I few months ago I had the best buttercream frosting I'd everEVERever had. It didn't taste homemade. and it didn't taste store bought. But it had to homemade? But it didn't taste like buttercream frosting. Let me show you how to make the most delicious buttercream frosting for cakes and cupcakes!
INGREDIENTS FOR THE BEST BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
- Butter
- Shortening (*GASP!* I know. read below why this is important)
- Powder Sugar
- Milk/ Heavy Cream or Evaporated Milk
- High speed mixer. Preferably a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
WHY Use Shortening?
I stood to the side watching another lady literally lick the frosting off the cake plate while asking the chef how on earth she made it. Her secret was shortening. ...uh, err. Since then i've come to understand the importance shortening can have in baked goods. If you want the best of the best use shortening when the recipe calls for it.
In frosting shortening does several things.
- Flavor! It really changes and brings out delicious flavors of the frosting without making it overly sweet or buttery.
- Stability! It is a lot more stable than butter, which at the slighted heat (whether from the weather or your hands even) can become soft and melt your frosting. Whereas frosting made with shortening it will withstand the high and low temps much better!
- Texture!!! Creamy, smooth fluffy frosting with shortening!
Can I substitute shortening with butter?
Yes, you can substitute shortening with butter. HOWEVER you will be giving up on flavor and texture.
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST BUTTERCREAM FROSTING OF YOUR LIFE!
PRO TIP 1: slightly cold butter. You will be beating your butter for a few minutes. This will ensure it is the perfect consistency after beating.
In a mixing bowl add butter and shortening and mix for about 5 minutes on high. So it is well combined and fluffy.
Now Add about 2 cups of your powder sugar and mix in on medium speed. Alternate adding milk and the remainder of your powdered sugar.
HOW LONG DO I BEAT FROSTING?
Beating the frosting is a very important step. You've already been beating it for a few minutes now that you have added all the milk and powder sugar to the bowl. Continue to mix, beating the frosting until it forms stiff peaks so the frosting will hold its shape.
FAQ's ABOUT BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
- CAN BUTTERCREAM FROSTING BE MADE IN ADVANCED? YES!! You can make buttercream frosting a few days before use, keep it covered and in the refrigerator.
- CAN BUTTERCREAM FROSTING BE LEFT OUT AT ROOM TEMPERATURE? A. Because of the large amount of sugar, the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Services say that buttercream frosting made with small amounts of milk are safe to leave out at room temperature for two to three days. Buttercream made with cream cheese, however, is not safe to leave out and should be refrigerated.
HOW TO KEEP BUTTERCREAM FROSTING FROM BEING TOO THIN.
If you are having issues with your frosting holding its shape on the your cupcake or cake its probably too thin, or warm. Here are a few suggestions you can do to fix this issue.
- You may have added too much milk. Add additional powder sugar to thicken up the frosting to stiff peaks.
- Your butter was too warm and soft. (this is also why shortening helps stablize the frosting) Melted butter will act more like the milk than what a whipped creamy butter would for the frosting. Keep the butter at room temp.
- If you are making the frosting on a warm humid day it may be melting, or as you work with it in your warm hands through piping it can heat up and soften the frosting. If this is so, when making your frosting make it on the thicker side, and refrigerate your cake/cupcakes afterwards.
Tip For quick and easy Piping
Other TIPS:
- For CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING add ½ cup cocoa powder.
- For Ultra white frosting use white vanilla you can find this often at baking stores and Michaels.
- When making a layered cake, as pictured I like to double the recipe!
- Pipe frosting onto cupcakes it'll go so much further and much faster.
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How to make the best Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- ½ cup slightly cold butter
- ½ cup shortening
- 4 cups powdered sugar about a half a bag
- 3 teaspoon vanilla
- 2-3 Tablespoons of Evaporated Milk can use milk
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder optional - to make chocolate buttercream
Instructions
- Beat butter and shortening on high for about 5 minutes.
- Turn down your mixer to slowest speed and slowly add sugar, vanilla.
