Pipeable Heat Stable Brilliant White Buttercream
Today’s topic is dazzling white, heat-resistant pipeable buttercream that really tastes nice.
It was a challenge to make a shortening buttercream that tasted like genuine buttercream, but I was up for it.
Hello there! Before you browse, there’s a lot of vital information in this article! includes the Important Information Section, which may help you with any queries you have regarding this dish. Enjoy!
This frosting is ideal for warm or hot days when a more sturdy buttercream and extremely white icing are required.
It’s also ideal for creating roses and other buttercream designs on cakes or cupcakes.
Contents
- Important Information to Read First:
- About this recipe:
- How heat stable is this buttercream?
- About the Ingredients:
- Recipe:
- Bright White Heat Stable Pipeable Buttercream
- Other Recipes You Might Like:
- FAQs
- Which buttercream is most stable in heat?
- How do I make my buttercream bright white?
- What is the most stable buttercream for decorating?
- What kind of buttercream do professionals use?
- What is the most stable buttercream for wedding cake?
- What frosting holds up best in heat?
- What is the best frosting to use in hot weather?
- What is the most sturdy buttercream?
Important Information to Read First:
PLEASE READ BELOW FOR IMPORTANT INFORMATION! Before we get started on this recipe, I’d want to address one issue. I’ve had a lot of negative feedback about this recipe, so I’d want to clarify a few points so you know what to anticipate.
- Since this recipe creates a lot of icing, it asks for a lot of confectioners sugar and shortening. It will create enough buttercream to cover at least two 8-inch round cakes, plus enough for piping embellishments. If you don’t need as much, you can easily cut the recipe in half.
- I understand this isn’t true buttercream since it’s made with vegetable shortening rather than genuine butter. The goal of this recipe is to employ shortening to make a buttercream that is more heat stable, pipeable, and dazzling white. For many years, people have referred to this as a heat-stable buttercream, and I am not the first. If you want a true buttercream recipe that uses just buttercream, check out this link: Buttercream with Vanilla Beans
- Vegetable shortening is NOT the same as lard. Plant fat is vegetable shortening, while animal fat is lard. This recipe does not include any animal fat (lard).
- This recipe is identical to any other brilliant white, heat stable, pipeable buttercream or frosting found in bakeries, grocery shops, and home bakers throughout the United States. It’s been used for many years by both amateur and professional bakers, and I’ve simply tweaked it to make it taste better. If you’ve ever eaten a cake from the grocery store, you’ve probably had this frosting.
- Please keep these points in mind before giving me nasty remarks. I sincerely want to serve folks who desire free cake guidance and recipes by providing free recipes. It’s quite OK if you don’t like this recipe or decide not to prepare it. I’m sure you’ll understand. Please keep in mind that I am a real person while posting comments.
With everything out of the way, let’s go back to the recipe, shall we?
About this recipe:
Now, shortening-based American buttercream isn’t exactly new, so I’m not spinning the wheel here, but I am adding a few things that assist to give you a fantastic tasting buttercream when you can’t use butter.
Thus, instead of butter, use shortening to produce dazzling white, heat stable, and pipeable buttercream. Sure, that doesn’t seem very attractive, but I swear it tastes better than it looks.
If you don’t want to use all shortening, you can use half shortening and half butter. Your frosting will be less white this method, so it’s a trade-off.
This buttercream is also a crusting buttercream, which means it will form a very thin layer on top, allowing you to smooth your cake using the Viva paper towel technique.
That’s how you smooth buttercream by letting it crust, then spreading a viva paper towel over it and delicately smoothing it with your hand.
Check out this post for more information on getting smooth buttercream: How to Get Smooth Buttercream.
Be careful to keep this buttercream covered once you’ve combined it so it doesn’t form a film before you can frost your cake.
How heat stable is this buttercream?
This buttercream is heat stable, but only within reason. If you leave buttercream out in direct sunlight, there is nothing you can do to keep it from melting.
This buttercream holds up better to warmer temps than an all-butter buttercream, but be cautious.
Another thing to keep in mind is that, in my experience, this buttercream does not firm up as well as butter in the fridge, which makes applying fondant over it a bit more difficult.
When the weather is nice and warm, I make this buttercream. When I need a dazzling white icing, I turn to it. There are ways you can do to make all butter buttercream whiter, but it never becomes completely white as this buttercream does.
There are affiliate links in this post. I earn money as an Amazon Associate by making qualifying purchases.
About the Ingredients:
- Vegetable Shortening: This works best if you can purchase high-ratio shortening, but because of the trans fats, it is currently forbidden in most areas. I’ve discovered that the Walmart retail brand comes in a close second.
- Meringue Powder (Optional): If you’re using regular shortening but want to increase the stability, add a couple tablespoons of meringue powder. This adds some holding powder.
- Salt: This is really quite significant since shortening-based icing coats your mouth and seems to be sweeter. We were using salt to counteract this.
- Powdered sugar: This is essential for adding sweetness and thickening the consistency.
- This will make it creamier and allow you to modify the consistency.
- Clear Vanilla Extract: Use clear vanilla extract instead of regular vanilla extract to keep this buttercream as white as possible. Regular vanilla extract tastes better to me, but that is entirely up to you.
