American Buttercream Frosting {Recipe} (2024)

FAQs

Can you over whip American buttercream? ›

Sometimes when you're making a batch of buttercream, extra air can get trapped inside, resulting in visible air bubbles throughout the mixture. This mostly happens when the buttercream is whipped on too high of a speed after adding the powdered sugar.

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.

It acts more like a SMBC where it hardens when placed in the fridge, but at room temperature is soft to the touch. If you're looking for a traditional American buttercream that crusts, then check out my original ABC recipe.

American Buttercream

Quick to make and simple to use, this buttercream is probably the most commonly found in the caking world. However, it does have drawbacks. Many people say it's too sweet and it can be gritty in texture if not mixed properly.

The longer you beat, the more air you incorporate in your buttercream, thus, it will have lots of holes or air-pockets, it will also make the colour lighter. If you will use your buttercream primarily for filling or maybe as simple swirls, then this is ok.

To make the frosting extra smooth, stir it by hand with a rubber spatula for a minute or two right before you use it. It's an arm workout, but it's worth it! Push the frosting back and forth and spread it around the side of the bowl. This will push out any extra air and make it easier to smooth onto cakes or pipe with.

The best way to distinguish frosting from buttercream is through the ingredients. While both contain powdered sugar, fat, flavouring and sometimes milk or water, frosting does not contain any butter whatsoever. Instead, frosting is usually made with shortening or cream cheese.

Why is My Buttercream Not Crusting? If your buttercream isn't developing a crust, it may be too humid in your kitchen. Try placing your cake somewhere cool to help the crust form. Another reason your buttercream may not be crusting is that there's too much moisture in the frosting itself.

Italian Meringue Buttercream

This is considered one of the very difficult methods for making buttercream because the sugar syrup must be cooked to a specific temperature and then, while piping hot, poured into the whipped egg whites.

Why is my American buttercream soupy? ›

If your buttercream looks soupy, the butter is too warm and the buttercream will need to be chilled. Does the bowl feel warm? Did you allow enough time after heating the meringue to allow it to cool down before adding the butter? A warm meringue can melt the butter too much.

Swiss meringue buttercream is probably the most standard buttercream for pastry professionals. It is incredibly smooth, making it an extremely popular choice for icing cakes. Compared to American buttercream, it has a much stronger butter flavor, but is considerably less sweet.

Swiss meringue buttercream is better in flavor and texture than American Buttercream. Once you try it, you will want to use it on all of your cakes, cupcakes, cookies, everything! It is silky, pipes beautifully, and is stable.

If you are preparing buttercream frosting in a warmer climate, your butter may start to melt. As we know, melted butter is much thinner (and runnier, of course) than cold, solid butter. One of the easiest ways to thicken buttercream is to simply place the buttercream into the refrigerator.

If you use unsalted, add a pinch of salt too. Beat about 4 or 5 minutes untilight and fluffy. There's no one answer to this question as the amount of time you'll need to beat buttercream icing will vary depending on the recipe you're using and the desired consistency.

A: Buttercream curdling or 'splitting' after adding milk is a common problem, especially in winter. The reason for this is that butter is essentially an emulsion and when you add milk the additional water (full cream milk is almost 90% water) causes butter emulsion to split.