Perfect Piping Buttercream is the absolute best recipe for frosting cakes and cookies with a great consistency just right for piping your beautiful designs. This luscious buttercream frosting is light and airy with added flavor from vanilla and almond extract.
Best Buttercream
Frosting cut-out cookies for holidays is both my favorite and most dreaded activity. I LOVE frosting the first couple dozen cookies with beautifully ornate piped designs with buttercream.
I am alone in this process though because no one else in my family is willing to help. They claim they “can’t do it as well” and therefore are unwilling to even try. Total cop out!
Frosting for cookies
So 5-6 dozen cookies and hours later I am completely burnt out. The cookies are beautiful and taste amazing, but man oh man are my hands tired and eyes weary.
Frosting cookies should totally be a family affair and it would be much more fun. When I have children, I will happily let them slather on the frosting in the ugliest of designs, mostly because that means I won’t have to frost as many cookies! 😉
Best Buttercream for piping designs
Over the years my mother and I have perfected the recipe for frosting. We were looking for a balance of taste and how it piped. We used to use a royal icing, but it didn’t taste as good.
We later moved to buttercream for flavor but our original recipe was too thick to get nice piping shapes from. We altered that recipe over the years and finally landed upon this recipe that is absolutely perfect.
This perfect piping buttercream is our go-to frosting for everything from cookies to cupcakes!
How to make the best buttercream?
I could pretty much lick a bowl of this buttercream and be one happy woman. The addition of vanilla AND almond extract gives it a great flavor that we all love. It sets it apart from plain frosting.
It is important to only use gel or paste food dye
when making your frosting, because the liquid dyes will alter the consistency a surprisingly great deal. Liquid dye will take your luscious buttercream from the perfect consistency, to a runny consistency that won’t hold it’s shape in a quick hurry.
How to pipe buttercream?
I separate my batch of buttercream into 5 or 6 bowls and dye each bowl of frosting to my desired consistency. I have never found a dye that will get me a true red, so if you have any secrets for a rich Christmas red, I would love to hear them!
Grab your piping bags and decorating tips and you are ready to fill them up. I like to turn the bag half way inside out and set it in a tall glass. This makes it easier to scoop the buttercream into the bag if I am doing it along.
After your bags are filled it’s time to dream up all sorts of amazing designs for your cookies or cake that have the added bonus of tasting great!
More baked goods perfect with buttercream!
While we could eat buttercream right from the spoon, it’s probably best to serve it on a cake or cookie. Here are some other great recipe that you can use buttercream with.
- Fresh Strawberry Ombre Cake
- Frosted Sugar Cookies
- Pumpkin Cake Bars – Swap out the cream cheese frosting for buttercream
Perfect Piping Buttercream Recipe
Perfect Piping Buttercream is the absolute best recipe for frosting cakes and cookies with a great consistency just right for piping your beautiful designs. This luscious buttercream frosting is light and airy with added flavor from vanilla and almond extract.
Ingredients
- 1 c. shortening, butter flavored
- 1 c. butter
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 7 1/2 c. powdered sugar
- 1/3 c. heavy whipping cream
- gel or paste icing dyes
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat the shortening and butter until smooth and fluffy. Add the vanilla, almond extract and cream and mix until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar 1-2 cups at a time, mixing well between each addition. Beat the frosting for an additional 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Using a toothpick, add the tiniest amount of dye at a time to the bowl of frosting to control your color. These dyes will color the frosting quickly, so there is no need to add too much.
Notes
This makes a very large batch for a layered and decorated cake. If you are making 24 cupcakes or a small cake, cut the recipe in half.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 48 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 155Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 35mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 0gSugar: 18gProtein: 0g
Provided nutrition data is only an estimate. If you are tracking these nutrients for medical purposes, please consult an outside, trusted source.
Kendall Romey. says
Hey! I saw what you said about the red frosting, and I am making this recipe to dye it red! I recently Learned this trick.
So you have your frosting, and before trying to dye it red, dye it pink with PINK food coloring. Not red. Then you go in with the red and get it as dark as you can. You then microwave it until it gets darker. Your first time you have to play with it a little, but you can get the hang of it. It will be a bit separated, but put it in the fridge until it’s firmer, then whip it back up! It gets it SHOCKINGLY RED. I hope this helps!
Leslie says
This makes a great icing, I will be using this recipe again. The recipe made more than I needed, but half wouldn’t have been enough. How long will the icing last in the fridge, and can I freeze it? I’m assuming once it’s thawed I would just have to whip it back to a smooth consistency
Danielle Green says
This frosting will last in the fridge for 5-7 days and it can be frozen! You will just need to thaw and mix it well before using.
Lill Mill says
Hi! I made this ahead of time for a camp I’m running. It was really thick today when the kids went to pipe with it. Any tips to help? How long can it sit at room temp, I’m wondering if it was maybe just too cold?
Danielle Green says
Yup, it was most likely too cold. You can refrigerate this well, but it needs to come back to room temperature to pipe well. It can sit at room temperature for a day or two because of the high sugar content.
Nessa says
Which attachment did you use on the mixer? Paddle or whisk?
Danielle Green says
Whisk
Karen Rhan says
Can I make this recipe a few days in advance of using the icing for frosting a cake and piping on decorations? If so, does this need to be refrigerated? If so, how do you get the icing back to the way it was when first made?
Danielle Green says
I make this ahead of time often. I refrigerate it and then take it out of the refrigerator a few hours before I need to pipe with it. Run a mixer through it again to fully soften it and its great.
