• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Decorated Treats

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Cake Recipes
    • Cookies Recipes
    • Frostings, Fillings & Sauces
    • Sweets & Candies
    • Bread & Dough Treats
    • Jellies & Cold Dessert
  • Designs & Tutorials
    • Cakes
    • Cupcakes
    • Cookies & Other Treats
  • Tips & Techniques
    • Preparing Cakes for Decoration
    • Fondant Decorating
    • Piping Techniques
    • Gum Paste Flowers
    • Decorating with Chocolate
    • Other Techniques
  • Resources
    • Contact Me
    • Submit Your Cake Photos
    • Baking Conversion Charts
    • Privacy Policy and Disclaimer

Buttercream Icing for Frosting and Piping

October 11, 2020 by Priya Leave a Comment

Basic buttercream icing recipe for a creamy, fluffy cake icing.
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe Pin Recipe
0 from 0 votes

Great buttercream icing recipe with options to make it stable in warm climates!

A round cake decorated with white buttercream and orange and yellow piped buttercream flowers.

Buttercream icing is probably the most basic type of icing for cakes. There are many different variants of this icing, and I have on this page, 2 different recipes that you can choose for your cakes.

Both recipes use butter and icing sugar as the main ingredients, but the second recipe has shortening added to it and is particularly suitable for warmer climates as butter tends to melt more easily than shortening. I personally prefer to add shortening to my buttercream as I live in a hot and humid country and shortening definitely gives me a more stable buttercream. The taste of the buttercream is off course better with the first version of the recipe that does not use shortening, but the choice is really up to you.

Both recipes yield smooth and creamy icing that is suitable to coat any type of cake, be it a butter cake, fruit cake or sponge cake. The flavor can be varied for chocolate, coffee, mocha, orange or just any other flavor you wish. 


Buttercream Icing Recipe 1

Here is the full printable version for my first buttercream icing recipe. This recipe is made using 100% butter and is more suitable in colder temperatures.

A round cake decorated with pink buttercream rosettes

Buttercream Icing

Basic buttercream icing recipe for a creamy, fluffy cake icing.
0 from 0 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Buttercream Icing
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 600 Buttercream
Author: Priya Maha
Metric – US Customary

Ingredients

  • 200 g butter
  • 400 g icing sugar
  • ½ tsp vanilla essence
  • 2 tbsp milk optional
  • Food coloring optional
Metric – US Customary

Instructions

  • Sieve icing sugar to break lumps.
  • In a separate bowl, cream butter till soft. Add icing sugar, a little at a time, beating continuously. Add vanilla and continue beating until icing is creamy and fluffy.
  • If the icing is too stiff, add milk and beat until smooth.
  • Color as you wish.

Notes

Variations:
Chocolate buttercream: Add 3 – 4 tsp of sifted cocoa powder to the icing above and beat until the cocoa powder is well blended in the icing.
Coffee buttercream:
Prepare the butter icing as above, but omit vanilla essence. Instead, add 1 tsp of instant coffee powder into the icing. Beat well.
Mocha buttercream:
Add 3 tsp of sifted cocoa powder into the coffee buttercream above. Beat well. Use as desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 5kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 1mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 8IU | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 1mg

Buttercream Icing Recipe 2

And this is the full printable version of my second version of the buttercream icing. This recipe has some shortening added to it, making it a lot more stable to work with in warmer climates.

A round cake decorated with white buttercream and orange and yellow piped buttercream flowers. A slice of the cake is cut out

Buttercream Icing 2

Basic buttercream icing recipe for a creamy, fluffy cake icing that works great in warm temperatures.
0 from 0 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Buttercream Icing
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 600 g
Author: Priya Maha
Metric – US Customary

Ingredients

  • 100 g butter
  • 100 g shortening
  • 400 g icing sugar
  • ½ tsp vanilla essence
  • 2 tbsp milk optional
  • Food coloring optional
Metric – US Customary

Instructions

  • Sieve icing sugar to break lumps.
  • In a separate bowl, cream butter and shortening till soft. Add icing sugar, a little at a time, beating continuously. Add vanilla and continue beating until icing is creamy and fluffy.
  • If the icing is too stiff, add milk and beat until smooth.
  • Color as you wish.

Notes

Variations:
Chocolate buttercream: Add 3 – 4 tsp of sifted cocoa powder to the icing above and beat until the cocoa powder is well blended in the icing.
Coffee buttercream:
Prepare the butter icing as above, but omit vanilla essence. Instead, add 1 tsp of instant coffee powder into the icing. Beat well.
Mocha buttercream:
Add 3 tsp of sifted cocoa powder into the coffee buttercream above. Beat well. Use as desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 5kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 1mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 4IU | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 1mg

Happy Decorating 🙂

Previous Post: « Orange Layer Cake With Orange Buttercream and Candied Peels
Next Post: Chocolate Icing Recipe »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Keep in Touch!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Hi there!

I'm Priya, and I'm so excited that you dropped by :)

Welcome to DECORATED TREATS, a place where I share all my cake decorating ideas & true and tried recipes for all things sweet.
More about me here →

Your Cakes Gallery

A 3d ladybug shaped cake in red adn black with black polka dots.

Featured Posts

Candied orange peels in a silver cup

Orange Peel Candy – How to Make Candied Peels

Chocolate dipped orange segments on a wire rack

Chocolate Covered Orange – Quick & Easy Treats Idea

A bunch of square marshmallows stacked up on a white plate

How to Make Marshmallows – Homemade Marshmallows Without Corn Syrup

A glass jar of blue and green mints

Cream Cheese Candy – Easy Homemade Mints

Footer

Follow Me Here

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
Decorated Treats is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Decorated Treats also contains other affiliate links, which if you purchase from may earn me a small commission. The full disclosure policy can be found here.
Privacy Policy & Disclaimer

Copyright © 2021 Decorated Treats on the Foodie Pro Theme