Buttercream Dreams

I developed a healthy respect for bakers long before starting at Baking Buyer. My mother is a great at-home baker, and any coworker that has tried her pumpkin roll will attest to this fact. We bake cookies at nearly every holiday, and this Easter was no different. Well, it was a bit different. You—our bakers—inspired me to make a buttercream frosting for our spring-themed sugar cookie treats.

 

Buttercream has been a big part of the dialogue I've had with you over the past year. In July, I was introduced to Italian buttercreme at Swirlz Cupcakes in Chicago. Italian buttercreme is a meringue-based icing that is lightly sweet and fluffy. Swirlz is so fond of this style of icing that the bakery doesn't even keep confectioner's sugar around! At the September 2008 American Bakery Expo, I heard several wedding cake decorators discuss buttercream vs. fondant. It seems that many of you have perfected techniques for smoothing buttercream. And so, with echoes of buttercream in my head, I set out to make Wilton's Buttercream Recipe from the 2003 Yearbook.

 

I know there are buttercream purists among you that refuse to use shortening. I'll admit it—this recipe calls for half a cup of butter and half a cup of vegetable shortening (I used butter-flavored Crisco). But I'll gladly try any pure-butter recipes you'd like to send my way!

 

My usual family frosting is "buttercream light." I usually grab a fork and whip up some confectioner's sugar, a small dab of butter and a splash of milk. But for the Wilton recipe, I used my mom's trusty red Kitchenaid mixer. Although I dusted the room in a thin coat of confectioner's sugar, I was happy with the results. The icing was easy to spread, and it was nice to put a new spin on our old favorite. I've included picture here, though they aren't the prettiest cookies in the batch (those were eaten first, of course)! I think I may have started a new icing tradition.

 

Keep the buttercream dialogue coming! What do you prefer to work in: buttercream or fondant?

 

 

Comments

[Brenda Campbell]

I detest fondant because it does not taste good... at all! I pretty much use buttercream all the time when I decorate cakes or cookies because it is easier to use and more useful since you can make it nearly any consistency for piping, spreading, or whatever you want to do. I have a recipe somewhere that was in my grandmother's huge box of recipes that was given to me when she passed away and it is made with butter, no shortening. She didn't like shortening and thus did not use it in her frostings, it is the best buttercream ever... now if I can find it... take care!

[Cheri Kovacic]

When it comes to wedding cakes, we do primarily buttercream, including a technique for contoured buttercream that looks like fondant. In cookies, my signature cut-out cookie is iced in royal icing. It makes a beautiful cookie that can be very detailed and is also very tasty!