Buttercream Frosting Recipe
Making a Bakery Style Buttercream Frosting
Photo Credit: PastryChefOnline.com
I received the following email from home cook Rhonda requesting a recipe for a buttercream frosting that would taste more like she has experienced at a bakery. Here is what she said,
“I am a stay at home mom that has looked everywhere for the
real sweet buttercream frosting that the bakery uses. I have looked
on-line, cook books and none of the recipe’s are right. The kids love helping me make cakes but they only like to decorate them. They do not like the frosting. If you have a recipe I would love it. I will keep trying until I get the right one. I hope you can help. Thank you, Hi Rhonda!”
I immediately sent her request to my friend Chef Jenni Field, a professional pastry chef who graduated from Orlando Culinary Academy with her own blog called Pastry Methods and Techniques. Jenni asked for her original recipe that you can see below and offer her the following comments and recipe. (The photo above is from a birthday party my daughter attended. I was blown away at how this cake looked with its rich buttercream frosting that even include the ribbon. It’s not a great photo but I couldn’t ask the hostess to take the cake out of the box just so I could take a photo.)
Hi Rhonda,
I’m sure it must be frustrating to have fun decorating a cake with your kids only to have them refuse to eat it because they don’t like the frosting! I, personally, like almost all kinds of frosting, but I will do my best to give you some recipes that your kids will enjoy.
You said that you are looking for a recipe that tastes like bakery frosting. Unfortunately, there are many bakeries, and most of them use their own “special recipes.” It might be difficult to pinpoint the style of frosting you’re looking for, but I’ll give it a shot. Thank you for sending in the recipe you used. This gives us a place to start.
- 1/2 cup margarine
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1/8 salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/8 almond extract
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 4-6 teaspoons half and half
This recipe is your basic Wilton-style American buttercream. The texture can be kind of fluffy but a little bit gritty since it is based on powdered sugar. Powdered sugar contains some corn starch to keep it from clumping, and sensitive palates can pick the raw starch flavor up. Even if you don’t taste the raw starch, the texture is unmistakable—barely gritty if you rub a little between (clean) fingers.
Many icings are based on this basic American fat + powdered sugar + flavoring formula, including one of my favorites, cream cheese frosting. So, I won’t even linger at the standard American counter. Let’s wander over to another counter.
I found a modification of the standard American buttercream in The Whimsical Bakehouse by Kaye Hansen and Liv Hansen. I’ve made this before, and it is pretty tasty. The use of boiling water cooks out some of that raw starch flavor, and the resulting texture is much smoother.
House Buttercream
- 3 cups confectioners’’ sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup boiling water
- 1 and 1/3 cup shortening
- 3½ ounces (7 tablespoons) cool butter, cut into pieces
Fit your mixer with the whisk attachment. Put sugar and salt in the bowl. Add the vanilla and boiling water and whisk on medium-low speed until smooth and cool. Then add the shortening and the butter. Whisk until smooth. Then, increase the speed and whip on medium-high speed until the frosting is very light and fluffy and has doubled in volume. This could take up to 15 minutes, so be patient. You can flavor this with other extracts, as well—almond, butter, even peppermint.
If you are looking for a completely smooth and silky buttercream, look toward the European bakery counter. Europe is the home of egg-based buttercreams. The texture is light and ethereal, and the flavor of pure butter comes through. These frostings are a bit rich and not always considered “kid frostings”, but since I don’t know your kids’ taste, I’m offering these as possibilities, as well.
All of these frostings are based on whipping either egg whites, whole eggs or egg whites together with a 240-250 degree, F, sugar syrup until cool. Then, butter, salt and flavorings are whipped in. As you can imagine, the yolk-based buttercreams are the richest, and the lightest are the egg-white based buttercreams, also called meringue-based buttercreams. I think that this last type is the most kid-friendly version. Here is a basic recipe.
