easy vanilla buttercream frosting recipe

While I am all about making buttercream in advance, this frosting can be a bit more finicky. You can also add in powdered sugar (1/2 cup at a time) to thicken your frosting, and bring it together. Repeat this process until your frosting comes together and is smooth. Be sure to heat in small increments, so that the frosting doesn’t get too thin!Īdd this back into your bowl of frosting, and try whipping it again. Repeat until the little bowl of buttercream is smooth again. Heat it up in the microwave for 5 seconds, then give it a good stir with a rubber spatula. Scoop out about a half cup of frosting and place it in a separate bowl. On the other hand, if you think your butter might have been too cold or your kitchen is cold, I suggest taking a different approach. If that doesn’t do the trick, continue to repeat this process until it thickens up and comes together. Then I whip it up again, and it usually comes together right away. If my buttercream is broken after I add the sweetened condensed milk, I pop my mixing bowl into the fridge for 10-15 minutes to cool it down. Kitchen is usually pretty warm, so a lot of time my frosting separates because my I find that taking my sticks of butter out of the fridge about an hour before I need them gives me the right consistency. It should be somewhat firm when you hold it, but you can make an indent in the side of the stick with your finger. This doesn’t mean that it’s super soft to the touch. Your best bet at having your frosting seamlessly come together is using butter that is actually at room temperature. I like to pour it in over 4 additions, to allow the butter lots of time to incorporate all that sweet goodness. It’s super important that you gradually mix it in. Your frosting might also separate if you try to mix in the sweetened condensed milk too quickly.

Adding in the Sweetened Condensed Milk Too Quickly The key is that the butter and the sweetened condensed milk are at the same temperature. On the other hand, if your butter or kitchen is too cold, it might also throw off the texture of your frosting. If your butter is too soft/warm, it won’t whip up as well and will have trouble incorporating all the sweetened condensed milk. This can happen for a few different reasons. The main issue that I ran into while recipe testing was having my frosting separate. While it is insanely easy to make a batch of this Russian buttercream recipe, that doesn’t mean that things can’t go wrong. Kind of like a hybrid between Italian meringue buttercream and American buttercream. If you’re used to American buttercream, get ready for an entirely different texture and taste. This also helps the frosting taste a lot less sweet and rich. It should be very white in color before you try to add in the sweetened condensed milk.Īll the air that’s incorporated into the frosting gives it that silky smooth texture, and a very light mouth feel. The butter should actually change color by the end of the whipping process. This incorporates a ton of air into the butter. I’m talking at least 5 minutes at a medium-high speed with a whisk attachment or hand mixer. The key to creating that delicately fluffy texture is to beat the heck out of the butter. You simply whip the butter up until it’s light and fluffy, then slowly incorporate the sweetened condensed milk.Īnd voila! I love that there’s no powdered sugar involved, because it makes the process a lot less messy. The process of making it is even easier than my American buttercream recipe, which I didn’t think was possible. I like to add in a touch of vanilla extract and salt for kicks, but that part is optional. It’s an insanely simple recipe that really is just butter and sweetened Trust me on thisīuttercream is a frosting that’s used on a lot of Russian and Eastern EuropeanĬakes. Know it sounds crazy, but you’ll understand once you try it. It’s surprisingly smooth, with a fluffy texture. Much to my surprise, Russian buttercream frosting isn’t overly sweet or heavy. The thought of adding it to buttercream didn’t seem very appetizing, let alone being the flavor of a frosting. Sweetened condensed milk seems so sweet and thick. It is pretty much JUST butter and sweetened condensed milk. When I first read about it, I was pretty shocked. That’s when I stumbled upon Russian buttercream. Some simply add in a bit to an American or swiss meringue buttercream base, but other recipes take it further. There are a lot of different versions out there. While doing a bit of research, I learned about sweetened condensed milk frosting. I’m kicking off this year with this Russian buttercream recipe. As much as I love using my American buttercream on my cakes and cupcakes (AND cookies), I am ready to play around with other types of frosting. I’ve decided that 2020 is going to be my year of frosting.

Easy vanilla buttercream frosting recipe