- Turn mixer back to medium speed and **add milk /one tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency. beat for about 3-5 more minutes the less milk, the stiffer the batter- which is best if you are cake decorating if you get your frosting too thin, add powdered sugar to stiffen back up.
Notes
- Flavor! It really changes and brings out delicious flavors of the frosting without making it overly sweet or buttery.
- Stability! It is a lot more stable than butter, which at the slighted heat (whether from the weather or your hands even) can become soft and melt your frosting. Whereas frosting made with shortening it will withstand the high and low temps much better!
- Texture!!! Creamy, smooth fluffy frosting with shortening!
Can I substitute shortening with butter?
Yes, you can substitute shortening with butter. HOWEVER you will be giving up on flavor and texture.FAQ's ABOUT BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
- CAN BUTTERCREAM FROSTING BE MADE IN ADVANCED? A. YES!! You can make buttercream frosting a few days before use, keep it covered and in the refrigerator.
- CAN BUTTERCREAM FROSTING BE LEFT OUT AT ROOM TEMPERATURE? A. Because of the large amount of sugar, the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Services say that buttercream frosting made with small amounts of milk are safe to leave out at room temperature for two to three days. Buttercream made with cream cheese, however, is not safe to leave out and should be refrigerated.
Sherry says
I have made this a few times. Tastes great.
Cherlyn says
Made this yesterday for a holiday gathering. It really is an EXCELLENT recipe. It held up very well on the cupcakes. I actually made this vegan by substituting the butter with earth balance butter (from the tub) and it was perfect! My new go to frosting recipe.
Linda Mcwilliams says
Can I use butter flavor crisco shortening instead of the white crisco shortening?
Kadee says
Yes
Linda S. Glaz says
Have you made lemon buttercream with this recipe? If so, how did it come out. Didn't separate or taste bad?
Teresa says
I see a lot of people say this works for piping but is it soft enough for spreading on and coating cakes as well? Thanks!
Latrice says
What brand of shortening did you use?
Kadee says
crisco
Karen C says
Crisco breaks down and bleeds on the cardboard. Crisco took out a very important ingredient thanks to Mrs. Obama . The cake stores sell the proper shortening for the best results. I have tried Crisco and it didn't keep the frosting looking nice.
Baker R says
I tried this recipe for piping onto cupcakes. I followed the directions of beating the butter for five minutes and then another 5 minutes with the shortening but it didn’t get fluffy it got very soft. Seems like maybe it was too long? My butter was perfectly room temperature and not too soft. Any ideas what went wrong?
Desarae says
I am guessing the butter got too warm or there was a little too much liquid added. I have been working with this recipe and have found working with slightly chilled butter creates a better texture. I've adjusted to recipe to reflect this!
Alexis Demint says
it’s 150 calories for how much? like in tbs?
Kadee says
This recipe is enough to frost 24 cupcakes. So it is 2-3 tbsps for the nutritional info.
Marta says
It was my first time using shortening in my buttercream and it turned out wonderful. People commented on amazing fluffy texture and great flavour.
Rose Ann says
Hi!
I’m going to try this buttercream but wanted to check the directions. In the site it says mix butter and shortening for 30 seconds then add sugar and milk alternating between them. In the actual recipe it says to beat the butter and shortening for a few minutes. Then add sugar and vanilla. Which way is correct or does it not make a difference? I’m new at this so I want to make sure I’m doing it correctly.
Thank you!!
Desarae says
Yes, you will want to first beat your butter and shortening together, then you will continue to beat it while you add powder sugar and after your ingredients are added.
Vikki M says
This was the creamiest buttercream icing I have ever made. It was so easy to make, too. It was also the perfect consistency to decorate my cupcakes. Everyone loved it!
Barb says
Can I freeze this icing
Kadee says
Yes - you can freeze in an airtight container for 2-3 months.
Marissa says
First buttercream recipe I found that actually is thick and fluffy! Tried two different recipes, and they both were too thin to pipe. Thank you for this! I can finally pipe my cupcakes now!
Lisa Powers says
Thank you, perfect icing, great tips.