Italian Buttercream
- 5.25 oz. sugar (3/4 cup), divided
- 2 oz. water
- 4 large egg whites, at cool room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoons lemon juice
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla or other extract
Over medium heat, bring water and ¾ of the sugar to a boil. Cover the pot and let boil for 2-3 minutes to wash any sugar crystals off the sides of the pot. Remove cover and cook until the sugar syrup reaches 248 degrees, F.
Fit your stand mixer with the whisk attachment. On medium speed, whip egg whites, salt and lemon juice until foamy. Add the reserved sugar and beat to medium-stiff peaks. Try to time this so the sugar and the whites are ready at the same time.
When the sugar has reached 248 degrees, F and the whites are at medium-stiff peaks, with the mixer on medium-high, carefully pour the sugar syrup in a thin stream down the inside of the bowl. This will prevent the syrup from hitting the whisk and getting spun around the sides of the bowl instead of into your frosting. It will also cool the syrup just a bit so you don’t risk curdling your whites. Whip until cool, about 5-10 minutes.
Once the meringue is cool, add the butter, one piece at a time. Whip until each piece is completely incorporated before adding another piece. The icing might start to look a little curdled, but it should come together nicely by the time you have added all the butter. Feel the mixing bowl. It should feel somewhat cool. If it doesn’t, cool the mixture down by either putting the bowl in the refrigerator for a few minutes before continuing to whip or by rubbing the outside of the bowl with a bag of frozen peas while mixing. Guess which one I do?! Whisk in the vanilla, and you’re good to go.
This icing will get spongy on standing, so re-whip before icing. Italian buttercream keeps nicely in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. If you do refrigerate it, make sure to bring it up to room temperature before whipping, or it will curdle. I have successfully saved buttercreams (when I’ve been too impatient to wait) by rubbing the outside of the bowl with a hot, wet towel. Don’t be like me, though. Let it come to room temperature.
You can also make a lovely chocolate variation by whipping in 2-4 oz. (this depends on how chocolaty you like your chocolate frosting) good quality chocolate, melted and cooled.
I hope that one of these two frosting recipes will get you close to your goal of having your children eat what they decorate!
on January 18th, 2009 at 12:02 am
I cant thank you enough for all your help. I’m looking forward to baking our cake this sunday. My kids are always asking to help out in the kitchen and I have enjoyed how fun and creative they get when they take turns decorating the cakes we make. This time I hope the little ones actually eat it. Of course the older kids and myself have no problem.
Thanks again
Rhonda
on January 18th, 2009 at 12:04 am
Thank you for all your help! I cant wait to try out the new buttercream frosting. The kids and I will be baking this sunday.
Thank you again,
Rhonda
on January 18th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Hope it turns out great and the cake gets consumed by everyone–frosting and all!
on January 24th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
I have the old fashioned buttercream recipe with the confectionery sugar. The problem is the bakery frosting doesn’t taste like confectionery sugar but mine does. What can we do to eliminate or minimize that confectionery sugar taste.
on April 5th, 2009 at 9:30 am
I made a swiss buttercream recipe that had egg whites, sugar, butter and vanilla, and it came out great. I refrigerated it overnight and then took it out of the fridge the next morning to bring it up to room temperature so I could frost the cupcakes I made. I decided to re-whip it and all this water came out! It ended up all watery and weird. I still used it because I didn’t have anything else to use, but it was really tough to pipe it with all the drops of water. I’ve always heard you can re-whip buttercream so I was really surprised. Any ideas on what I did wrong? Thanks!
on April 9th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Elise, Swiss buttercream is made w/uncooked egg whites, so when it sits, even when it has butter whipped into it, the liquid will seep out (as you unfortunately discovered). To avoid this, make Italian buttercream instead–add sugar syrup heated to 240 degrees to whipping egg whites and whip until cool. Then add the butter. The syrup will cook the proteins in the whites and you shouldn’t have a seepage problem.
