I use this recipe when making my rose cake,
my hydrangea cake,
or any cake that I want the frosting to be able to hold its shape!
This makes quite a bit, but can be refrigerated quite easily.
Ingredients
- Crusting Buttercream
- 1 bag powder sugar (two pounds or about eight cups)
- 1 cup shortening (I used original Crisco)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract (use clear if want white frosting)
- 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup milk
Instructions
- Cream shortening and vanilla in mixer for 2-4 minutes. Add in powder sugar, one cup at a time. If you find your mixer struggling, slowing add in milk. Use more milk for a creamy consistency, use less milk for a stiff consistency.
- Alternate Method:
- Use 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup shortening. Place room temp. butter and shortening in mixer. Put entire bag of powder sugar on top, then add vanilla and 1/2 cup milk. Turn mixer on low and mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Turn mixer up to med-high and mix for 2-4 minutes. Can add more milk to reach desired consistency.
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And yes, I sometimes use half crisco/half butter. This recipe is SWEET. Super sweet. If you dont like sweet, simply use less sugar.
Enjoy!
*Some people seem to get very upset that I call this frosting a buttercream.
I’m sorry. I dont have a much better answer. You are welcome to yell at me all you want in the comments. (Some already have!)
*****
See more examples of how I use this frosting on my Rose Birthday Cake and Royal Wedding Cake.
So helpful Amanda! I really want to do one of each of those.
Hi there. Do you have to use shortening? never used it for icing before. would butter do the same or not really. thanks!
I use this same* recipe for my buttercream, but I use butter. I think it tastes better and I’m generally opposed to using shortening unless it serves a functional purpose in my recipes. Shortening will be cheaper to use than butter, but it doesn’t taste as good. I use salted butter, although some recipes specify to use unsalted. I just never have any in the fridge.
shortening is necessary if youre looking for perfect white frosting and it holds better than butter. the problem is you will end up with plain-yet-too-sweet frosting and it doesnt tastes good.but you can always overcome this problem by adding enough amount of fine salt.it may not tastes as good as butter but it should be better.
What a fabulous tip! Thank you!
also you can use butter flavoring (the wilton one is excellent), if you use a full tablespoon of vanilla, then do half and half, sometimes i even put a little bit of almond and even tastes like a wedding cake… enjoy!
I generally try 1/2 butter 1/2 shortening for the shape and taste.
Curious about butter, too. I hate shortening.
I was wondering if you can add a flavor to this recipe and if I do, do I need to take something out, like the vanilla or just not add as much milk?
You can definitely add any flavoring you want! I would add the vanilla or extract of choice before you add in the milk, then you will be able to properly adjust the amount of milk needed to reach your desired consistency.
Butter works just fine in place of shortening
Those rosettes give me goosebumps. I love them.
butter can be used in place of shortening….but it wont hold its shape as well, especially in the warmer temps. i tried to make her hydrangea cake but bc i used just butter i couldnt get the shapes to hold. i now use a recipe that is similar to hers but i use 1 stick of crisco and 2 sticks of butter. it crusts and hold its shape better then just butter but also taste more like regular buttercream. : )
The son of a friend of ours got married at home, and I offered to make the wedding cake as a gift. Mother of groom insisted she wanted to do it, even though she had never done this sort of thing.
She used butter instead of Crisco, and the entire cake slid apaort before the ceremony was over. Another woman and I had to take a large spatula to remove the top and sit it beside the cake, before it fell on the floor.
If you INSIST on using butter, add about 2 tablespoons of dry Dream Whip to the recipe to help it hold its shape, especially if the weather is hot and/or humid.
Oh, I had never heard that bit about Dream Whip. I may try that some day.
What about using meringue powder instead of the dry dream whip to help the icing keep it’s shape?
Great solution! Thanks for sharing that idea…I will try it!
As a flavor snob and a purist who believes that treats should taste as good as they are beautiful, I have to agree that if it doesn’t have butter and either egg yolk or egg white then it is not a buttercream! It is frosting. Might not sound as fancy, but an important distinction to make in order to maintain the integrity of the craft.
Jeez, it’s frosting, not the Mona Lisa. Integrity of the craft? We’re making some cupcakes here, you know what I’m sayin’? There’s nothing wrong with shortening. Bakers have been using shortening or lard for over 100 years. Come on. It’s astounding how people demonized butter in the early 20th century, then again with lard in the later 20th century, and now we’re back to butter. Ay carumba.
My kind of girl!
Preach on sista! I use crisco and no butter in my buttercream and everyone always loves it and is shocked to learn it’s not butter in there. Now that’s a craft.
Ha! Love it.
Sooo….they can’t believe it’s not butter, eh? I’m noting the tips here about buttercream/frosting/icing/ yummy stuff great on my scraps of paper I will tuck into my chocolate tin full of decorating bits. Thank you all!
Absolutely right BakerRach ,I have had some very bad experience by using butter,so I use butter flavoring and vanilla with my shortening. I don’t call it buttercream because of how people react but everyone loves my frosting and they will call it buttercream and I don’t have the hassle of it sliding off the cake.
amen. sheesh!!
