“Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive.”― Barry López.
When I had just started baking , sometimes searching for new recipes was frustrating . Everything was ” my favourite” or “the best ever” or “the world’s greatest” ! How do you choose when you search for vanilla cupcakes and Google Maharaj hands you over some 3678 “ultimate” vanilla cupcakes , all with a different recipe!
And now that I am a blogger myself , I rack my brains for the same superlative adjectives and words to describe my cakes and bakes ! Double standards I tell you !!!
So this is another ” best ever buttercream ” as proclaimed by the blog Not Quite Nigella (don’t you love that name for a food blog!) . It is the brainchild of cake decorator and chocolatier Jessica Pedemont . And the reason I say “brainchild” ,because it is more or less an american buttercream in its essence, but it has a genius ingredient in it ! Which is ….wait for it…. WATER!
I for one don’t like American buttercream much . I do not like making anything that has multiple cups of any type of sugar (there go my double standards again! I am an author at a baking and desserts blog!) . I abhor sifting icing sugar . And am not too fond of the final taste (far too sweet) or texture (more often grainy than not!) . Ofcourse there are some recipes that are better than others and flavours matter , like this fluffy Nutella buttercream .
But yes , in general , American buttercream is not my go-to and I know thats the case for many others. This new (and improved) version of the buttercream is made up of castor sugar (or granulated sugar if you don’t have castor ) , butter and water. I have played around with the quantities a little to make it easier for people who don’t have weighing scales. My adapted version works just fine but check out the original amounts on Not quite Nigella if you do have one . And check out her pretty piped flowers !
The buttercream is smooth , just sweet enough and pipes well ! Its quite similar to the swiss meringue buttercream in texture and taste (although i am still partial to the swiss buttercream !) but doesn’t have eggs … so yay for that !
This is a great solution for those who like the ease of the american buttercream and the taste of the swiss buttercream ! As you can see, its quite easy to make and pipes quite well ( my mediocre piping skills not withstanding!) . This will not crust. Its smooth and luscious and gorgeous . Is it the ” best ever “? Like always , you’ ll need to try and let me know!
For another good and a lot more different egg free frosting option , check out the Flour buttercream !
The "new" buttercream
Ingredients
- 221 grams or 1 cup salted or unsalted butter , at room temperature
- 112 grams or 1/2 cups castor sugar
- 60 ml or 1/4 cups water
- 1 tablespoon vanilla essence or flavouring of choice
Instructions
- Make sure the butter is at room temperature . If you press it , it should show the indentation of your finger but shouldn't be all mushy. Beat the butter in a mixing bowl using a handheld electric mixer or stand mixer for 6-8 minutes at low speed until it is all smooth and almost white.You can also use a wooden spoon.
- Add in quarter cup of the sugar and 2 tablespoons of the water ( half amounts of both) and beat until fully incorporated and smooth. It shouldn't feel grainy . Scrape the bowl as needed.
- Add in the remaining quarter cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of the water and beat until smooth and fluffy and not grainy . This will take about 4-5 minutes depending on your mixer.
- You can now add the vanilla / extract of choice and beat until incorporated. Your buttercream is ready to use!
- Mango buttercream : I added 1/4 cup thick mango puree from one mango for this mango buttercream that I used in my Mango and vanilla layer cake.
- Chocolate buttercream : I added 100 grams melted chocolate for this chocolate buttercream that I used in my Rocky road cake.
Notes
- This can be stored in the refrigerate for upto a week and frozen for two months. Bring to room temperature and rewhip to desired consistency before using.
- If you don't have castor or super fine sugar , pulse your regular sugar in the blender or processor once. You could also use granulated sugar but will need to beat the buttercream more.
- You can use salted butter if your butter is only mildly salted and you don't like too sweet a buttercream .
Had no icing sugar for buttercreaming today’s cake….so a quick Google found me your super recipe Absolutely love the result although instead of adding water I replaced with coffee and it’s perfect Thanks for the tips!
So glad it worked for you… I have used coffee here too . And fruit puree! works a charm every time !
Hi
I tried this and found when you rebeat the next day it tends to separate. Is this due to the water content? I’m a bit concerned if the water would leak in to the cake if left to stand a day or two
Hi… it doesnt…. when using it after refrigerating , get it to room temperature and then rebeat… never had any leakage issues !
Do you have to grind up granulated sugar before you make this frosting? I’ve never seen castor sugar in a store. Usually it is granulated or powdered. I find American buttercream cloyingly sweet with too much sugar and too much time sifting powdered sugar. I love “stove top” frostings but they are fair bit of work so trying to find a fast less sweet alternative.
Hi Camille… yes , u need to grind up granulated sugar. Not to a powder , just to smaller granules like those of castor sugar. So that the sugar dissolves faster when you beat. You should try this.. it isnt sweet like traditional American buttercream ..
Hi Akshata
Today tried your new buttercream icing. OMG it’s magical,so smooth. Thank you so so much for sharing this amazing recipe. One query please, I found it very mildly sweet. Can I increase the amount of sugar a little?