- Butter Emulsion: I like LorAnn Oils, and the butter emulsion is particularly tasty. Ordinary butter extract from the grocery store tastes horrible to me, so I use this instead to give the buttercream a more buttery flavor. This emulsion is available here: Butter Emulsion LorAnn
- Buttery Sweet Dough Emulsion: This is optional, but I enjoy how it adds taste. It is available here: Emulsion LorAnn Buttery Sweet Dough
If you prefer an all-butter buttercream, please visit this page to get my recipe: Recipe for Vanilla Bean Buttercream
Let’s get started with the recipe:
***I write recipes in volume (cup) measures since that is what people in the United States are accustomed to seeing and using. Click the metric button beneath the ingredients in the recipe card to get weight in metric measures. The weights are converted by a software, not by me, and the results are an educated approximation. Please keep in mind that while I prepare recipes in cups, I cannot guarantee that weighing the components will provide the same results.
Recipe:
Bright White Heat Stable Pipeable Buttercream
***I write recipes in volume (cup) measurements because that is what people are used to seeing and using in the United States. Click the metric button under the ingredients in the recipe card to convert weight to metric measurements. The weights are converted by a program rather than by me, and it is an educated guess. Please keep in mind that while I create my recipes in cups, I cannot guarantee that weighing the components will provide the same results.
***I write recipes in volume (cups) measures since that is what people in the United States are accustomed to seeing and using. Click the metric button beneath the ingredients in the recipe card for weight in metric units. The weights are converted by a software, not by me, and it is a best approximation. Please keep in mind that while I prepare recipes in cups, I cannot guarantee that weighing the components will provide the same results.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
- 9 to 10 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tbsp. meringue powder (optional for more stability and holding power)
- teaspoonsalt
- 6-8 tbsp milk or cream
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract, clear (can use regular vanilla extract if you dont have clear)
- emulsion(LorAnn oils has an excellent choice) (LorAnn oils has a good option) -1 tablespoon butter extract
- 1 teaspoon LorAnn buttery dough extract emulsion (optional)
Instructions
- Blend the shortening until it is smooth.
- Mix in the salt, 4 cups confectioners sugar, and 3 tablespoons milk.
- Optional: Now is the time to add a couple tablespoons of meringue powder for extra stability.
- Mix in an additional 5 cups confectioners sugar and 3 tablespoons milk.
- Scrape down the edges of the basin. If the buttercream is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of milk or cream. Combine thoroughly.
- Mix in the extracts well.
- If the frosting is too thick, add additional milk. Only add a tablespoon at a time. Combine thoroughly.
- Then, using a rubber spatula, stir by hand to help push out any air bubbles.
- This recipe yields enough to cover two 8-inch circular cakes.
Notes
- Since this recipe creates a lot of icing, it asks for a lot of confectioners sugar and shortening. It will create enough buttercream to cover at least two 8-inch round cakes, plus enough for piping embellishments. If you don’t need as much, you can easily cut the recipe in half.
- I understand this isn’t true buttercream since it’s made with vegetable shortening rather than genuine butter. The goal of this recipe is to employ shortening to make a buttercream that is more heat stable, pipeable, and dazzling white. For many years, people have referred to this as a heat-stable buttercream, and I am not the first. If you want a true buttercream recipe that uses just buttercream, check out this link: Buttercream with Vanilla Beans
- Vegetable shortening is not the same as lard. Plant fat is vegetable shortening, while animal fat is lard. This recipe does not include any animal fat.
- This is similar to any other bright white, heat stable, pipeable buttercream or icing found in bakeries, grocery stores, and home bakeries across the United States. It’s been used for many years by both amateur and professional bakers, and I’ve simply tweaked it to make it taste better. If you’ve ever eaten a cake from the grocery store, you’ve probably had this frosting.
Nutrition
Other Recipes You Might Like:
- Vanilla American Buttercream Whipped
- Buttercream Frosting is less expensive.
- Buttercream for Cake
FAQs
Which buttercream is most stable in heat?
Powdered sugar, butter, and liquid are used to make American buttercream (ABC). Because of the high sugar content, it is highly sweet and creamy, and it is the most stable at warm temperatures. Meringue, beaten butter, and extracts are combined to make Swiss meringue buttercream (SMBC).
How do I make my buttercream bright white?
If you’re wondering how to make buttercream white, like really white, the answer is to color it. To counteract the yellow from the butter, add a smidgeon of purple food coloring. Purple will cancel out the yellow tone and produce a snowy white buttercream.
What is the most stable buttercream for decorating?
The most stable buttercream is Italian buttercream. Whereas American buttercream is largely made of powdered sugar and butter, Italian and Swiss buttercreams are made with meringue and include egg whites, granulated sugar, and butter. This results in a more silkier, lighter, and less sugary buttercream.
What kind of buttercream do professionals use?
Swiss meringue buttercream is arguably the most common buttercream among pastry chefs. It is exceedingly smooth, making it a favorite option for frosting cakes. It has a much richer butter taste than American buttercream but is much less sweet.
What is the most stable buttercream for wedding cake?
Silky smooth Italian buttercream is the most stable and least sweet of all buttercreams. It is produced by pouring boiling sugar syrup over whipped egg whites, which are then topped with butter, salt, and seasoning.
What frosting holds up best in heat?
Both the Italian and Swiss buttercreams are made in the same way. These buttercreams are the most resistant to heat; still, you should keep your frosted baked item in a reasonably cold area for as long as possible before serving.
What is the best frosting to use in hot weather?
Which cake icing is ideal for hot weather? I still believe in Italian Buttercream’s all-around brilliance. As a hot-weather insurance policy, I’ll add some shortening (about half a cup) to it for summer wedding cakes. I’ll be using German Buttercream more regularly for a less formal cake with simpler ornamentation.
What is the most sturdy buttercream?
The most stable of all buttercreams, Italian meringue buttercream, usually known simply as Italian buttercream, is also the most complex to produce. This buttercream is so named because it begins with the preparation of Italian meringue.