I totally agree with that ! LOL
I agree if there is no butter in it then it is NOT a buttercream. It is a frosting only. When you add butter then it becomes a buttercream. I love the idea of adding the dream whip. I personally don’t care for that flat tasting frosting. Even butter flavored Crisco to me tastes nasty. Sorry as I read some other posts below I disagree with you all. Regardless of what you are baking buttercream is made with REAL BUTTER!
Hi SouthGA Lady! Sounds like you are quite passionate about buttercream!! Glad we were able to provide a place for you to share your opinion. I totally support you in that opinion, and support your right to state it. My thought process goes like this… if the definition of buttercream and my ingredient list are technically supported by the dictionary, then who am I to declare otherwise? If you never ever want to eat anything made with this recipe than that is your choice. Just like it is my, and others, choice to use whatever we prefer. Thanks!
Hi Amanda!
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your wonderful recipes and your creative talents with those of us who enjoy reading your blog. I don’t know why some people feel it is necessary to be so critical here on this site. Please don’t let those kind of people bring you down! I am sure the majority of your readers don’t care if your buttercream icing actually contains butter or not. Keep up the good work and keep those recipes coming!
Thank you so much Melissa! So kind of you to say.
I think your craft is very inspiring. I have recently fell in love with baking when I was hosting a baby shower for my daughter and found that all the cookies, cakes and other goodies where so costly. I did it all on my own, a Topsy Turvy cake, lil girl & flower cookie cut outs, dipped marshmallow, strawberries and pretzels. And NO it wasn’t the best but the feeling of accomplishment was more than I could ever have hoped for. You inspire me, I have your site open everyday and tell those who see, “Those are my dreams”. ; ) As far as Buttercream or not. Who cares as long as YOU ARE HAPPY with it….that is all that should matter. Your wonderful!
Hi I am in Australia and a lot of our ingredients are called different things lol, could someone please tell me exactly what shortening is . Thanks
“Shortening is any fat that is solid at room temperature and used to make crumbly pastry. In pastries such as cake, which should not be elastic, shortening is used. Although butter is solid at room temperature and is frequently used in making pastry, the term “shortening” seldom refers to butter but is more closely related to margarine.”
(Quote taken from Wikipedia)
In North America, shortening is usually synonymous with lard, which is animal (usually pig) fat.
Hope this helps
Hi Kathy,
In Oz we call it copha, like you use in choc crackles. Alternately use lard.
Tiff
Hello, I just wanted to say thank you for contstantly amazing and inspiring me with your fantastic baking.
For the first time this weekend, I filled a cake and iced it with buttercream – I’ve never had so many compliments!
I really appreciate you posting such great recipes, sharing your tips and showing such beautifully decorated cakes and cookies.
@Alycia then you should have a more constructive comment than telling this wonderful blogger something she already acknowledged in her post, like another name for this excellent, helpful recipe.
You’re right. How about “Crusting Crisco Frosting?” Fortunately, it is actually possible to make these roses with an Italian meringue buttercream, and they will taste as good as they look.
Amanda does have a fun design sense and blog style.
Touche Alycia.
please give a recipe for this Italian Meringue Buttercream…thanks!
i know this post is 8 months old, but i just wanted to interject.. that’s known as a “decorator’s buttercream”, hence the perfect crusting and consistency for flowers.. a “real” buttercream is more of a filling/coating
This stuff is wonderful, I especially love giving it a citrus spin with lemon and orange extract and a bit of butter flavoring!
I made this today and loved it. Consistency is amazing. I substituted chai latte concentrate for the milk and added 2 bags of chai tea to it. Mmmmmmmm!
Used butter flavored Crisco though and not sure about that…wanted butter flavor in a frosting that would hold up better than buttercream. Way strong butter aftertaste. Suggestions, anyone?
you can get butter flavoring in a bottle. Of course it is yellow in color but will give you that hint of flavor, about 1/4 tsp is what I use. I mix it with the Crisco before adding anything else! Hope this is helpful
How about whitening powder? I’ve heard of it but never used it…
Can I add Lorann’s Marshmallow Flavoring and if so, how much?
I was wondring if you have a good sugar cookie on a stick. We want to make a sugar cookie bouquet for my daughters baby shower this week. We bought a airplane cookie cutter and we wanted to put them in a vases for our center pieces. Also can I use buttercream frosting for decorating or should I use icing ?
http://iambaker.net/christmas-cookies-cookie-recipe Here is my favorite sugar cookies recipe, and you can most definitely use it for cookies on a stick! I use both buttercream and glaze icing for cookies, and find they both work great. Hope the baby shower is wonderful!
Stunning cakes!!! Almost too pretty to eat
I’m making a champagne cake for a Chanel-themed baby shower and wanted to do a champagne icing as well. Can I substitute champagne for some of the milk in this recipe and have the icing still stand up or will that affect the consistency too much?? THANKS!!
Champagne buttercream sounds delish! I think you could easily add it in place of milk, but I would start with a small amount, like a tablespoon, and go from there. Have a wonderful day!
If you are making champagne flavored icing, I would look into reducing the champagne down, so you don’t have to use all the water that comes along with the champagne. I boiled my champagne down from 2 cups to 4 tablespoons. It seemed to work out fine.
