I am going to make my sons birthday cake to save money. I know you can use the traditional icing for cake decorating (piping, letters etc.) using the bags and tips, but can you decorate using bags and tips with buttercream frosting? I prefer the taste of buttercream frosting but am unsure if it is stiff enough to decorate a cake. Most things seem to say you just use it to frost a cake,(i.e. just flat with a knife or spatula). Does anyone have any recommendations?
Yup. Piece of cake.
Just mix it a little stiff to support adding color (I use gel color... available from any cake store... which is soooo much more concentrated than wet food coloring that I don't even need to alter my buttercream recipe).
Keep in mind as well that a chocolate ganache works GREAT for decorations also. White chocolate for colors, brown chocolate for "simple".
I've used buttercream frosting in bags and never had a problem. Here's some tips
http://www.wilton.com/decorating/decorating-basics/
I use buttercream all the time. Never had a problem.
Yes! Buttercream is yummier too;-)
I use buttercream all of the time to decorate, you just have to make it more stiff. There are several recipes for buttercream, so either add more powdered sugar or shortening. If you are needing fondant for any decorations I found a great fondant recipe that is made with marshmallows and actually tastes great, as opposed to the traditional fondants that are pretty gross. Plus it's super cheap too AND very easy to work with!
I use buttercream frosting all the time with gel coloring and get excellent results.
Just note that you need to use a mostly shortening buttercream (1lb buttercream/4oz butter/2lb powdered sugar) for decorating, as opposed to all-butter buttercream. So you can use the all-butter stuff to frost the cake, and then the shortening stuff to do piping, letters, etc. for the most delicious and beautiful combination!
I use the Wilton recipe. You can use meringue powder to make it stiffer, just google it!
Yes you can. Check out the Wilton site (wilton.com) for butter cream recipes and tips on how to decorate using buttercream. I've used their buttercream recipe for the past year or so and everyone loves it. I make it in 3 consistencies, one for overall icing, one for creating a damn for the filling, and the other for decorating. You just need to make it a bit stiffer, which means adding less corn syrup (the more you add, the lighter and fluffier it will be; less makes it more dense). The only change I make to the recipe is that part of it requires cirsco, which I chnage to butter flavored crisco (half of that with half butter) for a richer taste.
Good luck! I'm sure your cake will be wonderful!
A.