Lynda, bakeries use ingredients that home bakers can’t get their hands on, so that’s why it’s really difficult to make a homemade frosting that tastes exactly like bakery frosting. Having said that, I assume that you don’t want to taste that sort of chalky/raw corn starch flavor that confectioners sugar can have. Here’s a link to a pretty good buttercream in which you dissolve the confectioners sugar in boiling water. This helps to minimize the raw starch flavor: http://www.pastrychefonline.com/Simple_Buttercream.html
Hope this helps:)
on May 28th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Thank you very much for posting this easy-to-make recipe! It really helped me, and it is very much like a bakery-style frosting…tasty, too! I made an adult themed cake for a bachelorette party and needed something that was easy to spread; this was it!
Tip to other users: I made flesh-colored frosting by mixing food dye in a separate, small bowl then slowly adding a few drops of it at a time to the basic white frosting from this recipe. My concoction was 8-drops Yellow, 6-drops Red and 1-drop Green…mixed in a small bowl by itself. Again, add a little of the mixed dye, at a time, to the white frosting to achieve the desired flesh-tone richness.
on June 4th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
jfield,
Yum! The Simple Buttercream recipe is wonderful! I can’t count how many different frostings I have tried and never used again. I am hooked on this one!
on December 13th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
I read that the Italian buttercream will get spongy on standing. Will this still happen if I frost my cupcakes the day before I serve them?
Hi Tiina, I’ll have to ask my friend and pastry chef Jenni to come answer this one. RG
on January 9th, 2010 at 11:50 am
Italian buttercream can indeed get spongy on standing, Tina. It’s really only a problem if you let it sit before you ice whatever-you’re-icing. If you do have to let your buttercream sit for a day or two, re-whip it to bring back the creamy, dreamy texture. If you don’t, it will be very hard to spread and look kind of clumpy and stupid.
Once you spread it, though, it will maintain that look. The flavor and mouthfeel will be fine, even if you ice your cupcakes well in advance. They might even be a little less messy to eat since the icing will have had a chance to “cure” a little.
Jenni
on March 11th, 2010 at 3:21 am
Does the simple buttercream form a crust? I have been searching for a frosting that tastes like a bakery and I would love to try this one. I prefer to use a BC that crusts though. Thanks.
on March 11th, 2010 at 8:44 am
Good question, Kristie. To make the Wilton-style simple buttercream frosting form a crust, you need to add some meringue powder. Guess who makes it? Wilton! You can also use powdered egg whites. Use 1 tablespoon per cup of fat (shortening/butter). It will work better w/shortening since butter will tend to leach liquid at room temperature. Use butter flavored shortening to get the best of both worlds. Just know that your frosting will be pale yellow and not white.
Thanks Jenni for this explanation - RG
on June 5th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
HI! I wanted to ask if you could make a video on how to make the frosting you use for your cakes. I’ve searched all over but i can’t seem to find a good frosting on my cake. All the ones I’ve used usually are too sweet too thick or not thick enough.I would really appreciate it!
I will ask Chef Jenni. - RG
on July 7th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Oh my gosh, the tip given by Gwen on how to make flesh coloring for white frosting was AWESOME! It really works, could not have found this site at a better time,needed to have flesh colored frosting for a baby shower cake. Thanks so much for sharing your tip!!!!!!!
You are very welcome Missy - RG
on July 7th, 2010 at 10:39 pm
how much icing do these recipes make? I need to do a wedding cake.
on July 13th, 2010 at 6:24 am
Hi, Kim–These recipes are all roughly scaled for a 9″ cake. The best resource I know of for scaling up and having enough frosting for a wedding cake is in The Cake Bible, by Rose Levy Beranbaum. I believe Wilton has a chart as well.
on August 14th, 2010 at 11:14 pm
The cake in the picture above looks like it was covered in fondant not buttercream frosting? I’m baking a cake right now and am going to try one of these for the frosting, I’ve been looking for a bakey style buttercream frosting for awhile.