I love the rose cake, it is beautiful. The recipe for the “butter cream frosting” could be called “White Icing” The CIA recipe for butter cream is quite simple, 2#butter 1/2-3/4# crisco 4# confectionery sugar, any flavoring you would like, it holds up well to piping, doesn’t get crusty and makes enough to frost and decorate a half sheet cake, sides and top
1/2 butter, 1/2 crisco + butter flavoring (near the vanilla) + a 1/4 t. almond extract = Great taste and excellent texture.
I am new to this ans want to try the rose cake but I have a question. Is the # symbol in the CIA recipe meaning cups? Thanks!!
The # symbol just means pounds! So 1# is just 1 pound haha. We use it in cooking school just to shorten recipes.
Hi! Can anyone tell me if I use this crusting buttercream to frost a cake…can the cake be refrigerated? Will the crusting buttercream “crack” ? Hope someone can reply me
!!
Brandie, I often see the # symbol used to indicate weight, as in “#” meaning “pound”. Hope your cake is wonderful — both visually and flavorfully
!
I’m going to try the strawberry version substituting a seedless blackberry puree I made and froze last summer. I’m guessing it will be a light purple, doesn’t that sound enticing?
I absolutely love this rose cake. It’s simply gorgeous. I do have an issue with the icing however. I decided to go by this recipe rather than using my usual recipe for buttercream frosting. When I made this recipe, I found the frosting too grainy and it tasted way too much like sugar straight out of the bag. It also reacted funny when I tried to color it. I ended up doubling the amount of crisco because in my usual recipe, it was 1 cup of crisco to 4 cups of powdered sugar, rather than 8 cups. When I added the extra cup of crisco, everything balanced out and it was perfect.
i just want to ask,you said ( it was 1 cup of crisco to 4 cups of powdered sugar, rather than 8 cups. When I added the extra cup of crisco, everything balanced out and it was perfect.)that extra cup crisco is put in that for 4 cups sugar or 8 cups???thanks
I love the rosette cake and have pinned it about 22 times!
I am curious what tip you use when making the rosettes on the large cake?
I Love the cake!!! I do have one question though. In your very first pictures i see this is a tiered cake…how did you tier the cake without messing up the bottom tier’s roses? Did you use any pillars for this?
You have a wonderful blog which is not only inspiring but also easy to follow. Im new to this so I have a basic question about buttercream. Whenever I tried to frost my cake with buttercream made with butter or eggs, and put the cake in fridge to cool, the buttercream hardens like solid butter and when it comes time to eat it then it tastes really bad. This happens especially when there is leftover cake…it almost always spoils it. So I was wondering what they use in the bakeries because traditional bakery cakes which are in the displays always have smooth white frosting which doesn’t harden…thanks, I appreciate your time!
i dont think putting the cake in fridge is necessary if your main intention is to preserve the cake (including leftovers).if your buttercream holds well when youre decorating the cake,then it should be fine in room temperature (normal room temp,not too hot) in terms of maintaining the shape of the cake.and most buttercream wont spoil/become poisonous if you left them covered/stored in airtight cont for a day or two in room temp.
I love this frosting technique, it looks very elegant and Victorian. My daughter wants me to use it on her wedding cake; however, I have two questions:
Does adding Dream Whip aide in the crusting ability of the frosting, in much the same way as adding meringue powder? Could Swiss Meringue Buttercream be used successfully with this rose technique?
Any help that could be offered would be greatly appreciated!
i think shortening is used if you want your icing to be white. If you use butter it wouldn’t turn out to be super white. it’s a matter of how you want to make it look.
Thank you! I was looking for a easy crusting buttercream and this is it.
This is a great tutorial and those rosettes are just beautiful. Although, I do have to agree that the icing is not very indicative of buttercream. I would definitely classify it in the sugary frosting category. I’m sure it holds up to decorating much, much better than true buttercream, but if taste outweighs appearance, swiss meringue buttercream would be the better alternative. I’m sure it may be hard to get those rosettes to look half as good with the real deal, though.
I make mine the same.. To make it to where it taste like buttercream, use 1 tablespoon of butter flavor extract
To make it have the butter flavor, add 1 tablespoon of Butter Flavor Extract. Makes the frosting taste just like the bakeries..
Hi
Firstly thanks for this recipe, I’ve done the rose cake a few times now. I’ve looked around but can’t find the older buttercream recipe you used to show for this and was hoping you could help? I know it had similar ingredients but had heavy cream and some salt in it. I just can’t remember the quantities? Thanks
Could these roses be made using a cream cheese icing?
No I just tried it tonight with the cream cheese frostin and it looked terrible. Its not nearly stiff enough and just slides off the cake ..even with it being cooled.
Try using less liquid for a stiffer consistency.
Hello,
Can I use “butter flavor” Crisco shortening rather than the “regular” Crisco shortening?
thank you,
The butter-flavored Crisco has a very strong butter flavor to it. It’s a pretty artificial flavor too. I would suggest using a bit of butter extract instead, from what I have heard that’s how a lot of bakeries make their frostings so yummy. Hope this helps a bit, good luck!
I use butter flavor Crisco and the frosting is delicious. My family loves it. Plus it crusts beautifully. Butter just doesn’t work the same.
I am thinking out loud here, so to speak, I would like to do these roses all over a flat cake (2 9×13 cakes placed beside each other) for an anniversary cake. What would you suggest in creating a space that I can write Happy Anniversary? Some sort of a flat surface to write on? Any suggestions appreciated.
