High Ratio Frosting
This high ratio frosting recipe is a great option to have in your recipe file of favorites! It is light, fluffy, and has a wonderful flavor.
If you are unfamiliar with high ratio shortening, it is a popular choice because it contains emulsifiers which allow it to absorb more sugar and liquid than regular shortening.
You'll love the creamy consistency that high ratio shortening lends to this frosting, and there is no greasy aftertaste. There are many different brands of high ratio frosting, but Sweetex is what we use most often.
Table of Contents
Advantages of Shortening Based Frostings
Probably the biggest advantage of shortening based frostings is that they hold up nicely in warmer weather. Although it isn't heat proof (no frosting is), shortening-based frostings hold up much better in warm conditions than butter based frostings.
Another bonus to shortening based frostings is the white color. Butter-based frostings have a slight yellow tint, and if natural vanilla flavoring is used rather than clear vanilla, it is more of an ivory shade. If a stark white frosting is what your design (or customer) calls for, this frosting is a great choice.
More Extracts may be Needed in shortening-Based Frostings...
Due to the absence of butter in this recipe, we have to rely more heavily on extracts to make this frosting flavorful. There is a lot of wiggle room here and so don't hesitate to do a little experimenting! We hope that you enjoy the recipe!
Have Gritty Buttercream? It Could be Your Powdered Sugar...
** We've had great results with Domino's confectioners sugar and US Sugar (we buy ours from Costco). Some brands of confectioners sugar don't work as well with buttercream frosting recipes.
If a package doesn't say pure cane sugar, it contains beet sugar which is more likely to give you a grainy outcome. In addition to that, we've noticed that even some brands that say "Pure Cane Sugar" will give a grainy consistency.
One example is Dixie Crystals (although it used to work great for us a few years ago.) Something has changed...it's a mystery. Anyway, this recipe should not be grainy, and so if it is, experiment with a different brand of confectioners sugar.
High Ratio Frosting
This easy high ratio frosting pipes perfectly and is a good choice for higher temperatures as it is more heat resistant than butter-based frosting.
Ingredients
- *This Recipe makes a lot of frosting. It can be halved!
- 2 cups (386 g) high ratio shortening (We use Sweetex and CK brands)
- 2 Tablespoons (24 g) clear vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) butter flavoring
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) lemon or almond flavoring
- 4 lbs. (1820 g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 cup (238 g) or more if needed - milk or heavy cream (you get a softer crust using heavy cream)
- ½ to 1 teaspoon (2g to 4g ) salt ( I use popcorn salt because of its fine grain or let your regular salt dissolve in the milk) This will cut the sweetness.
Instructions
- Cream the shortening and flavorings .
- Add the confectioners’ sugar and cream, mixing slowing and gradually increasing speed .
- Mix approx. 8 min. until creamy and smooth, DURING THE LAST 2 TO 3 MINUTES OF MIXING SLOW DOWN THE SPEED TO VERY SLOW THIS WILL ELIMINATE MOST OF THE AIR BUBBLES THAT OCCUR.
- If you are still seeing what looks like bubbles that have burst (small holes) in your buttercream, continue to add milk a teaspoon at a time until most of them disappear.
- This is still sweet though the salt cuts some of the sweetness.
Makes approximately 11 ½ cups
Notes
***We slightly altered this recipe from our previous version, which had 2 lbs (910g) confectioner’s sugar. We still really like the previous version, but it has a much lighter and softer consistency and while it crusted, it didn’t crust quite as firm. Using the Viva paper towel method of smoothing is easier with the updated version.
Hi Claudia, yes you can add unsweetened cocoa to the recipe to make chocolate, I probably would add 1 cup unsweetened cocoa(72 g) then adjusting the amount of liquid to get the consistency you like. I would leave out the lemon/almond extract.
Not sure how I came across this but so delighted that I did. I have been trying to get that "grainy" taste out of my buttercream recipe for years. It also seemed if you ate it immediately not as noticeable but certainly was later. I am sure many won't notice that when eaten on a cake, but it bothered me enough to start buying icing made in the deli at Publix which has gotten SUPER expensive by the pound...and we like a lot of icing on our cakes. I had used several different brands of 10x but will definitely try the dominoes brand and see if that makes a difference. I also at times used a pkg of dry dream whip in my icing recipe and thought that might be the culprit. However when I left it out, I didn't taste a change. Looking forward to making a new batch of buttercream frosting...and eating it.
Thank you for giving great information and not just a recipe.
I'm in Tennessee. We cannot use ANY dairy in our frostings/icings/glazes. Do you have a recipe that can be used mainly for cinnamon rolls without cream cheese, butter, or milk?
Maybe try nondairy creamer?
Could you possibly use a nondairy creamer?
I’m in Mississippi. I use dry milk and reconstitute it with water. Works perfectly.
Can you freeze frosting using Sweetex or is it better to put it in the refrigerator? How long will it last either way? Thank you in advance.
I always freeze my leftover frosting. I'm sure it would be good for a few months or more.
Hello
Thank you for all your videos, I did learn a lot from you so very happy and appreciate your help
I would like to know can I use half butter and half shortening ? Also I’m in Canada and we only have cresco is it ok to use?
Thank you
Hi Rose, You can use just Crisco in the recipe if you would like. You could also use butter and Crisco, I think you can leave out the butter flavoring. High Ratio shortening can hold more liquid. Since you are not using that you will need less milk but I am not sure how much less, just add until you reach the consistency you like. Thank you for your nice comments on the site.
I love this recipe and receive so many compliments when I serve it.
Because it uses Heavy cream, does this frosting need to be refrigerated?
Hi Amy, I'm glad that you like it! For our buttercream frostings, we go with 1-2 days at room temperature as a general rule.