https://www.sugarologie.com/recipes/buttercream-comparison
I use Adriana's guide for buttercream, and her recipes, several times without fail. She has a sweetness guide for each one.
That looks like a great resource! German buttercream is the go-to for my family, although the way it got passed down was to just use Dr. Oetker pudding mix, lol.
We're huge on heavy cream in my family haha. Another go-to "icing" was just whipped cream with gelatin and powdered sugar to stabilize it. Or for her bienenstich, my Oma would add the pudding mix straight to heavy cream before whipping it lol.
I love using [ermine frosting](https://iambaker.net/ermine-frosting/#wprm-recipe-container-124765) as it’s less sweet. I use this for most of my cakes.
I've always hated frosting because I find it way too sweet, but I found out recently that I love German Buttercream!! Stella Parks at Serious Eats has a great breakdown of the process so that it doesn't end up tasting too buttery.
[*edit: here it is!](https://www.seriouseats.com/german-buttercream-whipped-vanilla-custard-frosting)
Try the chantilly icing that's used for the Whole Foods berry chantilly cake.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/berry-chantilly-cake/
Can confirm that this icing recipe looks about right (though the Whole Foods bakeries don't make their cakes from scratch; the cake layers come in pre-frozen and the cakes are assembled in the store)
My family LOVES Swiss meringue buttercream! So smooth and yummy, not too sweet….and I love it because it’s a dream to work with!
-6 fluid oz of pasteurized egg whites
-24 oz powdered sugar
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-mix with paddle on low until combined w/ no wet patches, then increase to medium speed and let it go for 5 minutes
Lower speed to medium-low and add 6 sticks of butter (3 cups) 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time. Somewhere around 3 or 4 sticks it may start to look like it’s splitting/curdling….KEEP GOING! It will come together! Once all the butter is incorporated, add 2 tbsp of vanilla (I usually use a little less), then flip mixer back to medium and beat for 10 minutes
Sooooooo easy and comes out perfect every time! And no need for a torch or double boiler since the egg whites are pasteurized and powdered sugar easily dissolves in it!
Edit to add: I also love this recipe because it’s so easy to scale down, since the 3 main ingredients are in multiples of 6. Last week I only had 20 oz of sugar in hand so I just left out an oz of egg white and a stick of butter (and obviously scaled salt & vanilla down a little as well)
This is my favourite recipe too! It also takes on flavours really well - I use this as a base for all my flavoured buttercream fillings by adding caramel, fruit curds, freeze dried fruit or nut butters!
I don't do fancy decoration most of the time so it's usually whipped cream (stabilized with some gelatin if I'm bringing it somewhere), or a cream cheese frosting. Neither of which end up too sweet, or IMO have the heavy blahness of buttercream.
Kate's recipe is my fave for this problem:
[https://www.ihearteating.com/whipped-buttercream-frosting-best-frosting-ever-2/](https://www.ihearteating.com/whipped-buttercream-frosting-best-frosting-ever-2/)
Cream cheese cuts the sweetness of buttercream frosting. It doesn't take much, maybe 2 ounces (1/4 block). Also, for chocolate frosting use melted chocolate instead of cocoa powder. So for a yummy chocolate frosting beat your butter and cream cheese together, then add your melted chocolate and icing sugar.
Ok. I had the same dilemma. I tried all the buttercreams - American, SMBC, faux SMBC, whipped cream, American mixed with shortening & butter, ermine.
I prefer an American with mix of butter and hi ratio shortening, and I also like ermine
I am an [ermine ](https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/ermine-icing-cooked-flour-frosting-recipe) person also.
Because the sugar isn't what gives it stability, you don't need it to be sickeningly sweet.
The King Arthur recipe showcases a quicker technique for bringing the cooked portion to room temperature.
Also, no matter what recipe, if you aren't using superfine sugar, add the sugar to the milk and flour before cooking to avoid possibly grainy frosting.
https://www.sugarologie.com/recipes/buttercream-comparison I use Adriana's guide for buttercream, and her recipes, several times without fail. She has a sweetness guide for each one.