By the way LOVE the way this cake looks.
I use a 1/2 and 1/2 recipe for my cakes 1/2 butter and 1/2 shortening and they always taste great and hold up great.
This is almost the exact decorator’s icing recipie that my grandmother passed down to me. She has been using it to decorate birthday, wedding and occasion cakes for over 50 years! The only adjustment I have made to it (because I do like a little butter flavor in my icing) is that I use buttavan from sugarcraft as opposed to regular vanilla or clear vanilla extract. I find it gives the icing a more creamy buttery-vanilla flavor that is unique to this area. People tell me my cakes taste like cakes from expensive bakeries in the city! I know sugarcraft is sold out of buttavan right now and I am freaking out because I am almost out, but hopefully they will have it available again soon. You should give it a try!
My problem is the following: Crisco is not available in my country. what could I use instead of shortenings? Butter or margarin maybe?
Thanks a lot
,,I have my Grandmas cookbook.In this cookbook is a yellowed newspaper clipping with a recipe for buttercream frosting,MADE WITH SHORTENING..That is what buttercream is,,,scrape the frosting off before you eat the cake or don’t think about it..(It does sound gross)..also,where I live, Crisco and butter cost about the same ..
This is the PERFECT recipe for yummy frosting! I tweaked it slightly (added a tablespoon of butter extract to the milk, as several people suggested), but I also added a bit of almond extract and a few dashes of salt too. It was DELISH and was perfect for the rose cake. I made a “Barbie” version (you know, where the cake forms the dress) and had to transport it about 45 minutes, so I was worried about regular buttercream sliding off the steep sides of the cake as soon as the sun hit it in the car. The slight crust this frosting formed ensured the cake was way more stable than I was expecting and made transport so much easier. I’m a sweet freak, so I didn’t mind that it was super sweet, but utilizing the extracts gave it a bit of a flavor beyond just “sugar” and I’m thinking experimenting with other extracts for the future…peppermint would be devine…
THANK YOU for providing a simple AND sinful icing recipe! This one will hold a spot forever at the front of my recipe box.
Hi , THANK you so much for your wonderful blog ! I’m glad to found it ..
Yesterday I made a cake to my brother and I wanted to decorate it by roses but the recipe that I used from the you tube wasn’t good maybe because it’s with butter not Crisco ..!
but I’ll try your frosting nearly ..:)
I seen a lot of blogs and websites in my day, and I have to be honest – your cake decorating is outstanding. I have 3 favorite bloggers and I am adding you today.
I offer homemade recipes on my website and my cakes are just that – cakes. These are masterpieces. You should be very proud of your skill. I am amazed at the talent you have and want to thank you wholeheartedly for your tutorials and recipes. God Bless…
My goodness! You are beyond kind to say such things!! Thank you so much!
To those of you screaming this isn’t a buttercream. How about you take a course and you’ll learn that this is used to decorate. The reason buttercream isn’t used is because it wont hold it’s shape very long. Rather than critizie someone for their contribution how about be appreciative cause I’m sure half of you complaining used the recipe.
Who cares what it’s called?! All I know is that it turns out right every time, without fail. I use half butter and half shortening because I need it to freeze when I make a butter cream transfer. The frosting won’t freeze and set if there isn’t any butter in the recipe. I also need it to be white and not off white so using the shortening makes it nice and bright white (along with using the clear imitation extract). Really read what’s in the cake frosting at your local grocery store bakery, lots of preservatives. This may not be true butter cream frosting, but at least you know what is in it. Thank you for posting this recipe, I come back to it every time!
Excellent point Veronica!! I love it for the same reasons you have listed. Thanks for the great feedback!!
I use shortening all the time. It is the ONLY way you can get the pure white. I guess everybody turns up their nose at Crisco, because it is bad for you or it tastes bad–Crisco basically tastes like nothing. Which is why it is the perfect vehicle for adding flavors. They have ruined Crisco for the bakers by taking the trans fat out. Now we have to buy high ratio shortening which has the fat added in or put in lard (YES–lard). The only other way you can get the pure white (if you use butter) is to use Icing White, which is a dye–so much better for you. and the heart of a good tasting icing butter or otherwise is the flavoring you use. I use a flavoring called Creme Bouquet which has a mix of Vanilla, Lemon, Almond and other flavors. I am known for my pure white buttercream frosting because of this flavoring.
Best line ever… (YES-lard) Ha! Love it!! Great tips, thank you Susy!
I just made a batch of this and I like it. The taste is different but I think it is good. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I took a Wilton cake decorating class and this is the buttercream recipe they also use.
Really? That is so interesting! I checked their site and could not find this specific recipe. I wonder if they updated?
I took the wilton class as well.. same buttercream recipe
I call it american buttercream 
and whenever i visit L.A I always encounter this type frosting 
This is the recipe for pure white frosting. If you don’t need pure white frosting use butter. I make my buttercream with crisco. I use 1/2 vanilla and 1/2 almond extract. I also add 1/2 teaspoon of butter extract. As suggested I add salt. It makes a difference. I also use fine salt, such as popcorn salt.
