Mastering Important Cooking Techniques

Buttercream Sugar Art Novice? Tips For The Best Buttercream

13 September 2019 by Richard Schmidt

When it comes to sugar art, few things are as versatile and varied as working with buttercream frosting. You can do all sorts of things with buttercream frosting, and all you have to do is vary the base frosting recipe a little bit to suit what you are planning to use it for. Here are a few of the things you should consider as you start mastering your buttercream recipes.

Buttercream Ratios

Most every buttercream frosting starts with the same basic ratio. You need a cup of fat and 2 tablespoons of dairy for every pound of confectioner's sugar. Whether you opt for whole milk, light cream, or heavy cream as your dairy and butter or shortening (or a combination of the two) for the fat, the ratio is still the same.

This ratio, when finished with about a teaspoon of a flavored extract, like vanilla, creates a frosting that is a thin enough consistency to spread on a cake for a base. This gives you the canvas for your decorating.

Border And Flat Decorator's Buttercream

In addition to the icing that you'll use as the foundation for your cake, you'll also need icing that's a little bit stiffer for the borders and any decorations that will stay relatively flat on the cake. Things such as piped balloons, flat flowers, and similar objects can all be done with a medium-consistency batch of buttercream.

This buttercream should be made with the same basic ratio of fat to sugar, but you reduce the dairy in the recipe by about two teaspoons. This produces a slightly thicker icing that will hold up for borders and flat decorations. You can even use it for decorating on the sides of the cake.

Flower And Volume-Based Decorator's Buttercream

When you need to make standing flowers, such as buttercream roses, or any kind of frosting decorations that need to stand up, you will want a stiff buttercream to work with. This can be harder to pipe, because of its stiffness, but it will provide you with decorations that won't sag or fall flat on the cake.

Crusting Buttercream

If you are looking to create buttercream that will form a hard crust over the surface when it sits for a little while, you should always work with half butter and half shortening. Another great idea is to add a tablespoon of meringue powder to the recipe. The combination will create a buttercream frosting that stiffens up and crusts over once it's been piped.

With these tips and quality supplies from a shop like Truly Mad Plastics LLC, you can create beautiful sugar art. 

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