Not Too Sweet Buttercream

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.

Serving frosted cakes and cookies during the summer can cause a lot of anxiety for bakers. This recipe uses several tricks to help it hold up in the heat as without just adding more powdered sugar, so it’s not too sweet.

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.

My family prefers American buttercream to egg based buttercreams like Italian meringue buttercream. So, I have to use those tricks when I am making cakes for their special occasions.

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.

So I studied a variety of recipes, read up on the tips of a variety of people who bake for a living, and tinkered. This recipe has now been used for several summer weddings.

I used it on both cupcakes and a cutting cake for my brother’s outdoor wedding. We kept everything inside for as long as possible, because it was a 100°F day.

However, they still held up nicely once we moved everything into the barn reception area. And believe me, it was hot in there!

Tips for Making Buttercream That Holds Up to Heat

After consulting with bakers and the internet, everyone suggested shortening as a base to hold up to the heat. Of course that makes sense, the melting point of shortening is higher than that of butter.

However butter based buttercreams taste better, and we prefer their texture. Using half butter and half shortening allows you to get the best of both worlds.

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 counteract some of the sugar. A tablespoon in about 6 cups of frosting doesn’t give a detectable lemon flavor.

A hearty pinch of salt helps balance out the sugar even more and helps give flavor to the almost flavorless shortening.

I like adding a little bit more flavoring than I do in a standard buttercream too. I almost always add 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract.

You just use vanilla extract if you would like. However, I think it’s nice to use a second complimentary flavor to the frosting.

Just a few drops of almond or lemon extract, or a bit of an emulsion like princess or creme bouquet can make a big difference. It will make it taste like the buttercream came from a bakery,

Or use some butter extract to deepen the butter flavor. It sounds strange, but it can take the frosting from good to great.

The next tip was to use some meringue powder to help take the crust to the next level. It gives that little bit extra insurance that I am happy to take when making a cake for an outdoor wedding.

Once the frosting comes together, mix it on low for several minutes to improve the texture and keep from whipping in too much air.

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!