Love this cake! You are right, so EASY! Made the butter cream icing recipe and decorated, came out amazing. Thank you!!!
Hello, I am Dutch,
beautifull rose cake!!!!
1 cup shortening (I used original Crisco)
can you please tell me what is “shortening”?
thank you very much!
Nicky
I may have a question that seems to be a little weird to you. I´m sorry about it but I am not a native English speaker; I am Czech and live in the Czech Republic. I would love to try it but I am not sure about what “shortening” means in fact. I looked it up and found the translation that it´s a quite hard white fat. But in that case I don´t think it´s the right expression. I assume you are talking about yellow soft vegetable fat that is often used instead of butter. Could anyone of you explain me what Crisco is? Thank you.
Crisco is a hard white vegetable fat. Some shortening is made with animal fat, but you have to use the vegetable fat when making this frosting. Hope that helps!
I`’m sure the soft yellow stuff you are talking about is margarine.
Your rose cake looks absolutely beautiful! how do you make all those roses? I usually make my roses on a baker’s nail and then move them onto the cake, but yours looks like they were made right on the cake…?
http://iambaker.net/rose-cake-tutorial Here is a link to my tutorial!
Is there something i did wrong? I’m putting on the the crumb coat and the “buttercream” won’t stick to the cake.
I had the same problem last night….different cake though….not Amanda’s pretty rose one which I am going to make for our Mother’s Day brunch. I think my slippery icing problem was due to the humidity, honestly. I’ve used this, and Wilton’s exact recipes all winter long with no problem at all. I think with more moisture in the air, we need too add our liquids small amounts at a time to make sure the consistency is just right.
Also…everyone is so hung up on the butter/shortening debate, but powdered sugar makes a difference too. My Wilton instructor told me to always make sure the package says “pure cane” powdered sugar. If you can find 12x, that’s the best but 10x is usually easier to find at the grocery without going to a specialty store. If it doesn’t say “pure cane”, then it has corn starch in it and it’s hard to get the right consistency with that filler in there…
Hope this helps! Happy Baking! :0)
It can say “pure cane sugar” (meaning cane sugar, not beet sugar) on the front of the package and still have cornstarch in it, like the bag I have in my pantry right now. You have to look on the ingredient list to see if it has cornstarch. From what I understand the cornstarch helps keep it from clumping. I am interested to find out that it is sold without the cornstarch, because I’ve never been crazy about cornstarch flavor. The 12x and 10x refers to how small of particles the sugar is ground into. I wonder if I can get sugar ground fine enough in my super-blender? I just may try it.
Thank you for sharing with us ,I have been wanting to try it since i read your blog on pinterest. It s not as good as yours but i am pleased for my first time trying it. The icing was the perfect consistency I don’t care what you call it, I call it amazing.
Thank you so much for posting this! This is the prettiest cake I have ever seen in my life!
I’d really love to try this icing recipe but we don’t have Crisco here in Australia…. any suggestions for substitutes????
You can use butter!
Hi there. Love the demonstration. I’m trying it out this weekend.
Gillian R, I’m an Aussie too and I’ve researched a lot online and found a product called Lurpak.
It’s a Danish butter that is really light in colour, I noticed when I tried to colour the icing when using ‘normal’ butter, it was never lovely true colours.
PS. you will find Lurpak in Coles.
Amanda, have you heard of this product? What do you think.
Yell! YeLL! yEEEllllll! I think this is a brilliant recipe! I’m just getting into baking and “butter”creaming. I just love your rose cake.
Beautiful, laughed at all the comments about the name of the icing, greater decisions have been made with far less “opinions”. LOL anyway the cake is beautiful.
Amazing blog! thanks for sharing all you ideas. you are really talented and you make everything sound so simple that even non bakers are inspired.
would the buttercream frosting work with baking margarine? we dont get crisco in Botswana and it looks like butter would not hold the hydrangea petals.
Yes, it would. Thanks for the kind words and happy baking!
if I try this with heavy whipping cream instead of milk- what will change?
That is a great modification.. I do it often!
I have also used flavored coffee creamers in place of the milk. Carmel Machiato with a bit of maple flavoring is delicious!
Thank You so much for the recipe, I’ve never found a better recipe that holds it’s shape than yours!
Butter works great, but I always add vanilla AND almond extract to give it a much better flavor.
Hi Amanda,
Can this frosting be made ahead of time? And can I thaw it, use it, and refrigerate it again for use later?
Yes, I have made it ahead of time and used it over the course of a few weeks. However, I have never frozen it thawed it and used it again. Sorry cant help more!