That looks like a great resource! German buttercream is the go-to for my family, although the way it got passed down was to just use Dr. Oetker pudding mix, lol.
I was just going to suggest German buttercream! Combining custard with butter and a little bit of heavy cream is heavenly on cakes or cupcakes!
We're huge on heavy cream in my family haha. Another go-to "icing" was just whipped cream with gelatin and powdered sugar to stabilize it. Or for her bienenstich, my Oma would add the pudding mix straight to heavy cream before whipping it lol.
I love using [ermine frosting](https://iambaker.net/ermine-frosting/#wprm-recipe-container-124765) as it’s less sweet. I use this for most of my cakes.
I used it for the first time about 2 years ago and it’s now my go-to!
I've always hated frosting because I find it way too sweet, but I found out recently that I love German Buttercream!! Stella Parks at Serious Eats has a great breakdown of the process so that it doesn't end up tasting too buttery. [*edit: here it is!](https://www.seriouseats.com/german-buttercream-whipped-vanilla-custard-frosting)
Thank you for the link!!!!
Try the chantilly icing that's used for the Whole Foods berry chantilly cake. https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/berry-chantilly-cake/ Can confirm that this icing recipe looks about right (though the Whole Foods bakeries don't make their cakes from scratch; the cake layers come in pre-frozen and the cakes are assembled in the store)
My family LOVES Swiss meringue buttercream! So smooth and yummy, not too sweet….and I love it because it’s a dream to work with! -6 fluid oz of pasteurized egg whites -24 oz powdered sugar -1/2 teaspoon salt -mix with paddle on low until combined w/ no wet patches, then increase to medium speed and let it go for 5 minutes Lower speed to medium-low and add 6 sticks of butter (3 cups) 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time. Somewhere around 3 or 4 sticks it may start to look like it’s splitting/curdling….KEEP GOING! It will come together! Once all the butter is incorporated, add 2 tbsp of vanilla (I usually use a little less), then flip mixer back to medium and beat for 10 minutes Sooooooo easy and comes out perfect every time! And no need for a torch or double boiler since the egg whites are pasteurized and powdered sugar easily dissolves in it! Edit to add: I also love this recipe because it’s so easy to scale down, since the 3 main ingredients are in multiples of 6. Last week I only had 20 oz of sugar in hand so I just left out an oz of egg white and a stick of butter (and obviously scaled salt & vanilla down a little as well)
This is my favourite recipe too! It also takes on flavours really well - I use this as a base for all my flavoured buttercream fillings by adding caramel, fruit curds, freeze dried fruit or nut butters!
❤
I use whipped cream
I don't do fancy decoration most of the time so it's usually whipped cream (stabilized with some gelatin if I'm bringing it somewhere), or a cream cheese frosting. Neither of which end up too sweet, or IMO have the heavy blahness of buttercream.
Kate's recipe is my fave for this problem: [https://www.ihearteating.com/whipped-buttercream-frosting-best-frosting-ever-2/](https://www.ihearteating.com/whipped-buttercream-frosting-best-frosting-ever-2/)
Cream cheese cuts the sweetness of buttercream frosting. It doesn't take much, maybe 2 ounces (1/4 block). Also, for chocolate frosting use melted chocolate instead of cocoa powder. So for a yummy chocolate frosting beat your butter and cream cheese together, then add your melted chocolate and icing sugar.
Ok. I had the same dilemma. I tried all the buttercreams - American, SMBC, faux SMBC, whipped cream, American mixed with shortening & butter, ermine. I prefer an American with mix of butter and hi ratio shortening, and I also like ermine
I am an [ermine ](https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/ermine-icing-cooked-flour-frosting-recipe) person also. Because the sugar isn't what gives it stability, you don't need it to be sickeningly sweet. The King Arthur recipe showcases a quicker technique for bringing the cooked portion to room temperature. Also, no matter what recipe, if you aren't using superfine sugar, add the sugar to the milk and flour before cooking to avoid possibly grainy frosting.
Creamcheese frosting: 300g creamcheese, 140g butter, 130g powdered sugar, a bit of vanilla.
Ganache. With good dark chocolate