Jenn says
Wow! This is the BEST buttercream I have ever made. It’s the perfect amount of sweet and the perfect consistency for piping and decorating. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Sam says
I love to make specialty cakes for family and friends but the frosting was always such a pain. I don’t like traditional buttercream because it’s too heavy and sweet. This recipe comes out perfect every time. I often make several batches at a time in order to do large cakes. It holds well, stays creamy, does nicely between layers and is much easier than the Swiss meringue buttercream I was making (which is delicious, but fussy). Thanks for sharing!!
Brittney says
On a sweetness scale relative to other buttercreams, how does it compare? I am excited to try it! I like making SMBC, but sometimes I want a different taste profile but not anything too much sweeter. Thanks!!
Kadee says
It is the same sweetness as a buttercream made with all butter.
Tony says
Hello Deserae!
Does this frosting use solid or liquid shortening?
Thank you!
Desarae says
I use solid.
Tawny says
Should I use regular criso shortening or butter flavored shortening?
Kadee says
Both work fine.
Nur says
Is this buttercream form crust?
Kadee says
Hi, I'm not sure I understand your question. Can you explain a bit more?
Samantha says
Hi, by any chance can this be mixed with food coloring? Does it have to be gel food color?
Kadee says
Yes, I do it all the time. I use the gel.
Chris says
We've made similar frosting in our family for ages with only one slight difference of adding flour. Milk also needs to be room temp, that can make a difference. Haven't tried it with powdered cocoa, does that add any grittyness to it? I use melted semi-sweet chocolate mixed in at the end. Thanks!
Lenka says
Would this be a good frosting to put in between cake layers? I am aiming for a thick one layer of frosting in a 2 tier cake, and am looking for a stable frosting. Thanks!
Desarae says
yes!! the shortening acts as a stablizer :)
Kate says
Do you use salted or unsalted butter for the butttercream icing?
Desarae says
You can use either, the bonus to using unsalted is you control the amount of salt added to your frosting. Add a pinch or two if you use unsalted butter.
Barb says
Hi There
Will this frosting 'crust' over enough so that I can frost Sugar Cookies and be able to stack them?
Thanks
Leslie says
this was delicious!
Carly says
The frosting recipe states 24 cupcakes, but the picture shows a 3 tier cake.
So is it just 1 batch of frosting to cover the 3 tier cake, or more?
And would it be full coverage plus decorations, or just enough for in-between the cakes????
Desarae says
If you are not doing a filling for the layers of the cake and doing frosting instead I would double the batch. I'm not sure how big your cake is however, are you doing a 3" 6" 9" It's hard to know!
Vimi says
Hi I made buttercream today using crisco with butter and I made buttercream with just butter to compare the stability. Strangely the crisco one is much much softer than the plain butter one. It doesn't make sense? I added no milk to either. And I used 1:1 ratio on icing sugar for both as we don't like it too sweet. Do you know where I could've gone wrong? Surprisingly the plain butter one is harder to touch! Any explanation would be helpful as I'm planning on making Tasting Boxes this weekend and I really can't have buttercream that'll melt!
Desarae says
Is it possible you added a different amount of sugar by mistake. To stiffen the frosting just add a little bit more frosting. Otherwise- a few things may have caused this 1. humidity and 2. temp of the room :)
Cindy says
Hi, I just found your site and I'm excited to try your Buttercream Frosting recipe, but I have a question first. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of butter and 1/2 cup of shortening. I noticed in one of the photos there are 2 sticks of butter, which would be a cup. Would I then use 1 cup of Crisco also? Thanks!
Kadee says
If you are doubling the recipe you will use double of everything listed. I believe in these photos I doubled the recipe.
Jamie says
Great taste and wonderful consistency. Worked great for piping and holding its shape.
Erica says
Hi! What kind of shortening do you use? Do you typically use a butter flavor or the normal shortening? Thanks!
Karla A Strauss says
I love buttercream made with crisco in it, I feel it is a more professional frosting. I made this today for some Christmas cupcakes for my son and his co-workers. It came out so light and fluffy! I did tweak it a bit, I doubled the recipe then added only 1 tsp of clear vanilla and 1T plus 1 tsp marshmallow flavoring taste pretty darn good!!!
