This noncrusting buttercream icing has an incredibly light flavor and texture, and is definately not too sweet. The drawback is that it takes practice to make and to work with. Once you know how to work with it, it can be used to ice a cake with an incredibly smooth and satiny finish. It is also not ideal for warm weather.
Creamy whipped buttercream icing
Instructions
- In 6 qt mixing bowl, slowly beat powdered sugar and 1 1/2 cans of evaporated milk until smooth.
- Add soft butter. Blend well.
- Add shortening. Blend well.
- Add flavorings and continue beating. Slowly add the last half can of milk to the icing and allow icing to blend well. (This is a good time to do any cake prep you have to get done.) If the icing covers the top of the paddle then the icing will eventually blend smooth and creamy with no air bubbles. Beating time can take 20 minutes or more.
- Icing will be soft but with practice can make a beautiful finish. Ices smooth with a spackle tool and does not crust so is easy to re-ice if necessary. Refrigerates firm but does not have to be refrigerated. (I prefer to refrigerate icing once I am done with it but the cake can be left out a couple days with no harm.)
- I have been asked for this recipe several times; however, the icing takes patience to make and patience to work with. You will be rewarded with an incredibly light, buttery icing that is perfect for those who don’t want a sweet icing. Pipes very nice borders and basketweave sides, and can even make roses on a cool day with practice.
- Enjoy!
As healthy as any other buttercream icing!
I wanted to add that recently I decided to add an additional pound of powdered sugar to the first step of the recipe, and I think it improved the flavor by making it a tad sweeter.
Also, if you need the icing to be more stable, use half butter and half shortening....its not as buttery but it helps it hold up better in the summer (although I still do not recommend outside) and also the extra pound of sugar helps hide some of the shortening taste if you are picky about that.
I mostly like this recipe for the glossy look it gives a buttercream-iced cake.
Hello Kitagrl, I just tried this recipe for the first time, and it's the first time for me to work with shortening. It seemed to work well for the most part but I did discover chunks of shortening as I was spreading the BC over my cake. So I was wondering, do I have to soften the shortening like the butter, or is it because I didn't beat the mixture for long enough? Thanks. :)
You probably needed to beat the mixture longer...you should let the mixer run until its perfectly smooth and glossy and forming little smooth ridges on the top surface.