American Buttercream
If you don't like cake, it's probably the reason.
Stand up for better buttercream!
American buttercream, or simple buttercream, is made primarily of butter and powdered sugar. It may also contain a small amount of cream and a flavoring such as vanilla extract. As such, it uses ingredients that most home cooks in the United States already have on hand. It can also be relatively firm and stable, making it easy to pipe into beautiful shapes. Unfortunately, that is where the advantages of this buttercream end.
To the untrained eye, all the cake samples in this photo may look like they belong in the same category: nice, professionally baked cakes. But in reality, the pretty cupcakes at the top feature American buttercream, and in my view are not worth any professional bakery's pricetag.
Because American buttercream is thickened solely with powdered sugar, there is no way to make it less sweet without compromising the frosting's structural integrity. In my experience, it is not possible to take the sweetness down enough and still have a workable frosting. In addition, powdered sugar generally gives the frosting a grainy texture, which is especially noticeable as the frosting dries over time.
So, what are the alternatives? Buttercreams thickened with meringue (whipped egg whites with added sugar syrup), aquafaba (whipped chickpea juice--it's better and more magical than you think!), cooked custard, chocolate, or roux have the edge. That's because the amount of sugar in these buttercreams can easily be adjusted without making them too soft to work with. It also means they can take on more flavoring additions without becoming too soft, and the flavors stand out more against the reasonable level of sweetness. If that wasn't enough, most feature a much silkier, smoother texture than American buttercream. They usually take a little more time, but are well worth the effort. Some examples include Italian meringue buttercream, French buttercream, German buttercream, chocolate ganache frosting, and ermine or cloudburst frosting.
Despite its clear inferiority, American buttercream still seems to be used in about 90% of online cake recipes and United States bakeries. The madness has to stop.
Learn more on Wikipedia.You might be thinking, but what if I really need a quick, easy frosting? I promise you, there is still a better choice than plain old, sickly sweet American buttercream: cream cheese frosting! Most cream cheese frosting recipes are basically a less sweetened American buttercream with added cream cheese. The cheese adds stability and a nice tang without adding difficulty. The texture can still be grainy, but the taste is vastly improved.
Never settle for American buttercream again.
Certainly don't pay $3+ for a cupcake topped with it at a
bakery.
This page was coded by Erin Whalen.