amazing solution to this one day in a panic…just add a little bit of yellow and bam grey icing. Problem solved.

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Ok now that your brain is on overload…I’ll show you how I make it step by step.

Step 1: Let your butter sit out for awhile to soften. DO NOT put it in the microwave, trust me. If your anything like me and ready to work but forgot about the butter don’t stress it. Just cut the butter up into little chunks so your mixer can beat it easily. This trick works really well!

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Step 2: Beat the butter until soft and creamy in your mixer. If you don’t have a kitchen mixer you can do this with a hand mixer but it’s best to go ahead and left your butter soften. I highly recommend a kitchen mixer. But that’s a different talk for a different day :).

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Step 3: Add in shortening, beat again. I like to give mine a few minutes on medium-high…beating it a little longer makes it lighter.

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Step 4: Add vanilla and mix well.

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Step 5: Add in the powdered sugar about a cup at a time. One of the best tricks I’ve ever learned is when mixing a lot of powdered sugar place a piece of plastic wrap around your mixer to help keep the sugar from flying out. My mixer didn’t come with a shield..but I’ve heard even those aren’t perfect. This keeps the clean up to a low for me. With this recipe taking a whole bag of powdered sugar it can sugar make a mess, not that I’ve ever done that or anything ;)

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It will be pretty thick here. You may need to scrap down the sides too.

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Step 6: Add in milk 1 TBS at a time until you’ve got your desired consistency.

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Just a few more facts.

Cover buttercream your not working with, if it’s open to air it’s going to crust.

Buttercream can left out overnight without refrigerating…the sugar acts as a preservative.

Even though it can be set out I like to store finished cakes and cupcakes in the fridge as it keeps them soft and moist.

Buttercream can be stored airtight in the fridge for up to two weeks, although honestly I always use mine within a few days.

All three brands of coloring make a white coloring which you can add to your buttercream to help it become a little more white.

Ok I think that’s it, did anybody count how many times I typed buttercream. I’m not positive but I’m thinking close to 10,000…well at least it felt that way. My brain hurts…and so do my fingers. I think I need a nap……thanks for reading along today and hopefully you learned a little something.

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Decorators Buttercream

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter
  • 1 cup Crisco shortening
  • 1 TBS clear vanilla extract
  • 1 2lb bag of Domino powdered sugar
  • 4-8 TBS milk

Instructions

  1. Let your butter sit out for awhile to soften. DO NOT put it in the microwave. If you do not have time, cut the butter up in small chunks.
  2. Beat the butter until soft and creamy in your mixer. If you don't have a kitchen mixer you can do this with a hand mixer but it's best to go ahead and left your butter soften.
  3. Add in shortening, beat again. I like to give mine a few minutes on medium high...beating it a little longer makes it lighter.
  4. Add vanilla and mix well.
  5. Add in the powdered sugar about a cup at a time.
  6. Add in milk 1 TBS at a time until you've got your desired consistency.
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Comments

  1. Thankyou for taking the time for explaining this, very helpfull.

  2. Thank you so much for this information! I’m just getting really started making cupcakes for gatherings and parties and this will be so helpful for me. : )

  3. Brittani says:

    Have you ever tried butter flavored crisco or do you think that vegetable works best?

    • Yes I have! I actually tried it recently and it worked pretty well! It did tint the buttercream even more yellow so I stick to white when coloring :).

  4. Hello! :) I just found your blog and so far everything looks great! :) I have a question regarding frosting. Sometimes I ice my cupcakes and after a while it creates a crust and gritty taste. It begins smooth as silk both in texture and taste but sometimes it becomes gritty :( Does heat play a factor? Ive always wondered how bakeries can create cupcakes for outdoor or indoor events and have the icing on cupcakes stay fresh all day as it was just piped on. any suggestions???

    thank you!

    • Thank you! OK as for the frosting…are you using a decorator’s buttercream like in this post? Decorators buttercream is made to crust so that may be the problem. Buttercream’s made without crisco and all butter crust less but also don’t hold up to heat as well. Something you can do to help this is keep them in the fridge or completely covered until serving. I often keep my cupcakes in the fridge then pull them out to warm up a bit before serving. As for the gritty – are you Domino powdered sugar? I have often found that off brands leave my icing very gritty, as well as too little milk. I have looked into bakeries frosting many times…like the kind at a grocery store…and they often have all kinds of ingredients in them that we can’t get our hands on. They actually buy it in large tubs already colored. Even though it’s super yummy…I’m scared to know what exactly is in it! :)

      • There are two kinds of powdered sugar. I have 10X is that the one I would use for the buttercream icing?

