Hi everyone~ In my blog tutorials, I often demonstrate designs that call for a crusting vanilla buttercream. There are so many good variations of crusting buttercreams out there, but I thought I’d share with you a couple that I use most often.
As the name suggests, crusting buttercreams develop a slight “crust” after about 5-10 minutes. This crusting allows decorators to use the “Viva Method” of smoothing, which I often refer to in our tutorials. If you are using this smoothing method, you never want to frost your final coat of frosting when the cake is cold. Warm to room temperature first. Otherwise, condensation will result, which prevents the frosting from crusting properly.
CLASSIC AMERICAN BUTTERCREAM~ This recipe contains no shortening, only butter. This makes it a little less heat resistant than shortening-based frostings.
2 sticks unsalted butter – 226 grams
8 cups ( 2 lb.) ( 920 grams) powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla (8 grams), use clear imitation vanilla if you like a whiter frosting
1/3 c. milk -86 grams
pinch of salt if you’d like to cut the sweetness
Cream the softened butter until smooth. Blend in the vanilla. Add half of the powdered sugar and most of the milk. Beat at medium speed until the powdered sugar is incorporated. Add remaining powdered sugar and milk and mix at medium speed another 3 to 4 minutes scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. I slow down the mixer to very slow. (#2 on the Kitchenaid) for 1 to 2 minutes. This will help eliminate air pockets in the buttercream. The texture will become very smooth.
This recipe can be doubled or halved.
Can be frozen in air tight container for at least three months . Thaw on countertop.
This is a crusting recipe, which works well with the Roller and Viva Paper towel smoothing methods. However, humidity may make it less likely to crust, in which case you can use the hot knife method for smoothing.
Yields approximately 6 – 6 1/2 cups of frosting.
Next, is my “Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream” which calls for both butter and shortening. The added shortening makes a frosting that is slightly more white in comparison to an all butter recipe (though not as white as an all-shortening recipe.) You lose a little of the flavor when you swap out shortening for butter, but the advantage to shortening-based frostings is that they can withstand higher temperatures.
FLUFFY VANILLA BUTTERCREAM (a crusting recipe)
2 lbs. confectioners’ sugar 910 g
1/2 cup (1 stick) (113 g ) unsalted butter softened (soften on countertop rather than microwave for best results)
1 1/2 cups solid vegetable shortening (such as Crisco or Trex) 286 g. or 10 oz. by weightif using hi ratio shortening, see below)
2 Tablespoons clear vanilla extract 24 g
1/4 teaspoons lemon or almond extract 1 g
1/4 cup milk ( 57 g) any milk is fine but I like milk with higher fat content. You could substitute water too (See below)
Add a pinch of salt to cut the sweetness….we use popcorn salt because of its fine grain…..you should dissolve your salt (if using table salt) in the liquid before adding
Cream butter, shortening and extracts until creamy and smooth. Add powdered sugar and milk. Mix thoroughly on medium speed for approximately 8 minutes. For the last two minutes decrease the mixing speed to VERY SLOW ( number 2 speed on a KitchenAid) until creamy and smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally during the mixing process.
***If I use Sweetex (a high ratio shortening) I decrease the shortening amount to 1 1/4 cups (236 g.) and increase the milk to 1/4 cup plus 2 to 3 Tablespoons milk or enough to make it the consistency you like.
***I used to always use water for this recipe, but I switched to milk for flavor & also because when you use a higher fat milk for your liquid, the buttercream still has a nice crust to it, but it doesn’t crust quite so quickly or so hard as if you use water.
**Makes about 6 cups of frosting– you can half it, or freeze the leftovers if you don’t need this much! (One cup of frosting frosts about 12 cupcakes.)
Hi Melissa,
I have a question about the “crusting” part of the Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream. After years of trying different recipes, I found yours, and it is my go to decorating buttercream because it is definitely the best tasting. The only thing is I can never get it to crust over. I’ve tried experimenting with the recipe–thinking I could get it to harden up but it won’t. What am I doing wrong? I know the humidity is bad here in Jacksonville, Florida–but surely there is a way to make it work. Any thoughts? Thanks for your help. And thank you for sharing your wonderful talent with us all! Having just renewed for my 3rd year, I wouldn’t be without “YourCakeSchool”!
Barb
Hi Barb, Is your cake completely at room temperature when you put on the final coat of frosting? If you have crumb coated your cake while still cold or it has chilled overnight in the refrigerated, you will want to let it come to room temperature before frosting. Could that be the problem?
Hi Melissa,
Should cakes using the buttercream recipes be refrigerated after being frosted? Thank you for your wonderful tutorials!
The classic American buttercream is crusting too? Even though is doesn’t have shortening ?
Hi Carlee, Yes, that is correct, the classic American buttercream made with all butter is also a crusting buttercream.
Hi Lynsey, I am just seeing your question, I am sorry for the delay. Cakes frosted in an all butter buttercream are usually good for 3 days at room temperature. I think the buttercream begins to get an “off” taste after that. If you are in a hot, humid climate the time would be less. It would last days longer if kept refrigerated.
Hi there! I love the taste of this buttercream however mine does not come out smooth and creamy. It is usually grainy/curdled looking. Can you tell me what I’m doing wrong? Thank you!
