American Buttercream is a go-to favorite for many cake artists. This buttercream absorbs both gel and oil-based colors well and has a stable consistency making it easy to work with to ice cakes and pipe for intricate decorations.
Yields about 6.5 cups
Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups Vegetable shortening at room temperature (use Crisco, or use Sweetex high-ratio shortening for professional results)
- 1 cup Unsalted butter at room temperature (salted butter is ok too)
- 1/4 tsp Almond emulsion (or 1/2 tsp of almond extract)
- 1/2 tbsp Vanilla
- 2.5 lbs Sifted powdered sugar - or about 9 cups (to avoid sifting, use powdered sugar sold in plastic bags)
- 4.5 tbsp Milk (or half and half, or water)
- 1 tsp Salt (do not include if using salted butter)
Steps:
- Use a mixer with your paddle attachment to cream shortening, butter, almond, and vanilla until fully incorporated and smooth. Start at the low setting and move to medium setting over time (about 5-7 minutes)
- Reduce speed to low and slowly add one cup of powdered sugar at a time to the shortening mixture. Allow the sugar to incorporate and increase the mixer speed as the sugar absorbs.
- Continue to add sugar until the buttercream appears a bit too dry. At this point, add one tablespoon of milk.
- Alternate between adding sugar and the rest of the milk until all has been added.
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Add the salt and continue to mix until the buttercream is well combined.
Place your buttercream in a sealed container and store in the freezer (up to 6 months) or refrigerator (up to 1 month).
To use:
- Bring the icing to room temperature prior to use.
- Stir the buttercream well to remove an air bubbles. Add some water or milk to increase smoothness.
- Use your spatula and finish with a scrapper to ice your cake.