Hi Margie, please let me know how it turns out. - RG
on August 23rd, 2010 at 6:04 pm
Have you ever tried the House Buttercream forgoing the shortening and using butter alone?
on August 26th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
Thankyou. I’m looking for a rich, thick and creamy frosting for a Chocolate Kahlua cake I’m making
on September 16th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
In reply to those that hate that cornstarch flavor in powdered sugar: I bought a brand I had never tried from Wal Mart once and when I tasted it, I noticed it had a strangely good flavor (in comparison to others like Domino). It had no cornstarch, and while it will still be grainy if you are using the American buttercream recipes, it will have a better taste. It came in a blue bag, and I do not remember the brand, but I know I bought it at Wal Mart. Hope this will maybe help someone?
Thanks Leigh - RG
on September 17th, 2010 at 10:15 am
@Debra–no I haven’t, although I can’t imagine that it would hurt anything. The only thing to remember when subbing butter for shortening is that butter has some water in it (up to 18-19%, I believe), and shortening is 100% fat. So, a buttercream made w/all butter is going to be “slumpier” than one made w/all or part shortening. The trade off is that it will taste much better.
@ChefGary Sounds like you’re going for rich and lovely. I’d go with a whipped ganache followed up by a ganache glaze. You can even use the same mixture for both. Make a 1:1 (cream to chocolate) ganache and reserve 1/3 of it. Take the other 2/3 and bring to cool room temp–I’d cool it in an ice bath. Then, whip on medium-high until fluffy and icing-y. Fill and frost smooth w/that. Then, take the rest of the ganache (have it around 80-85F) and pour over the top of the iced cake. It’s your call whether you want some of the whipped ganache to show through on the sides or not:)
@Leigh–great tip! I thought all powdered sugars had at least a wee bit of corn starch in them. Good to know that at least one does not!
Thanks Chef Jenni. Anyone interested in baking and pastry must go visit Jenni’s web site, Pastry Chef Online. It is a wonderful resource. - RG
on October 18th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
I’ll try the frosting with eggwhites, but I would love to know what ingredient bakeries have that I can’t get. I don’t believe there is such a thing since the internet was invented. You can bet I’ll be out there looking.
on October 20th, 2010 at 11:10 am
You’re right, Linda–you can find almost anything out on the Internet these days! I guess my question for you is what kind of bakery frosting are you trying to duplicate? Maybe then we can figure out what specific ingredients you’ll need.
Bakeries (and now the general public, if they know what to look for) have access to a lot of fats with added emulsifiers in them. This enables them to hold onto a lot more water than grocery-store bought ingredients, like Crisco and vegetable oil. More emulsifiers allows the whatever-you’re-making to hold onto more sugar (since sugar is hygroscopic, it’ll pull in moisture).
on November 2nd, 2010 at 9:24 am
any names out there of fats with added emulsifiers that can be bought in stores/internet. Please let me know. Thanks, Archana.
on November 20th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
I love all the advice given here! I have been trying to find out a way to make a butter cream frosting like my local supermarket has in their bakery. It is soooo good. Would love to make it at home. Anyone with any info on it would be great! Thanks!
Hi Carol, why not just ask them. I’m sure they would be happy to share it with you. - RG
on February 27th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
I made the first buttercream frosting. It was delicious, not too sweet. However, I would decrease the amount of almond extract. Nice consistency. Thank you.
PS Very easy to mix up, and quick.
Hi Patti from New Jersey, thanks for letting us know about your first buttercream frosting. - RG
on June 23rd, 2011 at 8:22 pm
Hi there,
May I know what is “reserved sugar” in the Italian Buttercream recipe ? Thanks !
Hi Denise, in the instructions just before this, it says to use 3/4 of the sugar to boil meaning 3/4’s of the total amount. Reserved just means the remaining 1/4 amount. - RG
on July 22nd, 2011 at 5:23 pm
Hi! good thing i came across this site, I have been looking for a buttercream that is almost like its from a bakery. Thank you so much for the info.