Hi Carlee, If it is grainy, it could be that you are not using pure cane sugar. If your package does not say pure cane sugar, then it is beet sugar. Also, do not soften the butter in the microwave, this can give the buttercream a grainy feel. If it is curdled looking, it is too cold, let the butter come to room temperature. You can cut into 1 inch cubes and it will soften faster if you are in a hurry. To correct the curdled buttercream if it is already made and in the mixing bowl, hold a warm air dryer to the side of the bowl to warm it up with the mixer running……just takes a few minutes. This will save it. Let us know how it goes. Also, if you would like a softer crusting buttercream you can reduce the amount of confectioners sugar in the recipe.
Hi
in a frosting that calls for Crisco can you use the Butter flavoured one?
Thanks
Hi Elaine, I have never tried the butter flavored crisco. This would be a good question to post on the Forum to get other members opinion. I think it would probably work fine. I think it would change the flavor so it would be a matter of personal taste preference.
Hello! Approximately how long will it take for the fluffy vanilla buttercream to crust after I have frosted cupcakes?
Hi Angie– I would say usually 3-5 minutes unless there is a lot of humidity in the air. Also, you’ll want to frost the cupcakes when they are at room temp— frosting cold cupcakes will interfere with the crusting ;0)
Hi,
I found your Bus Cake and am very excited to make it for my son ‘so 2nd birthday! I’m trying to do as much in advance to eliminate the hysteria. If I freeze a 9×13 sheet cake and thaw and bring to room temperature can I then ice with your classic butter cream recipe even though you say it’s best to use the cake while it’s hot??? And do you think half of the full recipe is enough to cover the 9×13 Bus Cake?
Thanks!
Hi Sarah, Yes, it is a good idea to bake and freeze your cake to save time. Keep the cake wrapped when you remove it from the freezer. Once condensation forms of the aluminum foil, unwrap and allow to come to room temperature. You can also make the buttercream in advance, it is good in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. The fondant faces can also be made, just keep out of sunlight so they will not fade. The classic buttercream recipe is a crusting buttercream and it will take FOREVER to crust unless the cake is at room temperature. I would recommend making the full recipe of buttercream. I am not sure what you mean when you say “best to use the cake while it’s hot”. Hope all goes well
Hi,Melissa …thanks for sharing the recipe.I used the butter only recipe for frosting a swirl rose Barbie cake for my little princess birthday and it came out great as it is my first buttercream decorated cake. I was very happy with the end result.Thank you..and best wishes.
You did a beautiful job, Kezia!
Hi, Could this recipe be used as a filling as well? I haven’t tried a crusting buttercream in between layers and wondering if the texture would be ok or would you recommend a non crusting buttercream as cake filling instead.
Thank you
Hi Alexina, yes crusting buttercream works perfectly as a filling. You can use a little less sugar if you’d like. It looks like the above recipes aren’t set up for printing but you can find the individual recipes for Classic Vanilla Buttercream and Fluffy Vanilla in our Recipes section. Here is a link to the classic.: https://www.mycakeschool.com/recipes/classic-vanilla-buttercream/
Thank you Melissa. I’m going to give the fluffy vanilla buttercream a try as it has shortening as well for a lighter colour to frost/decorate and fill a cake I’m going to be baking soon. I’ve used the white cake – new version recipe a couple of times now and it’s so good. I’ll be using that recipe for my daughter’s birthday cake ?
I have tried several times to get my buttercream frosting creamy and smooth and I still get the grainy texture. I use Dixie Crystals pure cane sugar. I blend the butter creamy first and then add my shortening and vanilla etc. and then start adding my sugar while blending and scraping. I do everything it says for me to do but I cannot get the graininess out. Anything else I can try?
Hi Karen, I know your frustration. Melissa has recently added a note about this to the buttercream recipes, but if you have the recipes printed out you would have missed it. We will be posting a comment in the Forum to get the word out. I used to use either Dixie Crystals or Dominos powdered sugar because it is pure cane sugar, and everything was fine. Then I began to have grainy buttercream. I found that every time I used Dixie Crystals the result was grainy. Something has changed with their product. We found online that they have changed the amount or type of cornstarch in their product. The cornstarch is an anti-caking agent to keep the powdered sugar from clumping together. We now use only Dominos or US Sugar (the US Sugar brand is found at Costco). This solved our problem and I am sure it will solve yours too. Let us know.
Hi, I used this recipe again and it turned out much better and really easy to pipe. I did find that the shortening did not fully blend with the rest, there were still small pieces of it and once frosted I had to remove those pieces. The shortening was room temperature so I’m not sure why it was like that? Any suggestions. Thanks :)
Hi Alexina, That should not have happened, especially if the shortening was at room temperature. What brand were you using? The butter and shortening should be mixed until smooth, and then gradually add the powdered sugar. I can’t think of another cause, I hope this helps.
Hi,
Just realized I commented under the wrong recipe, I meant the fluffy buttercream with shortening. I used the high ratio ( and followed the recipe for when using high ratio ) it’s from Bulk Barn.
I’ll be more conscious of when blending them together.
Thanks!
Hi Ladies,
I was wondering if I can freeze a cake once I have frosted it for ease of stacking the tiers while it is still frozen. I heard somewhere that it can be done so you can support it better and center it without damage. I really struggle with stacking with no damage or lopsidedness. Thank you so very much.
Hi Tambra, before I stack my tiers, I do chill them in the freezer for about 15 minutes.. or just until the frosting becomes firm. This makes stacking much easier! If you are using a shortening based frosting, it may take a bit longer to firm up. I don’t recommend freezing the frosted cake for an extended time as condensation can become an issue as it warms to room temperature….but freezing just until the frosting is firm has always worked well for me.