May 19

May 19 Best Buttercream Frosting

Buttercream frosting is perfect for decorating cakes—add a few drops of food coloring to tint to desired color and go to work.

You’ll find most buttercream frosting recipes use butter substitutes, but Brenda believes buttercream frosting should only be made with real butter. Why? To retain the rich, delicious butter flavor. If you’re adamant about using a butter substitute Brenda says, “Swap half for shortening if you don’t mind the loss of flavor.”

Best Buttercream Frosting

To the bowl of a stand mixer, add:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

Beat until creamy. Then stir in:

1 tsp vanilla

Add, scraping sides of bowl often:

2 cups powdered sugar

1 T milk

1 cup powdered sugar

1 T milk

1 cup powdered sugar

Once combined, beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Divide and tint as desired.

Use frosting immediately or store tightly covered in the refrigerator. Naturally bring to room temperature before using.

Brenda’s tips:

Serving size: frosts one 13”x9” cake or 24 cupcakes. May require two or three batches for extensive decorations.
4 cups powdered sugar is ~1 lb. No need to measure by the cup if you use a 1 lb box.
If needed, slightly decrease or increase the milk, 1 tsp at a time, to reach desired consistency.
Maintains structure well for decorating.
Remember to freeze cakes prior to decorating for smooth application of frosting.