i’ve always called the
shortening and powdered sugar frosting “decorator’s frosting”
butter and powdered sugar frosting “quick butter cream”
egg yolk/sugar and butter ‘french butter cream’
cooked egg white/sugar/butter ‘swiss meringue butter cream”
egg white/cooked syrup/butter “italian meringue butte cream’
cooked egg whites/sugar sticky frosting, marshmallow frosting
white mountain frosting or 7 minute
frosting
egg whites /powdered sugar royal frosting
water or milk/powdered sugar confectioner’s icing/glaze
I recommend using Crisco and butter flavoring if you really want a buttery flavor AND if you want to cut the taste of the shortening and the sweetness add Almond extract. I do that and no one can figure out why my frosting is so good, even in my cake decorating classes, they couldnt believe why I was eating my frosting until they tasted it!!LOL, Thanks for the vertical layer tutorial and this one…..I would have done the same thing on the vertical cake, but it is nice to have visuals!!LOL
I’m making cupcakes for an outside wedding in Texas and really wouldn’t want to use any dairy products in the frosting. Could I instead use water in place of milk and add a different extract flavor to create “cream cheese” frosting? I’m trying to remake a cream cheese frosting for the carrot cupcakes found here: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/carrot-cupcakes-with-mascarpone-icing.html?view=added
I can’t really help with the cream cheese thing…LorAnn has a cheesecake extract you may want to try. But for the non-dairy part. I use powdered coffee creamer like the Coffeemate and mix it with hot water. It gives it a richer taste than water and you don’t need milk. You can also use different flavored coffee creamers.
Hiya guys, 2 quick questions, could I use royal icing instead for the rose cake? I know it would be rock solid but that’s good cause I don’t want it to lose its shape or get prodded and poked!
Also how could I get the frosting an ivory colour? (if using this recipe)
That’s in advance for any replies
P.s anyone in England we can use TREX instead of crisco it’s available in most supermarkets.
Xx
Thanks!***
Using shortining or margarine is the best choice instead of butter! Does no one think about what dairy cows go through in milk production? They end their lives at 4 or 5 years old for cheap hamburger at fast food restaurant a day their offspring for veal. Wake up people! I love cake but these inhumane choices are not worth it!
After reading through all the comments, I decided to make up the icing as follows:
3/4 milk Crisco
1/4 cup salted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp butter flavoring
entire 2lb bag of powdered sugar (8 cups)
3/4 cup milk
It tastes great, and even with the butter, yellow butter flavoring, and brown vanilla extract, it was only very slightly off-white. I added a smidge of Wilton Red Icing Color because I was making a birthday cake for my daughter, but the off white was actually very pretty.
Thanks for the recipe!
What a great adaptation!! Well done!
Thank you- I served the cake yesterday and everyone loved it! I so appreciate the recipe and the tutorials!
Hi! I’m here because I’m searching the web for a buttercream recipe but measured in American cups. In the UK, this recipe made with butter is always called ‘ buttercream’. We don’t need eggs or meringue in buttercream; at its best it should taste buttery sweet. We have royal icing, if you need something firm.
I’ll be back to try this, for a cake topping. Thank you for sharing. Love those buttery ribbon roses!
I use high ratio shortening instead of Crisco on wedding cakes. Since Crisco took the trans fat out, it just doesn’t have the came smooth consistency. Some people actually DO like the bakery pure white Crisco frosting, so I accommodate them whenever possible. I do use a flavoring called Cream Bouquet (almond, vanilla, butter and a few more flavors) by Magic Line–it is YUMMY and give your cake a distinctive flavor and smell (in a good way). Also on a wedding cake I like to add butter to make the cake off white–if the cake is pure white, the photographer’s flash will blow out all the detail and the lighting can become odd on the bride and groom standing behind it. If you must make a white white cake, using Crisco, the addition of the half and half will bring the fat content up and make it smoother.
Another thing I have found is that confectioner’s sugar is not what it used to be, some of the cheaper brands use cornstarch and beet sugar as filler. I go to Sam’s and buy the 5 pound bag of Domino brand, it is only about $5 as opposed to 2.75 for 2 pounds in the grocery store.
Beautiful work, great job decorating, and thanks for all you did to put this blog together for us. I am always looking for alternative ways or new ways that people see on how to get the same thing accomplished…not all of us are purists or focus on word semantics.
Just made this for my “practice” bday cake, I’m making a 4 layer, pink ombre cake and wanted to make sure this would work out. Perfect!!! Tastes wonderful and holds the gorgeous rose shape. I dyed half the batch hott pink and the other orange and filled the bag 1/2 and 1/2. wish I could show you a pic, it’s gorgeous. Thanks for the great recipe!
I just made my first ever fondant cake and used this butter cream reciepe and it came out so good. Love the texture and the taste. I used crisco and added butter flavoring to it and the end results were awesome. I have been looking for something so good yet so simple and I totally found it here. Thank you for sharing this with all of us!
Does crisco has to be cold or room tempeture? a regular mixer would help or do I need a big one?? and finally, do u think that the weather may change the results… i live in a very hot and humid weather.
sorry for the questioning but im trying the rose cake on a bachelorette paty =S
thnxs
Diana: In hot and humid weather – it’s pretty essential to use Crisco in the frosting. Otherwise, it will slide right off the cake when outside. If your event is indoors with A/C, I encourage use of at least half unsalted butter with the other half Crisco. (room temp is fine) The flavor of real butter is unmatchable. (is that a word?) If your are making it in your own home, crank the A/C and frost away. If you have a stand mixer – use it. Not essential, however, just more tiring using a hand mixer. I flavor isn’t a huge issue – then use all Crisco! I guess it all depends on your ‘consumers’. Will they care or not?
I happen to have a few chickens – and I will use a raw egg in the frosting (just the white for light colored frosting – whole thing for dark colored or chocolate frosting) – as it makes the frosting ‘silkier’. I would not, however, use an egg from the grocery store. Too scary. Hope this helped!
