Crusting Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (My Favorite for Decorating)

I realized when I posted the Perfect Sugar Cookies a couple of weeks ago that I've never posted how I make buttercream.

Actually, my recipe is pretty common and similar to other buttercream recipes, but nevertheless, I'll show you how I do it.

A couple of notes.  I make a huge quantity of frosting because I usually make large cakes and I need lots of frosting.

Plus, by mixing this large quantity at once, the mixer blade is completely hidden in the frosting, therefore not mixing in a lot of air.  This keeps the frosting especially creamy and smooth for decorating.

This large quantity recipe will make enough to frost and fill a 2 tiered cake.  If you need less, the recipe will easily cut in half, but you may not get the extra smooth and creamy texture if you whip air into the frosting.

I make my frosting in my Kitchenaid Stand Mixer because I make such a huge quantity and for the reasons above, it keeps the frosting super creamy and not airy.

Besides, it would be really hard and take quite awhile to mix this much frosting with my little hand mixer (yep, mine is red!)... and I'm not sure it's up to the job!

So, here's my recipe.

Crusting Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Yield :: About 12 cups of frosting

Ingredients:  

• 2 cups real butter (4 sticks), softened
• 2 cups vegetable shortening (14 ounces)
• 4 pounds of confectioners sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract (use Wilton's Clear Vanilla if you want a whiter frosting, although the "tint" that regular vanilla adds is not noticeable to me)
• 2 teaspoons of Wilton butter flavoring
• 6-8 tablespoons of milk or cream (not pictured)

Directions:

• Add the butter and shortening to the mixing bowl and cream together. Scrape down the sides to be sure that it's completely  mixed together.   

• NOTE: I put my bowl on the scale, zero it, then add the shortening and weigh it.  I do this for 2 reasons - it's more accurate than trying to measure messy shortening in a measuring cup AND it's one less greasy cup to wash!

• Add the vanilla and butter flavors and mix again.

• Slowly add in the confectioners sugar, a little at a time until completely incorporated.  If you have the help of a cute little boy, it's much better.  This will take time and might make a mess.  Again, scrape down the sides of the bowl often.  

• I use this Kitchenaid Mixing Bowl Shield to help keep the sugar in the bowl, although I typically still end up with a thin dusting of sugar all over my kitchen! When all the sugar is added, your frosting will be super thick and dry.  Again, I don't think a regular hand mixer could handle this.  

• At this point, start adding tablespoons of milk or cream to "thin" the frosting to the desired texture.  I usually use milk unless I happen to have cream in the frig, but either works just fine.  I make a fairly thick icing to cover and fill cakes and make it slightly thinner to decorate.

• You can use this immediately or keep in the frig in an airtight bowl for up to 2 weeks.  It can also be frozen for several weeks.  If you're using it out of the frig, make sure its completely thawed and rewhip, adding milk as needed to get the desired texture again.

Today I used some of this frosting to on some St. Patty's Day cupcakes that I made just for fun (I'll share some more pics of them tomorrow), and the rest of the frosting I'll freeze for my next cake project!

*Chocolate Buttercream: Add about 3 cups of cocoa and an extra 5-6 tablespoons of milk to this mixture to make chocolate buttercream.  I didn't measure exactly the last time I made chocolate, but that should be close.

I also use Cream Cheese Buttercream for some of my cakes and you can see that recipe here.

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