  5. jennifer cornett says:

    I love your post and the info you have I have a question though. Have you used meringue powder in your buttercream before? Or do you shy away from it? And I qas always told the higher trans fat in the shortning is what helps tje crusting? Do you know if this is true? Thanks in advance for your response :-)

  6. donna powell says:

    I have made cream cheese frosting for years, and am ready for a change. Having bought from a local baker cakes before, only to be disappointed by their all shortening icing!!

    Just tried your recipe and it if FABULOUS!

    Thank you for your website!!

  7. Christiann says:

    Great article! I really enjoyed reading it and it was very informative. Thanks!

  8. Hi
    I am going to try your buttercream recipe on a wedding cake I am making, but I bought my powdered sugar in bulk and it is only 6x will this make a difference?

  9. I just stumbled across your blog, I’m liking it. I just made your sugar cookies and gonna make this buttercream icing!!!

  10. Amina Bi Bi Munnee says:

    Great job lve it

  11. This looks soooo yummy! I love a good frosting. :) What is the best way you’ve found for making chocolate buttercream? I’m dying to make a chocolate cake with a rich, creamy, dreamy frosting but haven’t found one I like yet. Thanks!

  12. Toni, thanks for such an awesomely informative post! This is perfect for those of us that are new to buttercream. I was wondering if buttercream frosting be frozen for later use?

  13. You are my hero! The tip with the plastic wrap brought a tear to my eye :) I wish I had thought of that years ago. I can’t wait to give your recipe a whirl.

  14. Hello Could you add some butter flavoring? If so how much do you think? Thanks

  15. Hi, How many of the Duncan Hines packets do you use per batch of buttercream?

  16. I can’t wait to try your recipe, but I have one question. I noticed you say to use two sticks of Land O Lakes butter, but I notice you’re using half sticks. So are you using two half sticks of butter or are you using two full sticks of butter? 1/2 or 1 cup?

  17. Gale fox says:

    Hi I work in weights so can you please tell me the exact weights for your butter cream

  18. Hi! I read your article and it’s very helpful. My question is if I cut the recipe in half, for what cake size allow me to frost? I have to do a birthday cake, 2 layers 8 by 8. I can cut it to half or I have to use your measures? Thanks!

    • Hi! I always make a full batch for an 8in cake with 2 layers, especially if you plan on using the frosting to fill the center as well as allow extra for borders etc on the cake. It’s always good to give the full batch a try the first time so you can see how much you would need, different people use different thicknesses and so on. Especially if you are coloring the icing, it’s a pain to try to make more and match the shade. Hope that helps!

  19. Lilli Olvera says:

    I tried several different buttercream recipes – with all shortening, all butter, some combination of both… and I just was not happy. What finally made me search for a new one was that the latest recipe I had been using was so, so sweet, it was like eating a ball of sugar! A couple of people even commented on it and I knew then it was time. I LOVE THIS FROSTING! It’s super yummy, smooth, crusts just enough, isn’t too sweet and it’s easy to make. Thanks so much, finding your page has been a huge blessing! Thanks again!

  20. Do you have an opinion about high ratio shortenings vs. crisco? I’ve heard that since crisco has zero teams fat, that it has a bit of a crumbly texture. I’m considering trying a high ratio shortening but would have to order it online. Curious to know your thoughts or if you’ve tried anything other than crisco. Thanks!

    • Oops! Meant to say *zero TRANS fat about the Crisco.

    • Hello! Honestly I have never tried high ration shortenings, I’ve always been pleased with Crisco so I don’t have much of an opinion on it. Other brands however have left me disappointed so I always stick with Crisco. I’m curious though, do you mean a crumbly texture when piping the frosting, or when consuming?

  21. Elizabeth says:

    Hi! I love your icing! Its definitely my go-to icing! Haha. I have a question, how would YOU make a mocha flavored buttercream?

    • Hmmm this is a good question! I would probably first try the mocha Frosting Creations from Duncan Hines added to this butter cream – very easy! Other then that you could always start with my chocolate buttercream and add a coffee or expresso extract!

  22. JewTomMommy says:

    I absolutely love this post! It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for. I’m going to try a test batch later today or tomorrow. I did cream cheese frosting yesterday, and it just doesn’t hold up well to decorating. It sure is yummy, but it’s not great for piping. I’ve always been really reluctant to use buttercream with shortening, but I feel better after reading your post. Thank you so much

    P.S. I’ll let you know what we think after I do a test batch (half recipe).

