The easiest and most popular buttercream is American Buttercream. This is a mixture of butter and icing sugar and flavoured with just about anything you like. It is the quintessential old-fashioned icing that has graced generations of birthday cakes. This frosting is just as popular today as it has ever been.
While most people love this buttercream some say that it is a little too sweet. There is a lot of icing sugar in American buttercream.
A very good alternative to American Buttercream is a Swiss Meringue Buttercream. This is a silky, smooth and delicious buttercream with a meringue base. Swiss Meringue Buttercream is a softly-sweet buttercream using egg whites.
The idea of using egg whites in a frosting might not be appealing to everyone and may seem a little scary to make. A wonderful alternative is Condensed Milk Buttercream, also known as Russian Buttercream.
Condensed Milk Buttercream
As the name suggests, this frosting uses a can of condensed milk. When beaten into butter, the sweetness of condensed milk becomes pleasantly muted while retaining a creamy milk-like taste. The buttercream itself is very easy to make; even easier than the American Buttercream. Let’s face it, nobody likes sifting all that icing sugar and then have it literally thrown back into your face as the beaters and mixers start up.
Condensed Milk Buttercream (CMB) eliminates all of that sifting. The condensed milk is added to the butter and beaten into a frenzy. Flavour as you wish and you are good to go.
Let’s focus on the two favourite flavours – vanilla and chocolate.
Condensed Milk Buttercream can be coloured exactly how American buttercream is treated – add gel colours to frosting and mix. This buttercream pipes beautifully and lends itself well to any design. Because it is lighter in consistency, flowers and rosettes are easier to pipe.
This buttercream keeps well in the fridge. Leftover buttercream can be stored for up to 3 weeks in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. Remember to bring the buttercream to room temperature and beat well before use.
Vanilla Condensed Milk Buttercream
This portion of frosting will cover 12 cupcakes or a simply decorated 20 cm cake.
- 250 g butter
- 385 g can of condensed milk
- scant 1/4 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- Using a stand mixer or hand-held electric beater, beat the butter until smooth and creamy.
- Scrape sides and bottom of mixing bowl a few times while beating.
- Do not rush this stage. Beat for up to 5 minutes or more.
- Add the condensed milk in 3 batches, beating very well after each addition.
- It may appear as if the buttercream is splitting when you initially start to add the condensed milk. It all comes together quickly as you continue to beat.
- Add vanilla and salt.
- Scrape down bowl many times while beating so that ingredients are well incorporated.
- The whole process of making this buttercream will take up to 10 minutes or more.
- This buttercream can be tinted with gel colours towards the end of the beating process. Add the colour at the end and beat well to get the desired hue. If you want to mix a few colours from one batch of buttercream, divide buttercream into different bowls, add colours and mix using a spatula.
- 250 g butter
- 385 g can of condensed milk
- 1/3 c sifted cocoa powder
- 3 – 5 TB hot water
- scant 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Mix sifted cocoa powder with 3-5 Tb of hot water to get a smooth and shiny chocolate paste that looks like melted chocolate.
- Using a stand mixer or hand-held electric beater, beat the butter until smooth and creamy.
- Add cooled cocoa mixture and beat well till butter and cocoa are well mixed and creamy.
- Scrape sides and bottom of mixing bowl a few times while beating.
- Do not rush this stage. Beat for up to 5 minutes or more.
- Add the condensed milk in 3 batches, beating very well after each addition.
- It may appear as if the buttercream is splitting when you initially start to add the condensed milk. It all comes together quickly as you continue to beat.
- Add vanilla and salt.
- Scrape down bowl many times while beating so that ingredients are well incorporated.
- The whole process of making this buttercream will take up to 10 minutes or more.
