Buttercream Wedding Cake: A Step-By-Step Frosting Guide

Wedding cakes are often frosted with buttercream, which is made from butter, powdered sugar, and either milk or cream. There are many different types of buttercream, but a simple buttercream frosting is a classic, reliably good option. It can be finished in a variety of ways and is typically more affordable than other types of frosting. To frost a wedding cake with buttercream, you can try adding a crumb coat by spreading a thin layer over the entire cake with an offset spatula, filling in all the cracks and holes. You can also pipe a stiff buttercream dam around the edge of the cake layers before filling them. If you're making a wedding cake, it's a good idea to make a small practice batch beforehand to get the technique down.

How to make buttercream frosting

To make buttercream frosting, you will need butter, powdered sugar, and either milk or cream. You can also add food colouring to your frosting. To make a simple buttercream frosting, mix the butter and sugar together until they are light and fluffy. Then, add your milk or cream and mix until smooth. If you are making a wedding cake, you may want to consider the climate and adjust your recipe accordingly. For example, if you are in a humid environment, you can add more powdered sugar to make a thicker frosting, use all vegetable shortening instead of butter, or add cornstarch.

Once you have made your frosting, you can start to frost your cake. First, add a crumb coat by spreading a thin layer of frosting over the entire cake with an offset spatula, filling in all the cracks and holes. Smooth the frosting with a bench scraper. When you are done, the cake should look semi-naked and level on all sides and the top.

If you are worried about your cake layers sliding, you can pipe a stiff buttercream dam around the edge of your cakes before filling them. To do this, take about a cup of your buttercream and add more powdered sugar until it is stiff. Then, pipe a ring around the edge of the cake layer before filling the centre and placing the next cake layer on top.

How to make a crumb coat

To make a crumb coat, you'll need to spread a thin layer of buttercream over the entire cake, filling in all the cracks and holes. Use an offset spatula to smooth the buttercream and a bench scraper to get a level finish. You can make your buttercream stiffer by adding more powdered sugar. This will help to create a neat crumb coat.

If you're making a wedding cake, you might want to consider the climate. If it's hot and humid, you can make your buttercream thicker by adding more powdered sugar, or using all vegetable shortening and no butter. You can also add cornstarch to your frosting.

A simple buttercream frosting is made up of butter, powdered sugar, and either milk or cream. It's a good option for wedding cakes because it's affordable and can stay stable for up to six hours in most temperatures.

If you're making a multi-layered cake, try piping a stiff buttercream dam around the edge of each layer before filling them. This will help to keep the layers in place and prevent the cake from collapsing.

How to make buttercream frosting humidity-resistant

To frost a wedding cake with buttercream, you can follow these steps:

• Prepare a simple buttercream frosting made up of butter, powdered sugar, and either milk or cream.
• Add a crumb coat by spreading a thin layer over the entire cake with an offset spatula, filling in all the cracks and holes (like in between layers).
• Smooth the crumb coat with a bench scraper.
• Pipe a stiff buttercream dam around the edge of the cake layers before filling them.

To make buttercream frosting humidity-resistant, you can try the following methods:

• Use more powdered sugar to make a thicker frosting.
• Use all vegetable shortening and no butter (add 1 teaspoon of butter flavour for each 1/2 cup of shortening).
• Add cornstarch (2 tablespoons for each 1 cup of frosting).
• Reduce the liquid by 1/4 and reduce the butter to shortening ratio (i.e. more shortening, less butter).
• Add meringue powder, which contains cornstarch, sugar, gum arabic for thickening, and cream of tartar for stability.
• Use a fondant mix of half Wilton (which resists all types of weather) and half Massa Ticcino tropical fondant with a little tylose to cover the cakes.

Try mixing and matching these methods until you get the best results for your climate.

How to colour buttercream frosting

Frosting a wedding cake with buttercream is a great option as it can be finished in a variety of ways, and it's more affordable than other types of frosting. It's also a good choice for outdoor weddings as it can stay stable for up to six hours.

To frost a wedding cake with buttercream, you can follow these steps:

• Prepare the buttercream frosting by beating butter until creamy, then gradually adding confectioners' sugar and milk, and finally adding vanilla extract.
• Add colour to your buttercream frosting by dividing the frosting into separate bowls, depending on how many colours you want.
• Add one drop of food gel colouring to each bowl and gradually add more as needed. For lighter shades or smaller batches, use a toothpick to add the gel colouring.
• Use a spatula or spoon to gently fold the colour into the frosting until it is fully mixed.
• To add a crumb coat, spread a thin layer of frosting over the entire cake with an offset spatula, filling in all the cracks and holes, including between the layers.
• Smooth the crumb coat with a bench scraper until the cake looks semi-naked and is level on all sides and the top.

Remember that the colour of your frosting will deepen the longer it sits, so it's a good idea to make your frosting a day ahead of time if you're going for a darker colour. You can also use an immersion blender to quickly darken and intensify the colour of your frosting.

How to pipe a stiff buttercream dam

To pipe a stiff buttercream dam, you will need to make sure your buttercream is thick enough. To do this, add a little more powdered sugar to your buttercream until it reaches the right consistency. You can then use the stiffened buttercream to pipe a ring around the edge of the cake layer before filling the centre with your chosen filling and placing the next cake layer on top. This is known as a crumb coat, and it helps to fill in all the cracks and holes between layers.

To create a crumb coat, spread a thin layer of buttercream over the entire cake with an offset spatula, filling in all the cracks and holes between layers. When you're done, the cake should look semi-naked and close to level on all sides and the top.

If you're making a wedding cake, it's worth noting that buttercream is a great option as it can be finished in a variety of ways and is typically more affordable than other types of frosting. It's also stable for up to six hours in most temperatures and settings, making it suitable for both indoor and outdoor weddings.

Frequently asked questions