Rani says
Thanks for this recipe which I've used as written successfully. I would like to use it again to pipe 'leaves' to decorate a cake. I'd like to know if this recipe will work if I add gel food coloring? TIA
Desarae says
yes! I've used all kinds of die and it works great!
Deborah Tink says
I make my cupcakes with custard powder it’s a Victoria sponge my question is can I use buttercream icing made with shorting on the my cupcakes??
Desarae says
yeah, I feel like the shortening doesn't change the taste a whole ton but is a little lighter than if using butter. If you want, you can use butter as a substitute.
Bettylu says
Can I use this recipe for a lemon buttercream? If so, just substitute the vanilla for lemon. Extract?
Desarae says
yes!! Keep the vanilla and add a bit of lemon juice and lemon zest!
Cherry says
Hello,
It’s my first time to make buttercream frosting. Unfortunately, my powdered turned into hard rock. Can I substitute ultra fine sugar? If so what is the equivalent measurement? Thank you so much????
Desarae says
Hi Cherry, I have not tried ultra fine sugar. The closest sub I have used is to blend sugar in a high powered blender to make powdered sugar. You might be able to try this!
Cameron Larsen says
Just wondering if there's a mistake in the amount of sugar listed. I needed more icing then the recipe so I used 2 cups of butter 2 cups or shortening and 1 whole bag of sugar which would be 8 cups of powdered sugar and everything seems to be perfect. I'm wondering, should I really add the extra bag of sugar?
Desarae says
No, If you feel your frosting is the perfect taste and consistency leave it! Sometimes humidity and other factors do make a difference in our baking and frostings. Also the temp of the air and of the butter, so go with your gut. If you feel the frosting is a little more runnier than you need for piping or it tastes little too much like butter then I would add a little milk and sugar. Otherwise leave it!
kare says
You used 4x the amount of butter and shortening but only 2x the amount of powdered sugar. Example: 1 cup each butter / shortening with 8 cups powdered sugar. 2 cups each would require 16 cups powdered sugar.
denise says
my mom always used shortening in the icing for the cakes she decorated.
Emily Kemp says
Omg these are the cutest cupcakes ever, love them and the buttercream sounds so delicious!
Veronica ramirez says
How do you keep the candy arch like that!??
Desarae says
Dont cut the rainbow too long. If they are too long they will slouch. Otherwise they stay up really well! The candy is stiff enough.
Cianutsballduckti says
Do I need to do something to the rainbows to get them to stay up? I am doing these for my 1 year old niece's bday this coming weekend!
Cianutsballduckti says
Make sure your frosting is a stiff frosting (less milk more powder sugar, also refrigerating it after its piped helps too). If the rainbows are not too long they stay up really easily. I only ran into problems with the rainbows were long and too tall for the cupcakes.
Natalie says
How did you make those great rainbows?
Desarae says
They are a candy! a sour straw candy :)
dana crompton says
I have been in search of the frosting made from crisco shortening called "buttercream" for my whole adult life. I remember eating it when I was a kid back in the 60's...OMG I just loved it. Ate the cake, left the frosting. I hardly ever eat cake these days, but when I do, I am looking for that taste I remember oh-so fondly!
Melissa Thompson says
Me too ! I've been looking for this flavor my entire adult life too! It's so freaking perfect. Everyone says I have now ruined them for other cakes 🎂 I male them way too much 😅
Crystal says
Hey, I fully intend to make this frosting, but I also want the little rainbows. I've searched and searched and found similar items, but nothing in that color order. For some reason, it's making a difference to me and I want those!! ha! So... do you know where they came from and where I can get my hands on them?
Desarae says
They can be so tricky to find, and it always seems like when you need something it disappears from the shelf! I have seen them at target and walmart, and even the reg grocery stores- but it has always been random. They are called Airhead Extremes Rainbow berry Sour Candy. You can get them off amazon http://www.amazon.com/Airheads-Extremes-Rainbow-Berry-2-Ounce/dp/B004D7K19G. Try checking next to the sour straws in the candy isle or at the check out, I usually find them right by those. Good luck!
Linda J Mcintyre says
Thank you it is really the best!