  23. Thanks for the recipe. I am going to practice making a wedding cake for my daughter with this recipe.

  24. Where can i purchase this brand sugar? I have never seen it in walmart

  25. Kimberly Kemper says:

    Hi there! I am baking cupcakes next week for a rehearsal dinner. They are going to be pineapple cupcakes and I was hoping to make a brown sugar buttercream. In your opinion, should I simply swap the brown sugar for the powdered sugar in your recipe, keeping everything else the same? Your advice would be greatly appreciated! :)

    • This is a great question! I have no tried to make brown sugar buttercream through, definitely something I would like to try! My concern would the the grit of the brown sugar making the consistency of the icing gritty. If I were to attempt a brown sugar buttercream I would most likely use a double boiler and melt the brown sugar down first then whip it a bit before adding it to butter. I probably would use all butter and not a shortening combo. Good luck!

  26. Hi! What about freezing for later use?

    • Hi! Honestly, you can freeze buttercream but I don’t recommend it. I know plenty of people that even freeze frosted cakes but I just can’t get myself to do it. My reasoning is when you freeze anything ice crystals form which cause excess moisture when thawed. For many items like cake the moisture can be beneficial and excess will be removed on wrapping but this isn’t the case for buttercream. Too much moisture is not a good thing. While it won’t exactly harm you, I just simply wouldn’t recommend it for decorating and consistency complications. Does that make any sense at all?! :)

  27. ashley young says:

    One tip I have learned from other bakers to get whiter frosting is to add tiny dabs of black coloring to it. By tiny I mean like the tip of a toothpick tiny. This also brightens white homemade fondant. I also have a question about consistency. I have added too much milk before, leaving a frosting that doesn’t hold up on a cake well and I’ve also not added enough leaving it gritty. What do you look for to know when it’s enough or when you’ve added too much…before you begin putting it on a cake? Also some folks say to beat it for like 3 min. after adding milk…do you think that matters? Thanks!

  28. Hello!

    Great post! For anyone looking to whiten their icing, adding the tiniest amount of royal blue icing to a yellowish icing (all butter) will make it white. When I mean tiniest, I mean tiniest. Apparently it is playing with light n some scientific fandangled talk!

  29. What’s the best way to come up with black icing ??

    I can never get it right. I use the wilting coloring.
    -kayla

    • If your having trouble with black icing I would try another coloring such as Americolor. I find that Americolor is much easier to achieve black with. Also, I keep a little yellow on hand (Wilton is fine) because sometimes when trying to reach black or especially grey you will notice a tint of purple. A bit of yellow will help you “warm” the color up from a purplish hue to proper grey – black. Hope that helps!

  30. This is a great post, thanks!! This may be a novice question, but in your recipe you say “2 sticks of butter”…is that 2 of the 1/2 sticks or 4 of the 1/2 sticks? Basically 1 cup or 2?

    Thanks!

    • 1 Cup! I will adjust the recipe as your right, that can be confusing now that they make half sticks and even 1/4 sticks!

  31. If I frost my cupcakes a day before my event and can”t refrigerate, what are your suggestions.? I will be at my daughters and her frig is not large.

    • As long as you are frosting with buttercream with no filling needing refrigeration you will be good to go. Store in an air tight container overnight.

  32. Alice - New York says:

    Looks good to me – not too different from the one I’ve used for years, except I never used Crisco or any other shortening – only butter. Came out great and tasted good, too. I like your rationale for adding the shortening. Will try it.

    One point, though: How do you allow for the ‘uncooked’ taste that comes from using conf. sugar and milk. Tried hot milk and that seems to ‘cook’ the sugar a little and takes away that taste.

    • Hello! Do you mean the grit that can sometimes come up in buttercream such as this? If that is what your are refering to I have had that happen here and there. My first suspect is always the powdered sugar, I try not to use off brand as I find that has a gritty feel (most often). If it’s an issue from there I recommend sifting or even sending your powdered sugar through the food processor to make it even more fine. Additionally, I find that once my buttercream has rested for awhile (most often overnight whir chilling) the moisture has been absorbed and the grit fades away. Hope that helps!

  33. Do you have a chocolate decorators’ icing recipe? I am going to try your recipe above, tonight as am doing a ‘frozen transfer’ for the first time, for a friend’s birthday party and I need both white and chocolate.
    Thank you so much!!

