Okay so if you’ve followed me for a while now then you’ve probably already noticed that most of my American style buttercreams use far less powdered sugar than most traditional recipes.
And the reason for this is that I find traditional American buttercreams just far too sweet and really grainy. So today I’m going to be sharing my super silky smooth not too sweet buttercream recipe that has great stability and is pretty much the base recipe I use for most of my buttercreams. You can also find more easy tips for perfect buttercream frosting on my blog.
Ingredients
- 340 grams or 1.5 cups of room temperature unsalted butter
- 375 grams or 3 cups of icing sugar also known as powdered or confectioners sugar
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla
- 120 grams or half a cup of room temperature cream
Preparation and Mixing Instructions
So to start off you’re going to need some kind of mixer. You can do this for the hand mixer but it does require a bit of an artwork out so you know to save me a bit of energy I’m going with my stand mixer.
Now it’s really important that your butter is at the right consistency so you want it to be soft enough that you can make an indent into the butter with your finger but it’s also still firm enough to hold its shape. This is the consistency that the butter needs to be in order to hold the air that we are just about to whip into it and that’s what makes our buttercream really nice and light and fluffy.
Now it’s really important to make sure that your cream is at room temperature otherwise it’s going to change the consistency of your butter and it’s also important to make sure that you’re using a cream that’s used to make whipped cream. So here in New Zealand our cream has a minimum fat percentage of around 34% which works great. So you want to stay away from anything that has a fat percentage below 30% otherwise your buttercream isn’t going to be a stable.
- To your bowl add in 340 grams or 1.5 cups of room temperature unsalted butter.
- Then you’re also going to add in 375 grams or 3 cups of icing sugar also known as powdered or confectioners sugar, 2 teaspoons of vanilla and 120 grams or half a cup of room temperature cream.
- Using the paddle attachment you just want to mix on the lowest speed until everything is combined.
- Once that’s done the scrape down the bowl just to make sure everything’s mixing well.
- Then turn up the speed to a medium high and now you’re going to let this work for a full 10 minutes. Scoping down the bowl every now and then just to make sure everything’s mixing well. This mixing step is super important it’s going to make your buttercream super light and fluffy and also help the sugar dissolve to get rid of some of that graininess so you definitely don’t want to skip this step.
- After 10 minutes turn the mixer down to the lowest speed for another minute or so and this is just going to help get rid of any large air bubbles.
Final Buttercream Texture and Tips
Okay so about 12 minutes later you should have a much lighter coloured buttercream and then that is basically it. You can see here that the buttercream is super smooth it’s great for piping and holds up great when used for layered cakes. This versatile frosting would be perfect on easy fluffy fudgy chocolate cupcakes.
Now if you find that your buttercream is not quite as light and fluffy as mine or it’s got heaps of little kind of holes in it once you’re finished then it’s most likely because either your cream or butter was just a tad bit too cold. So to fix this simply pop your buttercream into the microwave for five second first. Don’t even in there for too long because buttercream turns into liquid very quickly and then once it’s a little less firm re-whip it for a few minutes and this should do the trick.
Mmm it’s so good. It’s super light and fluffy and the best part is it’s not too sweet and because we added in the additional cream and we don’t have so much more icing sugar compared to butter it really helps get rid of some of that grainyness as well. It’s not you know 100% gone but it’s definitely way way better and way smoother than you know a traditional American buttercream.
So that is it guys if you do decide to give this buttercream a go then please do leave a review on my blog. It really helps my content out and I absolutely love hearing from you guys. I’ll see you in the next video.
Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe
The ultimate guide to baking perfect, chewy chocolate chip cookies with golden edges and melty chocolate centers. A timeless favorite that's easy to make and always a crowd-pleaser!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10-12 minutes
Total Time: 25-30 minutes
Servings: 24 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, ensuring each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Stir in the vanilla extract until well combined.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt until thoroughly combined.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed until just combined. Be careful not to overmix; stop as soon as no streaks of flour remain.
- Fold in the semi-sweet chocolate chips using a spatula until they are evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough.
- Drop rounded tablespoons of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between each cookie.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the centers appear just set. The cookies may look slightly underdone in the middle, but they will continue to set as they cool.
- Remove the baking sheets from the oven and let the cookies cool on the sheets for 5 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- For extra chewy cookies, ensure your brown sugar is fresh and packed firmly. Using a slightly higher ratio of brown sugar to white sugar also enhances chewiness.
- Do not overbake! Overbaking is the quickest way to dry out your cookies. Look for golden edges and a slightly pale center.
- If you prefer thicker cookies, chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking. This helps prevent them from spreading too much.
- Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-4 days. You can also freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months, thawing at room temperature when ready to enjoy.
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, ensuring each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Stir in the vanilla extract until well combined.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt until thoroughly combined.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed until just combined. Be careful not to overmix; stop as soon as no streaks of flour remain.
- Fold in the semi-sweet chocolate chips using a spatula until they are evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough.
- Drop rounded tablespoons of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between each cookie.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the centers appear just set. The cookies may look slightly underdone in the middle, but they will continue to set as they cool.
- Remove the baking sheets from the oven and let the cookies cool on the sheets for 5 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature.
For extra chewy cookies, ensure your brown sugar is fresh and packed firmly. Using a slightly higher ratio of brown sugar to white sugar also enhances chewiness.
Do not overbake! Overbaking is the quickest way to dry out your cookies. Look for golden edges and a slightly pale center.
If you prefer thicker cookies, chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking. This helps prevent them from spreading too much.
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-4 days. You can also freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months, thawing at room temperature when ready to enjoy.