The Perfect Buttercream (not too sweet and perfect for piping)

Thanks for sharing!

This twist on American buttercream frosting stands up to a warm day, is perfect for piping and it’s not too overly sweet.  It the perfect buttercream for summer!

This frosting does it all without making your teeth ache! When decorating cakes in the heat and humidity, you have to break out a few tricks to make it work. This is the American style buttercream I have been loving.

I am sure you all know I don’t need much of an excuse to play with frosting. It’s one of my favorite things after all.

As the summer weather and outdoor entertaining season rolled in, I figured I had better update my frosting recipe to hold up better.

Some of my favorite frosting recipes are soft to start with.  So delicious recipes like creamy caramel sweetened condensed milk frosting, ermine frosting, and even maple cream cheese frosting taste great but are not ideal if they are meant to be outside for too long in the heat.

My favorite sweetened condensed milk buttercream does form a light crust that can hold up to transport.  But with my brother’s wedding on the horizon and 100 degree temperatures looming, I figured I had better take my heat proof frosting to the next level.

So I studied a variety of recipes, read up on the tips of a variety of people who bake for a living and hoped for the best. The bride and groom preferred American style buttercream to the meringue varieties we tried.

That was fine with me as it’s what I’m most used to and helped to narrow the choices down. Everyone suggested shortening as a base to hold up to the heat.

Part of what I love about buttercream is the buttery goodness though! So I ended up cutting my losses and going half and half.

The next tip is tons of powdered sugar.  Of course that’s kind of a must with American buttercream anyway, but a nice high ratio of sugar helps promote the crust which helps your designs hold their shape in the heat.

I was all for that, but didn’t want the frosting to be too cloying. So I used some lemon juice as part of the liquid.

Not enough to make it taste like lemon, just enough to cancel out a smidge of the sweet.

The next tip was to use some meringue powder to help take the crust to the next level. That is totally optional and doesn’t affect the flavor much, but did offer me a little piece of mind knowing my very first wedding cake was going to be in an un-air conditioned barn in the heat.

My only other tip is to beat it on low for quite a long time to improve the texture and keep from whipping in too much air. Oh and flavoring… I wanted to be sure to add plenty of flavor to help boost the tasteless shortening.

I like adding more than just vanilla to add a little depth too. Just a few drops of almond or lemon extracts or a bit of an emulsion like princess or creme bouquet can make a big difference.

I am proud to report this frosting held up on both the cake and cupcakes at the wedding. It also made a great covering for my sister’s cookie birthday “cake” that I will tell you more about soon.

Of course no butter based frosting is going to hold up to the heat forever. Chilling the cake before you take it into the heat and limiting the time it spends in the heat is going to be key no matter the recipe.

I can say however, I was really pleased with how this recipe has held up to Mother Nature every time they have come in contact!

What are your best tips for making heat resilient frosting?

If you are a frosting fanatic like me, check out my Frosting 101. It goes through the different types of frosting and links to all sorts of delicious recipes!

Thanks for sharing!