There are many frostings that claim to be buttercream. If you ever see a cake that claims to have buttercream frosting and is white, you can be positive it is not. Buttercream is made solely from butter, and butter is not white. We made cakes in class and used shortening for part of the base, but only because of temperature issues. Butter needs to stay cool when you work with it, and of course it is always very warm in the school kitchen lab.
Here is the recipe we used for our cakes, but I think I was able to detect the shortening, it has a coating, oily effect. It could just have been our group, no one else said anything.
Ingredients:
- 5.5 oz butter
- 2.5 oz shortening
- 10.5 oz confectioners sugar (or substitute 1.5 oz of cocoa powder and 1 tbsp water to make chocolate frosting)
- 2 egg whites
- 1/3 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tbsp vanilla
Directions:
Sift sugar and add to fat, and cream in mixer on medium. Keep mixing until texture is completely smooth.
As a tip, once you think you have mixed enough, mix for a few more minutes. If it is not completely incorporated, the frosting will be gritty. Be sure to scrape often while mixing.
Mix until the frosting is fluffy.
Add extract, lemon juice and egg whites, one at a time while continuing to mix.
This recipe can be altered to make Cream Cheese Frosting. Replace the fat with cream cheese, and omit the egg. You can also flavor with grated lemon or orange zest instead of the vanilla.
Yield is about 1lb 3 oz.
