Instant Buttercream?

emzolita

hey,
I am useless at making Buttercream, and have tried and barely succeeded in making a few diff recipes.
The best being, 50/50 butter and sugar with a bit of vanilla. But it doesn't go very far, and sometimes sliding off the cake. Should I leave it to stiffen up before piping, or pipe while butter is soft?

Has anyone encountered Instant Buttercream icing, (I know it wont taste as nice, but I dont care :P) and where did you get it?

Alliteratively, do you have a failproof recipe for buttercream?

Thanks a mill
Em xx

Wurly

Hey there - usually I use double sugar to butter ratio for a thick buttercream. Maybe you could try this and see how it works? I would also tend to leave it standing for about 15 mins to thicken up.

I've never seen instant buttercream. Sorry.:(

annamcmahon

You can buy tubs of Dr Oetker buttercream or frosting but I don't imagine it would be very nice. I use the equal quantities of unsalted butter and icing sugar method and cream it for at least 10mins but up to 15/20.

Princess Peach

I've used the Betty Crocker frosting a few times and find it tastes pretty well. It doesn't pipe well at all though, but maybe you could try thinning it down. Usually I use it to make cake pops or when I'm whipping up something fast and don't really have time to pipe nicely anyway. But I do think its an ok substitute! Comes in chocolate or vanilla.

ZombieMed

I use this recipe with great success.. if you're not familiar with cup measures you can google the weight conversions easily.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/MAGNOLIA-BAKERY-VANILLA-CUPCAKES-WITH-VANILLA-BUTTERCREAM-ICING-50055058

Generally you need at least 2 cups icing sugar, but depending on your taste may not need the full 4 - the full 4 will have a stiff frosting - up to that it can be softer.. you want to add enough that it will stand in the bowl with a relatively stable peak (doesn't need to be perfectly stable).

I wouldn't bother with instant buttercreams - this is lovely and your guests will prefer it.

Magic Monkey

emzolita wrote: »

But it doesn't go very far, and sometimes sliding off the cake. Should I leave it to stiffen up before piping, or pipe while butter is soft?

Wilton have a good Buttercream recipe. In grams, 1/2 cup shortening is approx. 200g, and 1/2 cup butter is 113g. 1lb. of icing sugar is 454g. Shortening has a higher melting point than butter, so it'll hold up better, but won't taste as good as using all butter.

The really important things to remember are:

-Make sure your butter is at room temperature, and ideally cut it into cubes before mixing
-Sift the icing sugar well and add it in four parts
-Scrape down the sides of the bowl after adding/mixing in each 1/4 of icing sugar
-If it looks curdled or dry, just continue to beat - buttercreams come together eventually

If your kitchen is warm, and it's really soft, refrigerate it (covered) until it reaches the texture you're looking for. And once you master this, you can move onto the other types: French, Swiss, German, Italian Meringue, Boiled, etc., and all the variations thereof

EZ24GET

If you use canned icing (Betty Crocker) it tates a bit fresher if you add a little (1 tsp) real vanilla and mix it in well.
It isn't good for piping though just too fluffy. It does make a good drizzle though, just heat in micro a bit until it's pourable. Looks nice poured over and drizzled down bundt or tube cakes.