Blissful Buttercream

 This sweet and creamy buttercream pairs perfectly with my Party Perfect Yellow Cake. In fact, it pairs well with most cakes. The base is simple, and it can be adapted to suit your needs e.g., you can add any flavor extract you like, in lieu of vanilla extract to create a different flavor. You can also use cream cheese in place of butter if you want something tangier. You may also choose to use ricotta or mascarpone cheese. They are all delicious choices but will be quite different from the buttercream below. I prefer to add a bit of shortening to my frosting, especially in warmer weather. I find it gives my frosting the consistency and stability I’m looking for. This is entirely optional. If you want a classic American buttercream, omit the shortening, and add more butter in its place.

Ingredients:

4 ½-5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 ½ cups salted butter at room temperature. It is my opinion that salted butter is key to a good buttercream. You can use unsalted butter and add your own salt. I find using salted butter gives the perfect amount of salt without the graininess that salt can add to your frosting.

4 Tbs shortening

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2-4 Tbs heavy cream

Directions:

Using a handheld or stand mixer, cream butter and shortening well. Approximately 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar in thirds and combine well between batches. Add vanilla extract and slowly add heavy cream until the desired consistency is reached. The longer you mix, the fluffier your frosting will be. Two-three minutes should do the trick.

This frosting spreads and pipes well. I often use a very laid back and casual approach when frosting my cakes (as my image shows). It produces a rustic, homemade touch that I like. However, I tend to pipe this buttercream with a 1M star tip when I use it on cupcakes. I love the versatility and predictability this frosting recipe offers. It also freezes beautifully and comes back to life with a quick whip of the mixer.