buttercream recipe (for piping stars)

Does anyone have a buttercream icing recipe which they would recommend for piping stars on a cake? I see a lot of variation in the shortening to butter ratio in the various buttercream recipes.

I prefer a buttercream made with butter only and use the easy vanilla buttercream from Cooks Illustrated. Check out this blogwhere she compares various recipes.

Thanks, Pucca - buttercream and I just don't get along - the stuff I made for Sparky's birthday cupcakes (which I just realized I owe a post about,) although fine, still had that grainy texture I abhor in many buttercreams. I did use essentially that same recipe with confectioner's sugar and I whipped the snot out of it, but slightly grainy it remained (not bad, easy to use, but with the texture you find in many bakery buttercreams.) I know it's possible to make a smooth version, but I haven't had success.

I have not, as yet, found the frosting of my dreams (other than ganache.)

I also prefer an all butter version. If you ever eat buttercream and feel that your mouth gets unpleasantly - to me anyway - coated with an ingredient, that's not an all butter version because butter melts at body temperature.

I have a question about handling cakes with buttercream made with all butter. How long can these stay in a 75 degree room? I think that I will use chocolate ganache between layers.

Mhays, I know what you mean about grainy buttercreams, but I have found the easy vanilla buttercream from CI to be smooth.

shorty - I'm no pastry chef, but I think your all butter buttercream cake should be fine in a 75 degree room. FYI - Half of the cupcakes I brought to the August dessert exchange were frosted w/the CI recipe.

I looked at the two recipes side-by-side, and, as I should have guessed, Pucca's recipe has about half the sugar (and apparently makes about twice the amount of frosting): the ratio of butter to sugar in Pucca's linked recipe is about 1 to 1 by weight, and the ratio of butter to sugar in mine is about 1 to 2 by weight. Hers also has double the vanilla.

I'll definitely try the easy buttercream next time!

I just logged into CI to view the actual recipe, and it uses 1/2 vanilla bean and 1/2 tsp vanilla if anyone really wants to be precise.

If you have a grainy buttercream, this could be the result of not cooking the sugar to the proper temperature or not wiping down the sugar crystals on the side of the pot (assuming you're preparing a cooked buttercream).

Pucca wrote:I prefer a buttercream made with butter only and use the easy vanilla buttercream from Cooks Illustrated. Check out this blogwhere she compares various recipes.

I can easily find heavy whipping cream, but not heavy cream. Can heavy whipping cream and heavy cream be used interchangeably?

shorty wrote:

Pucca wrote:I prefer a buttercream made with butter only and use the easy vanilla buttercream from Cooks Illustrated. Check out this blogwhere she compares various recipes.

I can easily find heavy whipping cream, but not heavy cream. Can heavy whipping cream and heavy cream be used interchangeably?

As far as I know, they are one and the same.

shorty wrote:

Pucca wrote:I prefer a buttercream made with butter only and use the easy vanilla buttercream from Cooks Illustrated. Check out this blogwhere she compares various recipes.

I can easily find heavy whipping cream, but not heavy cream. Can heavy whipping cream and heavy cream be used interchangeably?

As far as I know, they are one and the same.

Pucca wrote:I prefer a buttercream made with butter only and use the easy vanilla buttercream from Cooks Illustrated. Check out this blogwhere she compares various recipes.

The easy vanilla buttercream frosting tastes really good. I made it today. I am going to make the yellow and purple ladybug at http://www.wilton.com/idea/Seeing-Spots-Lady-Bug. I wanted to do an easier cake. It is already hard enough trying to find the time to make the cake. Here is what I did so far today: 1) Make the cake batter, 2) take my kid to kindergarten, 3) bake the cake, 4) take my other kid to a class, 5) wrap the cake up and put it in the fridge, 6) run an errand, 7) torte the cake using toothpicks and dental floss, make the easy vanilla buttercream, 9) run another errand. I still have to make the dam + add the filling, crumb coat, frost + decorate the outside of the cake. I am not sure how people find the time to make and decorate a cake (from scratch).

Before applying the crumb coat, do you typically freeze and then slightly defrost your layers?

shorty wrote: I am not sure how people find the time to make and decorate a cake (from scratch).

Don't know about you, but I scheduled my baby for a summer birthday. (Plus, I screw it up...often)

I've never minded frozen or partially-frozen cake, and I think it's a lot easier to deal with, especially if the cake has to travel. Are you making a cake for school, or is this for at-home consumption?

The cake is for at home consumption. It will be served to relatives.

I had a lot of problems with crumbs coming off the cake when I applied the crumb coat (even with the icing thinned out to an almost glaze consistency). Next time I will try to frost it when the cake is more frozen.

I already had a bad start due to the cake not coming out cleanly out of the ladybug pan (even though I had brushed on enough crisco and floured it so that there were no bare spots). The only part of the cake which was not sticking was the part on top of the parchment paper (which covered the bottom of the pan). I might have to find a different cake recipe which does not stick so much to the pan.

If you have a grainy buttercream, this could be the result of not cooking the sugar to the proper temperature or not wiping down the sugar crystals on the side of the pot (assuming you're preparing a cooked buttercream).

The linked recipe is for an uncooked buttercream and will naturally end with a grainy buttercream. I don't mind the texture of uncooked buttercreams, but if you want a completely smooth buttercream I think the only way to do it is with a cooked sugar syrup.

shorty wrote:The cake is for at home consumption. It will be served to relatives.

I had a lot of problems with crumbs coming off the cake when I applied the crumb coat (even with the icing thinned out to an almost glaze consistency). Next time I will try to frost it when the cake is more frozen.

I already had a bad start due to the cake not coming out cleanly out of the ladybug pan (even though I had brushed on enough crisco and floured it so that there were no bare spots). The only part of the cake which was not sticking was the part on top of the parchment paper (which covered the bottom of the pan). I might have to find a different cake recipe which does not stick so much to the pan.

I find frozen cakes much easier to crumb coat. I'll freeze or refrigerate after that, prior to the next action on the cake.

Have you tried "Baker's Joy"? It is a pan spray that has the flour in it; much easier than greasing and flouring a pan.

Please post pictures of the completed cake.

Here is the cake.



The cake + description is at http://www.flickr.com/photos/42233001@N06/3891699148/

Cake with writing on cake board. I added a Happy Birthday message in black gel underneath the ladybug.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42233001@N06/3891803344/

Frosting the double chocolate layer cake is really overkill. If I were making this cake for myself, I would probably make a one layer double chocolate cake and serve it with raspberry puree and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The cake is already rich enough as it is that no frosting is needed.

I had wanted to make a lemon cake with lemon curd, but I thought that lemon and the chocolate mint decorations would not taste good together.

Very cute, shorty!

Very cute. I love the details for the face!

Thanks for the comments. The cake was fun to make.

I'd like to make the whitest buttercream possible without using lard or spending a ton of dough. Does anyone know of a good, pale butter to recommend that's in the $5 per pound range? I'm making a baby shower cake with lots of pink shit, and pink & yellow just don't go.

Thanks!

HI,

I just buy unsalted butter, though you may want to think about vanilla. Sometimes people use clear (artificial) vanilla to keep the frosting from tinting off white. I happen to like ivory over bright white, thus I use regular vanilla.

I also like using cream cheese for frosting, it is undeniably white!

Regards,

(Did I mention this upthread already - I did look, but it seems that a bit of fluff in my eye, or perhaps my head) I love this white marscapone-based filling from Epicurious. I used a piping bag to fill the cake, and it stands up beautifully, though it may be sensitive to heat - it's my favorite non-chocolate frosting ever.