How much frosting does this recipe make? Thank you!
may i know what tip you use in making the rose piping?? many thanks!
Hi Babes, I have two full tutorials on my blog, as well as a video tutorial. I use a 1M or 2D tip.
Hi i really love your cakes but i am a bit confused in regards to frosting and icing the cake as mentioned above to crumb coat the cake should i use confectionery cane sugar or icing sugar ,I am a beginner in baking cakes and i am really inspired by your creative ideas and i love them to bits.Would really appreciate if you could assist me on this..
Hi Natasha- The sugar in this recipe is powder sugar, confectionery sugar… its got a fine powder like consistency. Happy Baking~
Haha that made me laugh out loud. Really some
One yelled at you over a frosting name?
Well thank you for taking the time to post a
Recipe for all if us. Even those with anger issues.
I hope that’s the worst thing that ever happens
To them…not liking the name of something.
Too silly but still I had to comment in it.
Hey just wondering how long this buttercream can stay out of the fridge for?
Thanks!
Hi Amanda! I have let it out for about a week. While it still tastes good, the texture is a bit more dry than I prefer after so many days. Blessings!
I like the butter flavored shortening in the resealable stick containers.
Hi I was wondering if you could melt chocolate and beat it in the the crusting butter cream and sugar ?
Love the recipe can’t wait to try it.
How many cups of icing does your buttercream recipe make? I know these roses take a lot of icing. I’m making a four tier wedding cake with roses covering each tier (6″,8″,10″, and 12″). Do you have any sort of estimate how many recipes of buttercream it would take for that size cake?
Do you use this to ice your cake as well, or just to decorate with? If you use a different icing for the crumb coat can you please tell me the directions. Also do you have a recipe for a good vanilla or strawberry cake?
I made this rose cake using your buttercream recipe but with butter rather than shortening, it was wonderful! The roses held their shape and even a couple of days later were still fine, no melting! Thank you so much!
Hey ya’ll! So I used this recipe on my mom’s birthday rose swirl cake yesterday. And although it did hold up and pipe well, crusting is right! I would have preferred it to be a bit smoother. And boy was this sweet. But with 2 lbs of sugar, what did I expect, right? I think I’ll have to play around with the recipe until I’m happy with it.
I make mine with lard instead of shortening and condensed milk for the milk. I also add powder milk for flavor. Some might say “oh! Lard? Are you serious? That’s disgusting!!” but believe me the taste is good and it’s healthier than using shortening.
Sounds great!
I just want to say that I love this recipe. Traditional buttercream is great but won’t stand up to deep south Texas humidity. Just made some brain cupcakes and I love the way the frosting came out. Perfect!
I LOVE this Buttercream recipe for all you haters out there. Don’t knock it before you try it. I used Crisco’s butter flavored shortening and made this exact cake. My Mother-in-law actually complimented me and said this was better than the buttercream Publix uses (and she adores them). It held it’s shape VERY well. I have been using this recipe ever since I discovered it. I live in GA and it is a miracle if a cake survives just a few hours between the months of April and September. I LOVE the taste. I;m making a pumpkin shaped cake tonight and may add a smidge of butter extract just to experiment. Other than that, I will not deviate.
Why fix something that’s not broken??
To add flavor without using butter or butter flavored shortening, add a small (and I mean small) amount of almond extract. Start with 1/4 tsp. and add more as your taste prefers. It really is a delicious frosting, butter or no butter! Thanks for sharing!
I would love to know if you have a tutorial on your hydrangeas!! That cake is absolutely beautiful!
Hi! I love your recipes!
In my country they dont sell Crisco or Shortening.. Can I use regular butter? In that case, how much should I use?
Im really looking forward to make this cake, and I want the roses to be perfect.
Thank you (:
Yes, you can use butter. It is an equal substitution for the shortening. Then it would be a traditional buttercream.
It may not hold the roses as well, but it will be delicious.
I LOVE this recipe!!! It is seriously my go-to buttercream recipe for the rest of my life.
Thank you
I’m going to make this cake for my 7 year old’s birthday. She’s fallen in love with it and so have I and it looks so easy but lets hope I can pull it off x
I made this rose cake for a lady’s birthday at work. It came out beautifully thanks to this tutorial.
After reading all the comments below about the crisco in the frosting I was a little worried about what it would taste like. After all that worrying .. It tasted wonderful! I got so many complements. My coworkers were going back for seconds. I followed the buttercream frosting receipe on this site to the T.
Thank you so much for this tutorial. I could not have done such a beautiful and great tasting cake without it! ~~~ Courtney
Hi there would love some help please!!
I can make swiss meringue buttercream and its beautiful, ive always had good results, looks feels tastes like whipped cream, but ive run into a problem. the last 3 batches of cakes ive frosted have gone waxy! the frosting whips nicely and pipes beautifully but after i leave the cakes out for a bit they seem to be going hard with a waxy rubbery look and feel, they also taste rubbery too! I am using the same ingredients, brands and methods butsomething is wrong somewhere, like i said ive always had success until now what could be causing this? i have noticed lately that the frosting is whipping to a stiifer consistency than it used to, like clotted cream, whereas it used to be a bit thinner like whipped cream (i can remember thinking it wouldnt pipe or hold its shape the first time i made it) anyways, today i made another batch of cupcakes so decided to use classic buttercream frosting…and yup..you guessed it…the exact same thing has happened! so i cant blame the egg whites..could it be the butter? over mixing? kitchen temp? please help!!
