I hate American Buttercream…so I invented a new frosting
812,548
Published 2022-08-11
For the written updated recipe, plus all of my notes and explanations, go here:
www.sugarologie.com/recipes/american-dreamy-butter…
The chocolate version of this recipe is here:
www.sugarologie.com/recipes/chocolate-buttercream-…
⭐️ If you need another quantity of frosting, please go to my Cakeculator and select "American Dreamy Buttercream" for the frosting. I have multiple sizes of this recipe.
cakeculator.sugarologie.com/
INGREDIENTS👇🏼
For 3 cups
1 1/2 cups (340g) unsalted butter, softened slightly
2/3 cups (208g) light corn syrup or glucose syrup*
1 1/4 cups (141g) powdered sugar (unsifted ok)**
1/8 teaspoon fine salt (to taste, start with a pinch)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-6 tablespoons of heavy cream, cold (optional, pls see footnotes)***
purple gel food coloring (optional)
*I use Karo light corn syrup, a syrup of sugars (glucose + maltose) derived from corn. (High fructose syrup is a different type of syrup and not what I’m using here. Actually I'd be really surprised if as a home baker you have the syrup; it's not sold in conventional grocery stores.) The “light” is just an indication of the color of the syrup, not the sweetness. You’ll probably be able to substitute other syrups here if you like, but corn syrup is a flavorless option that allows us to customize this recipe for different flavors later on. If you sub something else, know that corn syrup is less sweet than other syrups. Agave and honey are both very sweet (actually agave contains more fructose than high fructose corn syrup). If you have invert syrup, you could use that too, but that is also sweeter than corn syrup. You’ll likely have to use less than what I’ve written in this recipe.
**This is a little over the maximum amount of sugar that will dissolve in the water contained in the butter. If you want less sweet buttercream, use less. If you wish for a stiffer consistency or sweeter buttercream, use more. Just know the more you add, the more grainy the finished buttercream will be. Don’t worry, though; it will still be light years smoother than a traditional American buttercream.
***I've gotten feedback from you all and now have tested ways that you can tailor the texture of this buttercream. Some bakers like their buttercreams to lean towards buttery and prefer a denser feel for frosting cakes and piping. But if it's too much for you, add some heavy cream. Start with one tablespoon of cold heavy cream, then whisk on high speed. Keep repeating this process until you like the texture. The butter can emulsify more liquid, but you'll want to stop when it reaches a very firm and thick Greek yogurt-type consistency. If you get to the point where it looks too loose or perhaps broken, don't worry. Just add softened butter, one tablespoon at a time, then whip on high speed to reform the emulsion. (You may have to add a touch of powdered sugar to get the sweetness back up as well.)
🍯 The HONEY version of this buttercream can be found here:
www.sugarologie.com/recipes/honey-buttercream-reci…
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All Comments (21)
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She’s part baker, part scientist. Someone get this woman a cape and crown!!!! 🥰🥰
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"Moderation in everything, right?" Cuts to shot of EIGHT sticks of butter 😆
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I made this recipe once, and for some reason the powdered sugar didn't dissolve completely so it was still a bit gritty. So on my second attempt, I heated up the corn syrup (90 seconds in the microwave), mixed in the powdered sugar, let that all cool down a little bit, and mixed it into the whipped butter in 3 parts. Worked great, no grittiness whatsoever!
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I never, never, never like American Buttercream.....I am now a convert!!! I have been baking for over 40 years. I used to make french buttercream, a la Julia Child. Delish!! I then discovered Swiss Meringue...my go to frosting and an absolutely divine icing. That became my go to. I did get a lot of complements but one person told me that the icing wasn't sweet enough. I saw this video and decided to try it...I AM A CONVERT! Simple and delish! Made three types of cupcakes for a family picnic and froze them all a couple of days before the event. They all defrosted beautifully and the chocolate one was heavenly!! I used to do wedding cakes, I wish I had known about this icing back then. I am so very glad that I found your video. Thank you so very much!
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I attempted this today, and normally I wouldn’t care to comment but I figure some people may be reading the comments to hear some other opinions - it looks great and the texture is really nice, but the ratios as-is are really butter forward and I can’t help but feel like I’m just eating sweet butter! It tastes okay, not the worst frosting ever, but I wish I had added more powdered sugar to hide the butter flavor more. (Which, of course, defeats the purpose a bit to keep it smooth and not grainy)
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I love that you described the honey version as glorious. That's exactly what I spontaneously say when I taste honey buttercream. Glorious!
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I can’t tell you how much it helps me to see someone else have a scientific approach to baking. It saves me having to do it 😅
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I tried this buttercream recipe three times now...let me tell y'all...if you are not a fan of the classic American buttercream and find it way too rich and way too sweet and thick....THIS! This is the recipe to use. I made a few cakes for my husband and his coworkers and everyone loved it and said it was perfect and not too sweet! Everyone was pleased with how they were able to enjoy a whole slice without wanting to gag from all the sugar and all the richness. THIS IS A MUST TRY! And this will be my go to frosting from now on.
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When I started my pastry career, my mom challenged me to find an alternative frosting, Swiss meringue is my go to !
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Condensed milk in buttercream is a dream, it’s so hot here in Bali so my buttercream would need shortening in it to be stable. I usually use 1:3 shortening to butter ratio then add sweetened condensed milk. Silky smooth butter cream that stand hot temp
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I add 4 oz of soft cream cheese to give the buttercream a smoother texture as well as a richer flavor for every 2 sticks of butter.
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It's like watching Alton Brown as a kid!! 😍 I love this so much!
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Oh my gosh, I have long wanted to do exactly this, but I’ve never taken the plunge. You are the first baker I have seen do it, and you explained so well why it works. Finally going for it!
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She gives me big Adam Raguesea vibes. Finding relatable problems with foods, fixing them, while providing great explanations backed by science. Great work!
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If you think that the corn starch is a factor in the grittiness of powdered sugar, you can make your own powdered sugar at home by putting regular granulated sugar in the food processor. It should dissolve more smoothly. You could also mix it with boiling water, rather than room temperature water.
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Here’s the deal… I don’t like frosting. I never have. And this frosting is DELICIOUS. I don’t have a kitchen aid, I have my mom’s 30ish year old Bosch. Whipped it up, and since I don’t have the paddles, smoothed it out with the dough hook. Weird, but it worked. This frosting is delightfully silky smooth, buttery (which I love!), and light enough I don’t feel like I’m chomping on sugar. I’ve always had gritty, over-sweetened buttercream problems. This one is fabulous.
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Solubility is the reason why so many old fashioned frosting/icing recipes require preparation over heat.
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When I make American buttercream it’s never gritty, it’s not my favorite either but still never a weird texture!
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Hi there! Chemist here, just clarifying some of the chemistry concepts :) I think you were confusing the concept of molecules with particles. So the water isn't causing the sucrose molecules to get any smaller, but they are making the particle size smaller, and they do that in exactly the manner you described - the water molecules are pulling the individual sugar molecules away from one another. The water essentially surrounds the sucrose molecules, something we refer to as a sphere of solvation (for general solvents) - in this case we call it a sphere of hydration (since the solvent here is specifically water). That causes the average particle size to shrink! From the size of a grain of sugar to the size of a molecule :) I really love the process you go through with these videos, and I just wanted to clarify some accidental misinformation since it's obvious that you're doing your best to give scientific information to your viewers so that they can make better informed decisions in their baking and icing :)
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So appreciate all your time, research, efforts and written info:)
