I need some help from you Moms who decorate cakes. I just started cake decorating (for my family) and I use my trusted buttercream frosting recipe. Everyone in the family loves it and looks forward to it. Unfortunately, it is definitely a shade of yellow, due to the amount of butter used. I've had trouble coloring with lighter colors (i.e. pink looks like light orange, etc.) and some of my decorating requires white. My question: is there any way to whiten a traditional buttercream? Before I abandon my recipe (which I don't want to do!) and change to a Royal Icing recipe, I thought I would check to see if anyone has any helpful hints. Thanks!
Thanks everyone! My recipe is truly "old school"...it uses 1.25 pounds of butter (5 sticks) and you have to cook the granulated sugar to an exact temperature until the "soft-ball stage." Then you whisk the soft-ball sugar into egg yolks. It tastes *incredible* compared to the simple buttercreams! Unfortunately, I'm finding out it's not the best consistency for decorating, so I'll be trying out all of your recipes soon. I've never heard of dye free butter or white margarine -- that's great information. I've been using the color gels rather than food coloring. And I am not brave enough to attempt fondants yet.
I use the Wilton class buttercream recipe, which comes out white.
1c shortening (get a nonhydronated brand like Spectrum)
4c powdered sugar
1Tb meringue powder
1/2tsp CLEAR vanilla. - that's important!
1/2tsp CLEAR butter flavor
2Tb water
Beat with a mixer until fluffy. Add additional water to thin out buttercream for spreading on a cake.
I utilize dye free butter.a lot of them are colored with either annato or another food colring as we are used to yellow butter. When I can't find it I use the huge costo heavy cream and toss it in the food processor while I am prepping and make my own butter. I also use the liquid produced to help change consistency in frostings, and moisten cakes. In the olden days they would use a boiled carrot to color butter for special occasions so this color issue goes way back.
hi -
here is the recipe I use and i haven't had issues with it being yellow (not sure what your recipe is)
Simple Buttercream Icing:
8 cups of powered sugar (high quality e.g. C&H Cane Powdered Sugar)
2 cups room temperature Butter (LAND O LAKES)
½ cup whole milk room temp (not skim milk)- or use heavy cream
Mix butter and sugar until sugar “comes together”/is smooth. Add milk and beat low speed 2 minutes. Use high quality butter (e.g. Land O’Lakes is the best on the open market). Lower grade butters have higher water content. Wrap a towel around mixer to keep sugar from flying.
Some other tips:
- use a clear flavoring (e.g. not vanilla extract)
- try Crisco
good luck!
Wilton cake decorating has a small bottle of whitening for frostings. It looks like an edible " white out." Depending on how white you want your icing will depend on the ingredients you use. Wilton's new Butter cream frosting uses merginue powder, because Crisco shortening changed their recipe to make it a healthier shortening. You could use all shortening and flavor it with a clear vanilla and butter flavoring. Personally, I like Penszey's spices located on the web and in Naperville, IL. It is a dark color flavoring, but excellent vanilla taste. Possibility is to change to a combination lemon, orange or almond extract. They are pure and have a great taste.
Hope this helps.
J.
If I am not mistaken I saw a product a few years back that Wilton puts out that whitens frosting. maybe it was merange powder. Check their website. The website might have a discussion board with professional bakers where you can pose the question.
If you put more sugar your frosting will get stiffer, and it will be hard to put through a decorator tube. Subsituting crisco for the butter is an option. Or try another recipe. Here is one from wilton:
http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Snow-White-Buttercream-Icing
This icing comes out totally white and can be tinted to any shade you want.
Cake Decorators Icing
Basic Recipe:
1 cup of flour
1 cup of shortening
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of water
- icing sugar
Mix flour and shortening till fluffy and add salt. Add water a little at a time mixing after each addition. Add icing sugar a little at a time until desired consistency is achieved.
You may not want to do it... but I put on a double thick layer of buttercream or ganache (depending on the cake)... and then roll out fondant. I don't have an airbrush... so I just take gel dye and kneed it into the fondant. Fondant, of course, tastes terrible (well, it tastes like sugar paste). When I'm slicing the cake, I just peel it off and serve, or instruct others to peel it off.
I've never tried it, but I've read that you can add a drop of blue food coloring to make a yellow butter cream frosting white.
Can you use margarine in place of the butter? If so, check at some of your local bakeries for white margarine. The recipe I use calls for sweetex (a sweetened shortening) and white margarine. The only place I've found either is at local bakeries.
Its not just your butter its also the egg yolks. Try using a meringue based recipe and the more you whip it the whiter it will be. In my opinion meringue based buttercream also has a lighter taste to it and not as sweet. Good luck!
did you try separating it -see if adding more milk and powdered sugar do, definitely a sticky problem haaha!!!
I would just substitute Crisco for part of the butter. I usually use the Wilton recipe too. It's not quite as good with less butter, but it's still pretty good! Also, you can try using the gel colors instead of just food coloring...the gel colors are more intense.
don't know what recipe you use, but I use the Wiltons recipe (you can find it online on Wiltons website) I haven't had any issues with it turning yellow.. you use part crisco and part butter.. or maybe it is yellow and I havent noticed..
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don't know what recipe you use, but I use the Wiltons recipe (you can find it online on Wiltons website) I haven't had any issues with it turning yellow.. you use part crisco and part butter.. or maybe it is yellow and I havent noticed..
Dye free butter, or use Crisco and clear butter flavoring.
you can find an organic shortening at Whole Foods if you don't want to use crisco. Jungle something or other.
try adding a little more powdered sugar my last batch was a little yellow but not bad.
I have a friend taking a cake dec class right now and she makes her buttercreams with crisco to keep them bright white. Don't know how that tastes but they look pretty. Have also heard of color free butter.
