Buttercream, also referred to as butter icing or frosting, is used for either

filling Filling may refer to: * a food mixture used for stuffing * Frosting used between layers of a cake * Dental restoration * Symplectic filling, a kind of cobordism in mathematics * Part of the leather crusting process See also * Fill (disambiguat ...

, coating or decorating

cake Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate ...

s. The main ingredients are

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condim ...

and some type of

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...

. Buttercream is commonly flavored with

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus '' Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla ('' V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the plants produce the fruit from whic ...

. Other common flavors are

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec ci ...

, fruits, and other liquid extracts.

Food coloring Food coloring, or color additive, is any dye, pigment, or substance that imparts color when it is added to food or drink. They come in many forms consisting of liquids, powders, gels, and pastes. Food coloring is used in both commercial food ...

is commonly added if the buttercream is being used as decoration. Buttercream can be piped or spread in decorative patterns and shapes.

Varieties

Mock cream or buttercream

Mock cream or buttercream is a simple buttercream made by creaming together

and

powdered sugar Powdered sugar, also called confectioners' sugar, or icing sugar, is a finely ground sugar produced by milling granulated sugar into a powdered state. It usually contains between 2% and 5% of an anti-caking agent – such as corn starch, p ...

to the desired consistency and lightness. Some or all of the butter can be replaced with

margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The spread was or ...

, or

shortening Shortening is any fat that is a solid at room temperature and used to make crumbly pastry and other food products. Although butter is solid at room temperature and is frequently used in making pastry, the term ''shortening'' seldom refers to b ...

. A small amount of

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulat ...

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

is added to adjust the texture. Usually twice as much sugar as butter by weight is used. Some recipes also call for

powdered milk Powdered milk, also called milk powder, dried milk, or dry milk, is a manufactured dairy product made by evaporating milk to dryness. One purpose of drying milk is to preserve it; milk powder has a far longer shelf life than liquid milk and do ...

or meringue powder. Compared to other types of buttercream, American buttercream has fewer ingredients, and is quicker and easier to make. It is also sweeter because of the high amount of sugar. Because it does not have an egg or cooked base, it is less stable and melts easily in warm temperatures.

Meringue-based buttercream

Meringue buttercream is made by beating softened butter with either Italian or Swiss

meringue Meringue (, ; ) is a type of dessert or candy, often associated with Swiss, French, Polish and Italian cuisines, traditionally made from whipped egg whites and sugar, and occasionally an acidic ingredient such as lemon, vinegar, or cream o ...

until the mixture is emulsified and light. The meringue must be cooled to room temperature in order not to melt the butter (which has a variable melting point below as it is subsequently beaten in. The meringue gives buttercream a structure that is more stable in warm temperatures.

Swiss meringue buttercream

Swiss meringue is made by heating granulated sugar and egg whites until the sugar dissolves, then whipping it until it forms a meringue. The meringue is then whipped with butter and flavorings.

Italian meringue buttercream

Italian meringue is made by drizzling a hot sugar syrup into already whipped egg whites while continuing to whip. The meringue is then whipped with butter and flavorings.

Other varieties

Ermine frosting (flour buttercream)

Ermine frosting is also known as boiled milk frosting or cooked flour frosting. It is made by cooking

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cul ...

and milk until it becomes a thick paste or

roux Roux () is a mixture of flour and fat cooked together and used to thicken sauces. Roux is typically made from equal parts of flour and fat by weight. The flour is added to the melted fat or oil on the stove top, blended until smooth, and c ...

. The cooked milk mixture is then beaten with butter until light. Ermine frosting is considered to be old-fashioned, and is less common than other types of buttercream. It is less sweet and has a texture similar to

whipped cream Whipped cream is liquid heavy cream that is whipped by a whisk or mixer until it is light and fluffy and holds its shape, or by the expansion of dissolved gas, forming a firm colloid. It is often sweetened, typically with white sugar, an ...

. Traditionally, ermine frosting was used to frost red velvet cake.

French buttercream

French buttercream (also known as '' pâte à bombe''-based buttercream or common buttercream) is made with whipped egg yolks.

German buttercream

Custard-based buttercream, also known as German buttercream or crème mousseline, is prepared by beating together

pastry cream Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency from ...

and softened butter, and may be additionally sweetened with extra confectioners' sugar.

References

Foods featuring butter Cake decorating {{food-stub