FYI: I read in an article if you don’t want to have the “gritty” feel from the sugar, look for a confectioners’/powdered sugar that is made from “pure sugar cane” they say it will melt more. I tried it and it did.
on August 21st, 2011 at 8:49 am
i was wondering what the 10x sugar was i am making a bachelorette party cake and would love to use that recipe but don’t’ what what that is!
Hi Nicole, I not seeing “10x sugar” on the page. Can you tell me what paragraph you see it mentioned?” - RG
on September 2nd, 2011 at 10:49 am
I used the House recipe for my roommate’s birthday cake (triple-layer lemon cake with strawberry jam filling) and oh. wow. It was AMAZING! Just the right amount of sweetness, super smooth, and it was the easiest frosting I’ve ever applied onto a cake in my life! I don’t use shortening, so I ended up using almost 4 whole sticks of butter, but the flavor was just absolutely perfect. This is OFFICIALLY my new frosting recipe! Thank you!
on September 17th, 2011 at 4:59 pm
I am trying the House Buttercream as I type here. Waiting for an icing transfer to set up. Tasted the frosting though and it is tasty! Very buttery and smooth. I think I actually like a little texture to it, but we will see how this sets up on the finished cake. One thing though.. I am having a very hard time adding food coloring to the mix. I am using the drops, but they bead up on the frosting and don’t mix in well. Making a now - pastel- buzz lightyear for my son. Yes I used all butter -no shortening as I am just not a big fan of that.
on September 19th, 2011 at 10:43 am
Hi, Deana. Glad you like the frosting–I find it to be lovely, especially the texture.
Have never heard of having a problem w/getting food coloring to mix in, although I’ve never tried it w/that particular frosting. I suggest using the paste colors–they are too thick to bead up and should blend in nicely. You could also try mixing the liquid coloring that you have into just a bit of the frosting using an immersion blender (or just whisking really well) to get a uniform color and then whip that back into the rest of the frosting.
Good luck with it.
on October 18th, 2011 at 2:29 am
hi dear…i’ve tried this recipe and the taste was delicious and creamy smooth texture…but i couldnt make a flower out of it..did i over beat it because the batter seems to split out..it became a bit watery..i dont know what when wrong…please advise me on this
on October 20th, 2011 at 12:20 pm
Hello, fik. Which recipe did you make? The Italian buttercream or the house? I tend to use more sturdy decorator-type frostings to make flowers because they just hold up better. Italian meringue buttercream is the most forgiving of all the buttercreams, but it will weep since there is no emulsifier in it to keep it from doing so. Also, overbeating could add to the problem. I suggest using delicate egg-based buttercream to do base frostings and then decorate with something slightly more sturdy. I hope this helps.
on October 22nd, 2011 at 12:29 pm
Dear Jenni,
I have tried the Italian buttercream recipe and love it. It was amazing. I also would like to try a chocolate version; my question is at what point I should add the melted and cooled chocolate into buttercream. Thank you!
on October 23rd, 2011 at 4:19 pm
I’m so glad you like the frosting–it’s simply amazing how smooth and light it is!! I would whip in the chocolate at the very end, after you whip in all the butter to the meringue. Enjoy!
on December 14th, 2011 at 10:41 am
I tried the House Buttercream and when I put in the boiling water all of my sugar turned to liquid. I have not read any other posts where this has happened to anyone???
on December 30th, 2011 at 3:45 pm
HEY I TRIED THE FROSTING AND IT IS AMAZING. IT TASTS SOOOO GOOD. I LOVE!!
on January 29th, 2012 at 10:42 pm
Would the Italian buttercream be okay under fondant for a few days? I know the the fondant should keep it fresh, but will it leach into the cake and make it soggy?
on January 30th, 2012 at 11:39 am
Laveta, As long as your cake isn’t too wet to begin with, the slight amount of leaching, should it occur, would just lend some moisture to the cake. I wouldn’t let it sit like that for more than 2 days tops, though. In culinary school, we never refrigerated Italian buttercream, so unless you’ve got a perishable filling, you should be fine at cool room temp.