Hi Em- I actually dont make SMB. So I am no help! I bet Sweetapolita might have some insight for you.
Thank you! Thank you! I just used this to frost a birthday cake for my son who is allergic to gluten, dairy, and artificial dyes. (Try to find something on the store shelf to meet those requirements.) This looks great and tastes really good. I made a half batch for one small cake. I used mostly regular crisco and a dab of butter flavored, for good measure. Very happy with the results.
Hi,
I was just wondering as you said that the icing recipe is very sweet if I cut down the icing sugar content would that make a difference?? I mean would the icing be thinner because I really need a good recipe
I would like to flavor this with raspberry, but not using an extract. How would I go about doing that? Also, beautiful job with those cakes!
I doubled this recipe and used regular and half butter flavored crisco. I doubled the amount of vanilla and used 1 1/4 c milk. It was a huge success. The frosting held better than any bakery frosting and was just as sweet. Thank you so much for sharing. I’ve never done the rose technique before, but I did tonight and paired with this frosting it looks like a professional cake.
I made 2 batches of this icing for granddaughter’s birthday party. 15 children plus some parents decorating cupcakes. A few friends have dairy allergies, so I made it with water instead of milk. Turned out great. It is very sweet, but what I expect of buttercream
Ahhh, sweet variations! Granddaughter & I baked a devils food cake and decided orange buttercream would be a nice pairing. We added orange zest and used orange juice in place of milk. Delicious! Not sure how it will be piping, but we really just made it flavored because we like the orange with chocolate.
cheers to a versatile buttercream and thanks for sharing.
Pharmer Cathy
THEY ARE OUT OF 1M TIPS EVERYWHERE!!! I BLAME YOU AND YOUR PERFECT ROSETTE CAKE!! (HAHAHAHAHAHA ;c) j/k)
I’m trying a similar star tip, we’ll see how it goes!!
lol You are too cute. You can also try a 2D tip!
WORST recipe for buttercream, I swear. It was too runny and tasted like powdered sugar. Threw out my cake I baked and had to start over because this recipe.
#Disappointed follower.
Sorry you feel that way. If it was too runny then there may have been a disconnect in the directions. If you ever encounter that problem again, feel free to add more sugar. If it tasted like powder sugar, that may be because the recipe is 80% powder sugar. If you did not like it, may I inquire as to why you then put it on the cake anyway? Feel free to email me if you encounter issues with consistency and flavor in the future, I am happy to offer up suggestions as both are relatively easy fixes.
I can’t wait to try this recipe! I have my first order for a 3 tier cake covered in butter cream coming up, I think this is just going to be perfect!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
I tried the crusting buttercream recipe tonight only I altered it to 3/4 cup of Crisco and 1/4 cup butter. I refrigerated the frosting for about 2 hours before using. When I began making my roses, before I even finished a few of them, the frosting began melting and dripping. I was working relatively fast, granted I am a beginner at this. Upon finishing the roses, I literally had a horrible dripping mess. I’d like to try again without any butter, but is there anything else I can do to prevent the same from happening again?
Thank you.
hi amanda. your work is beautiful. can i just use 1 cup butter if i have no shortening? we dont sell shortening where I live.thnx
Does this crust if you use less sugar? Way too sweet, even with the addition of salt and vanilla.
Hi,
I was wondering, if we reduce the amount of icing sugar for it to be less sweet…will the consistency of the icing shape and not form into daffodils nicely?
Thank you,
Abina
I’ve been using this recipe for years and was always know as Decorator’s Frosting. And if you want a less sweet flavor you can try these things: 1) add 1/4 tsp (3-4 g) salt per pound of sugar used to the milk and stir to dissolve before adding it to the sugar 2) use half real almond extract and half real vanilla – imitation vanilla changes the flavor completely 3) for a richer flavor and still keep the frosting pure white add 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) butter flavor per pound of sugar used
Going to try this! Butter makes it too soft to do decorations with!! I think the milk will be great!
Need a crusting chocolate buttercream recipe please…
Thank you!!
I usually make cakes for at home or friends, and always use butter in frosting. But I needed to make a cake for a silent auction. I was terribly afraid of it melting under the hot lights on the auction table after all the work I put into decorating it. So I went online looking for a better recipe and stumbled on this blog. So happy I did. This was the perfect recipe. I read the comments, too. So I have to put in my two cents worth about “buttercream.”
I knew that bakers use a “buttercream frosting” that doesn’t have butter and is shortening based. I knew it had nothing to do with butter, but that is the name. I am surprised at some of the comments here. I guess most people commenting on that don’t know anything about professional baking. It’s called buttercream. Who cares if it doesn’t have butter in it? LOL People are so funny about things.
But anyway, this turned out to be the perfect recipe. I printed it off and will use it every time I need to make something for show and don’t want to worry about it melting.
Thanks!!!!!
Love this.
For a sweeter icing when using shortening , add (or substitute) 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract or a few squares of bakers chocolate (melted down of course) for chocolate frosting.