Bnolt says
Thanks for the recipe! My only problem was I had to throw the first batch away as I couldn’t handle the fake butter flavor from the crisco… I made it with all butter and it was perfect! So advice if you don’t care for that flavor try plain crisco or all butter:)
Rachel Boothe says
Could you tell me the best temperature for frosting to successfully pipe roses? I am going to try your recipe. I have become so frustrated trying to learn to pipe roses. I can’t work on my technique because my frosting is too soft and keeps falling over when I try to pipe the petals. I have tried three different buttercream recipes, including one that is all Crisco and it was too soft like the butter-based ones. My kitchen stays at about 72 deg because my family members get cold, otherwise. I have tried putting my frosting bag in the refrigerator, but the piping tip gets clogged when it gets colder. By the time I get it unclogged and working, the frosting is warm again. I am going to try your recipe and see if it will work for me, but is there an optimum temperature at which it will work best? Thanks.
Danielle Green says
When I worked in a restaurant I actually piped roses in the walk in refrigerator one time and it worked like a charm! lol The problem with throwing the bag of buttercream in the fridge is that just the tip will harder. A cooler kitchen will definitely help. I say let your family freeze for a day! haha But in all seriousness, I keep my house at 68F and it seems to work well.
Ann says
Yes, please! Having the same issues. My frosting is getting too warm in my hands as I’m piping. I was wondering if I’m leaving my butter out too long… maybe room temp doesn’t truly mean “room temperature”, but just warming it up enough to work with. Help!
Karem\n says
Can you refrigerate leftovers and how long will it last?
Danielle Green says
Yes, you can refrigerate the buttercream. I’ve kept it up to 10 days and it was just fine. You can also freeze it for much longer!
Robyn says
Hi. I am in England could I ask what would be the best shorting to use?
Also what other extract could be used instead of almond due to nut allergies?
Thank you
Danielle Green says
Just skip the almond extract and I am unfortunately not familiar with UK products. You can use all butter though. It just will taste delicious but just won’t hold it’s shape quite as well as shortening, but still pretty good.
Kara says
Hello! i wanted to make a raspberry frosting so i was just going to use a buttercream recipe and add raspberry extract…would I still add in both the vanilla and almond extracts as the recipe says in addition to the raspberry? Thanks!
Danielle Green says
The almond and vanilla would be nice compliments to raspberry. You can keep them or just leave one of them out.
Amory says
Hi. Going to try the piping icing on Chocolate covered buttercream Easter eggs tomorrow but I saw your question regarding Real Red. A cake decorator taught me years ago that to get to red make up a batch of pink and then add the red to it. It has produced results for me. Just FYI
Danielle Green says
That is interesting, I will have to try it!
Kathy Peterson says
Hello,
My grand daughter cannot have dairy, what can I use instead of butter shortening and heavy whipping cream?
Thank you!
Danielle Green says
You can use all shortening and a milk substitute like almond milk for the cream.
Lauren says
I use Americolor super red or tulip red to get a deep rich red and I make it a few days in advance so that the color will deepen without getting a bitter taste.
Shawna says
I’m wanting to make chocolate buttercream, how would I adjust this recipe?
Danielle Green says
I would honestly just use a different recipe. The chocolate frosting recipe on this cake is AMAZING! https://www.thecreativebite.com/triple-chocolate-cake/
Shawna says
Thanks! And I absolutely love this recipe. It’s the only one I use and everyone loves it!
Tina Lax says
I am new to piping, brand new. Can you tell me which tip you used to make those adorable white cupcakes with the sprinkles?
Danielle Green says
I use a large round piping tip like this one, https://amzn.to/2MJX4W6
Jason says
In Canada, the butter-flavored Crisco shortening is called “Golden”. It’s the same thing just a different name than in the US.
Danielle Green says
Thanks for the information Jason!
Laci says
Hi!
I want to pipe my flowers ahead of time, place them on parchment paper and stick them in the freezer to decorate cupcakes the next day. I know you said the consistency is different after freezing but how do you think it’ll be after pipping the flowers and just transferring them over the next day?
Thank you!
Danielle Green says
I would just refrigerate them if it’s only for a day! That will keep them quite firm.
Pamela St. George says
Perfect piping frosting! However, the butter Crisco flavor overpowered the taste, and I had to add more vanilla and almond flavoring to mask it. I recommend using plain Crisco instead to avoid this.
Nicole says
I really like this recipe and am going to try it today.
I have a concern. I do not have butter flavored Crisco, but plain. I have butter extract, but I am concerned about adding liquid and have no idea how much to use. What do you recommend?
Thanks
Danielle Green says
I would make the frosting up with the plain Crisco before adding the butter extract. It might taste perfectly good without it, but if it does need it, I don’t think a few drops should hurt.
Nicole says
Thanks so much for taking the time to reply! ❤️
Linda Kennedy says
Just made this frosting…been icing cookies and cakes for 50+years…and this was the BEST!!!! Everything came out PERFECT!!! Thanks so much….yum
Melissa says
Can I icing sugar cookies with this icing. Meaning outlining and flooding and of course decorating. I have always used royal icing.
Danielle Green says
Nope, this is an entirely different consistency than royal icing. You need to pipe or spread this frosting on.
sunita says
HI, Can I make flowers from the above buttercream recipe and put it in freezer to use later? if yes will the colour fade?
Danielle Green says
I have never tried freezing this, so I can’t say whether or not it will. Sorry I’m not more help!
Heather Erwin says
We aren’t fans of shortening, could I use all butter?
Danielle Green says
Yes, I’ve tried it with all butter and it’s great. It just doesn’t keep it’s pipping shape quite as well, but it still looks nice and tastes great.