Buttercream - The Queen of Versatile Icing
Buttercream have many variations. In fact, there are enough buttercream recipes to fit the purpose of any type of cake for any type of occasion. You can use this icing for frosting, filling, piping borders and writing as well as making some gorgeous flowers.
Butter and cream are generally the main ingredients of buttercream icing; however, there are variations that do not call for butter or only use a small amount of butter. Some buttercreams will make a crust and others will not. Some buttercreams are of a creamy yellow, while being rich in butter. Some buttercreams use more shortening in the recipe than real butter; they have the ability to stand the hot weather of summer garden weddings. You can find buttercreams in nearly any color you can think of with a scrumptious flavor.
How many buttercream variations are there? I am not sure, most likely too many to count with new recipes being invented all the time in the kitchens all over the world. However, this is one of my most favorites and it is perfect to use for fillings!
Strawberry Buttercream
- 1 cup of softened butter
- 2 (16-ounce) packages of sifted confectioners’ sugar
- 1 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries
You will cream the butter until fluffy and light in a large to medium mixing bowl. Add the sugar, chopped strawberries, and then beat until creamy. If the frosting is too thin, add more sugar. If it is too thick simply, add more strawberries. This will make 3 cups of icing.
After filling the cake using this delicious strawberry buttercream, you can make a smooth buttercream canvas to cover the cake using snow-white buttercream. In order to make snow-white buttercream you will:
Use your favorite buttercream recipe, then replace the butter with shortening, and then add 1 teaspoon of butter flavoring for a rich buttery tasting icing.
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Another tip for you! Although buttercreams are wonderfully tasty, sometimes you need a shortening buttercream base, for instance to make snow-white buttercream or to decorate a cake that will endure the exposure of summer humidity and heat. When making buttercream icing, you should only use brand name shortening such as Crisco, which features more emulsifiers. This means that it will blend better without having a greasy taste.
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