How to Make Butter Cream

Buttercream is a very popular cake frosting option that can be made in no time and stored in the freezer for months. The simple variation shown below can be changed to have any flavor and color combination imaginable. More complicated variations can be made with egg whites, simple syrup and butter; these require more expertise in the kitchen to prepare. Buttercream can be used as the only frosting or a base for fondant-type paste decoration.

Things You'll Need

• Butter or margarine ½ cup Confectioners sugar 4 ½ cups Almond extract ½ tsp Amaretto 2 tbsp (optional) Bowl Electric mixer Measuring utensils

Instructions

Preparing Buttercream

1. Put butter in bowl and soften on medium low with the mixer. Margarine can also be used if dairy is a concern.

2. Add sugar in patches of 1 to 2 cups at a time to the butter. Allow the mixer to cream butter and sugar before adding more sugar. Regular white sugar can be used but confectioners sugar is preferred as it is very fine-grained, producing a smoother textured buttercream.

3. Add the almond extract or any preferred flavor such as peppermint, cocoa powder, or vanilla at this stage.

4. Add Amaretto slowly as not all may be needed. The Amaretto adds flavor and finishes the texture. For thinner texture add all of it, for a firmer texture add less. Any flavor liqueur can be added in place of Amaretto such as Grand Marnier or Framboise depending on the flavor desire. Milk can be substituted for liqueur for a non-alcoholic variation.

5. Frost cooled cakes and decorate as desired.

Tips & Warnings

• Play with flavor variations to find the one that will go best with the cake flavor. Food coloring can also be added to give any number of variations of color to complement or contrast the flavorings. Buttercream works fine with no flavor or color additives.

• To much moisture will make the butter cream to thin for use. Butter that is to warm will also make the butter cream hard to work with.