Traditional buttercream is made with shortening and butter. I personally prefer an all butter buttercream as it doesn't give you the greasy taste that traditional buttercream will. There are few things I hate more than getting excited to demolish a cupcake only to have the icing taste like fat. I have never had a complaint about my icing other than sometimes there isn't enough, so I'm very confident that you will have great success with it too!!
Buttercream Icing
1 cup butter, softened
4 cups icing sugar
1 tsp clear vanilla extract
milk or water
gel food coloring
*NOTE - do not cut this recipe in half! I don't know what the reason is but your icing will not turn out correctly if you try to make a half batch following this recipe.
Cream butter until smooth.
Slowly add icing sugar to butter one cup at a time. Scraping the bowl after each cup.
Add vanilla extract. *TIP - if you are making white icing you want to use clear vanilla extract (which is available anywhere cake decorating supplies are sold). The brown vanilla will tint the icing a slight brown color and it won't be pure white. If you are making colored icing, brown vanilla will work just fine. You could also switch out the vanilla extract for coconut, peppermint, or even lemon to compliment the flavour of your cupcake.
At this point the icing will be very thick, but don't panic!
Slowly add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you have a smooth consistency. For piping you don't want your icing too thick as it will be difficult to squeeze through your piping bag. However, you want it thick enough that it will hold it's shape when you pipe it.
Last, add the coloring to the icing. I recommend using a gel food coloring as it will not change the consistency of your icing. Dip a toothpick into the coloring a run it through the icing. Mix until the color is evenly distributed throughout the icing. *TIP - do not double dip your toothpick. This will deposit icing into the color and cause bacteria to grow in your coloring.
To pipe the cupcakes I used a 10" Wilton piping bag and a 1M tip. Fill the piping bag 3/4 full with icing. *TIP - twist the top of the piping bag a few times to prevent icing from oozing out the top while your piping.
Start on the outside edge of the cupcake and pipe around the edge working your way towards the centre. !
This tip and piping technique make your cupcakes look professionally decorated when in truth it is one of the easiest ways to decorate a cupcake. Your iced cupcakes can be stored on the counter for a few days as long as they are covered. Any longer than that and I would recommend keeping them in the fridge to keep the icing fresh.
Now that you hold the secret to delicious and easy buttercream, go forth and decorate!
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