So so stoked you liked the buttercream. You can add more sugar. One or two tablespoons extra both times that you add while making it. I wouldnt add more than 1/4 cup extra though. Would make it too sweet and not the same texture.. hope this helps !
Hi Akshata,
Please could you let me know which brand of butter you use? My buttercream doesn’t come out so well at all, it is either too thick or thin.
Also, you have used castor sugar and not icing sugar, do you think it is because i have used icing sugar for my buttercream and hence it doesn’t hold up?
Hi Laura…I am not particular about brand of butter – i have used Amul, Nandini, Milky Mist , President among many brands. Make sure your butter is at room temperature- If you press a finger on it , the impression should be left behind but the butter should hold its shape and not go all melty. About the sugar, this recipe is specifically meant for castor sugar. So icing sugar wouldnt give you the same results. If you are using icing sugar, just beat butter and add three times the amount in volume of icing sugar ( for 1 cup butter, add 3 cups of icing sugar ) after sifting in 3-4 additions. Beat well until the buttercream is smooth. Add flavouring of choice. Hope this helps!
Hello, i have a couple of questions if you dont mind answering…
1) Can i pipe roses with this?
2) I plan on frosting in the morning and leaving the cake on my counter till event in the afternoon. Im concerned as my refrigerator cannot hold my cake (12 x 3 layer cake) so it has to stay out. Will it be ok?
3) Being left out is it safe for a pregnant woman to eat? It is for a baby shower.
4) can i make it more stable by substituting shortening for part of thr butter?
Thank you!
Hi May… So sorry for the late reply.. Some issues with the comments section. 1)you can pipe roses with this 2)unless the room is extremely hot, it will be fine in air conditioning or regular room temperature for few hours 3)its safe for a pregnant lady to eat 4)yes part shortening will make it more stable!
Thanks for interesting recepie. Will give a try soon. Just one query when we add puree or crush for flavor then do we hv to skip the water. Plz guide
Hi Geethanjali… Yes, you can use an equal quantity of crush or coffee or puree instead of water. Once the buttercream is made, if the flavour isn’t strong enough, you can add more at the end.
Hey, this recipe was so good. I had no icing sugar and I wanted to make chocolate icing, so I made your icing and I added 1/2 a cup baking cocoa, and it turned put great. Its really nice and fluffy. Thanks so much:-)
Thats great to know Summer ! Thanks for trying it !
Hi Akshata, will this buttercream recipe hold well under a fondant cake?
Hi Namrata … i don’t work with fondant , but others tell me they have used it under fondant. It can be piped easily and holds for a couple of hours at room temperature . If that can give you an idea f the consistency…
Hi thr BC looks v good n easy one querry though in mango n chocolate butter cream r we replacing 60 ml water with mango puree n melted chocolate. If yes use 60 ml of puree or melted chocolate. Am ii right. Thank u
Hi Latha .. u can make a plain buttercream and add 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup mango puree or melted chocolate to it at the end.. ☺
Great Raji ! Glad to know this turned out well for you. Yes, u can make another batch and mix it to the old one.. you will need to beat it together.
Hi 🙂
I tried this today and it came out really nice.I am not a big fan of AMBC and have tried and thrown away a lot of buttercream till today.This suits my taste 🙂 Thank you. 🙂 . I actually tried half of the recipe mentioned.Planning to make more to decorate a two tier cake.If I make one more batch and mix it with the already prepared batch, will it be good? 🙂
Thanks Shiffy for the feedback and the tip !!!
Just a tip for those using granulated sugar – powder the sugar in a blender to a fine powder and sift into the bowl for mixing. Else it tastes gritty.
Thanks a lot for this recipe. This went well with you red velvet cupcakes.
Thank you for replying. BTW got 2 know about this space via BFB 🙂
Hi Elsa… it makes about 2 cups of buttercream 🙂
How many cups will the glen amount yield?
Thanks, Aksh. That sounds great! I used the regular buttercream this time as I was in a hurry, but I’m definitely trying this soon…may be this week itself. Will let you know 🙂
Hi Vijaya !!! Room temperature in 10 hours, rosettes should hold it reasonably well if you whip it properly to your desired consistency. I have kept it out for 6-7 hours and the piping has held. If you do try, let me know!
Hi Aksh, this seems wonderful. I’m lookng forward to try it out today. Just one question though. How well does it hold in summers. I’m thinking of using this to decorate 15 cupcakes (rosette patten) that need to stay at room temperature for about 10 hours. Will it hold the shape? Thanks for taking out time to respond. Regards, Vijaya
Thanks a lot Aksh for your reply. Trying it out soon 🙂
Hey Praba..thanks for visiting ! While both buttercreams are smooth in texture . the flour buttercream is sweeter than this one and has a “different” taste which must be because of the flour. This one is “buttery” in taste. I also think this one is easier to pipe with and quick to make. The flour buttercream is a good option for egg free , less sweet buttercream and is interesting to try, but if I had to choose one among the two for regular use – it would be this “new” buttercream. 🙂
Can you replace the butter with fat spread?
Hi Lucy… i am afraid i havent tried it with fat spread . But i would say it is worth a try !
That sounds interesting. Just wanted to know how does it differ in taste and texture from flour butter cream? TIA