  34. Icing sugar do not solved completely in the buttercream hits kind sandy).
    Why is this so and what should i do?

    • Sometimes it’s simply the brand of powdered sugar you use. If this remains a problem I suggest running the powdered sugar through a food processor to make it even more fine before using it. Generally, the grit goes away after the frosting sits for a few hours. Hope that helps!

  35. Hi. I’m really not comfortable about making buttercream icing because the two times that I have made it, small thread like plastic forms all through out the icing. Am I doing something wrong or could it be the recipe I am using (on from a cupcake magazine that I use)? I don’t have a stand mixer, just an hand held one. My mom and grandma are diabetic so I try to make something that has low sugar in it, but I make it true to the recipe first to test the sweetness. So far the only one that I have found that is not too sweet is the whipped cream frosting. I want to make buttercream but I am weary about it. What am I doing wrong?

    • I’m sorry I have never experienced that problem so I’m not sure what the issue may be. I would recommend trying my recipe and we can go from there. :)

  36. amanda lee says:

    HI TONI! Im soooo glad i found this! I’m new to the whole baking thing and i am making my two daughters bday cake in march and i figured i better get practicing asap :). I’m going to most likely use a boxed cake mix (i looked up cake from scratch and it looks scary, but i think i will have time to try it), but for now ill stick with the box,lol. But i want to make this buttercream icing.
    i said allll that to ask,.. i don’t want a plain yellow cake with buttercream icing, i would like to add the chocolate flavor pack to it, but i need a white icing (Frozen cake theme).
    is there a way to flavor the icing, but still keep it white?
    OR, can u suggest to me a good cake-frosting combo that taste good together all while keeping the icing white? for example, with every bday cake i make, its alway strawberry cake with white icing, but i would like to try something new.
    I hope you can find the time to help me out. and i would really love to show you the finished cake if there was a way to post a picture, but that won’t be until march.
    Thank you SOOOO SO much :)
    happy baking!

    • Hello! So sorry for the delay…glad to hear you are venturing out in your cake decorating! As far as flavoring the icing goes, I don’t really know a way to flavor your icing chocolate without actually making the frosting chocolate. However, there are a few things you could try. Try looking around your extract area at the store and see what flavors you can find that are clear. I know for sure you could add in an almond or butter extract for a different flavor and I’ve seen a few others that are actually clear or almost clear like raspberry. You could also try picking up some candy oil flavorings or bakery emulsions often found in cake decorating sections or bakery stores. They are most often clear or white and have a variety of flavors available. I hope that helps!

  37. Julie Jastremski says:

    I am excited to use this recipe to decorate a birthday cake for my son’s 5th birthday. How much frosting should I make to decorate a 2-layer 12-inch square cake? Also, I would like to bake the cake on Thursday and decorate it on Friday (I work full time.) Can I make the buttercream on Wednesday and leave it in the fridge to work with on Friday? If yes, how long should I leave it out of the fridge before I use it? Thank you in advance!

    • I’m so sorry for the delay I missed your comment! If it’s not too late, this frosting normally covered a 2-layer 8inch cake generously just to be sure I would make a batch and a half so you don’t run out mid frosting. Too much frosting is never a bad thing right? And you can absolutely leave the frosting in the fridge for a few days. I get it out about 1-2 hours before so it has time to soften a bit and then I rewhip it before using it. Hope that helps! Happy baking!

  38. If you are refrigerating the buttercream for future use how do you then use it to frost a cake? I’ve tried this and it’s cold and hard. Would the best way be to let it get to room temperature? How long before frosting do you take it out of the frig? Like an hour few hours or the night before? Thanks

    • Hi! I tend to get mine out just as I’m starting to bake the cake. Or about 1-2 hours before. I just let it sit on the counter (covered) to soften up a bit and then I rewhip it just before using. If needed you can add a little more milk to it and whip again. Hope that helps!

  39. hey Toni,

    Have you ever substituted some or all of the milk for something like lemon, lime or orange juice? I’m making a key lime cake and would like to make a cream cheese buttercream with lime flavor. Any helpful tips?

    • Hello! I actually have! I swap it out all the time actually! I think a cream cheese buttercream with lime sounds great! As a matter of fact…if you don’t mind I might just try it myself!

  40. Emily Schultz says:

    I have made a wedding cake, two baptism cakes, and a birthday cake with this buttercream. Best butter cream ever! I am now making another cake with this recipe and will continue to do so. Thanks for the great recipe!