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I realize that I told you once that I had a recipe for The Only Frosting You’ll Ever Need. I even went so far as to claim that you’d never need to make another frosting ever again for the rest of your life.
A bold assertion, I know.
However, I’ve been on a recipe development jag lately, and my primary focus has been on different cake and frosting pairings. I have volunteered to Guest Post on FrostingForTheCause, in an effort to do my part in raising money for cancer research. Of course, I want offer up something really special for such a great cause. Something perfect to go with a story of one of the ways cancer has touched my life.
Unfortunately, my cake efforts are not quite right, but I’m getting close. And I’m going to be a little obnoxious and make you wait for the story that inspires these efforts until it appears on FrostingForTheCause. (August 16, 2011!)
My failed persistent recipe efforts have yielded a bright spot–a wonderful white chocolate buttercream–which I will boldly proclaim to be The Only Other Frosting You’ll Ever Need.
Yeah. It’s that good.
Start by chopping up some good quality white chocolate, and putting it into a microwave safe bowl. Baking chocolate is fine, but under no circumstances should you use white chocolate chips or candy melts. The waxy coating that helps the chips/melts keep their shape will do weird things to the frosting.
Pop the bowl full of chopped white chocolate into the microwave, and heat for 30 seconds on 60% power. Stir. Continue heating in 30 second increments, and stirring afterward, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Set the bowl aside so that the chocolate can cool.
Place the softened butter into a large bowl. Sift the powdered sugar and a pinch of salt over the butter, then cream it together with a hand mixer set on low speed for about 3 minutes, or until it gets fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
Pour in the heavy cream and vanilla, and mix well.
Fold in the melted (but cool) white chocolate, stirring until just incorporated into the frosting.
Increase the mixer speed to high, and whip frosting for an additional 3 minutes to whip it up nice & fluffy like–the resulting frosting is a very sweet, creamy, and medium consistency wonder that goes with just about any flavor of cake. At this point you can thin the frosting with more cream to use as a filling for cupcakes or sandwich cookies, or add more powdered sugar to stiffen it up a bit more for use as decorator icing.
Choose your favorite frosting application, and run with it! I am partial to the cupcake application. I’ll tell you about these little cups of love a little later.
♥♥♥
Whipped White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
http://comfortablydomestic.com
Makes about 2 ½ cups
1 C. unsalted butter, softened
2 ½ C. powdered sugar (or more, depending on desired consistency)
Pinch of salt
6 oz. good quality white chocolate, chopped (NOT white chocolate chips or candy melts!)
¼ C. heavy whipping cream
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
- Put the chopped white chocolate into a small bowl. Heat the chocolate in 30 second increments in the microwave set to 60% power. Stir after each increment, and continue to heat 30 seconds at a time, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside and allow to completely cool.
- Once white chocolate has cooled, sift the salt and powdered sugar over the butter, in a large bowl. Cream the butter and sugar mixture together until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Measure the whipping cream into a cup, and stir in the vanilla extract.
- With the mixer running on low speed, gradually pour the cream mixture the bowl.
- Once the cream mixture has been incorporated into the frosting, fold on the melted (but cooled) white chocolate until incorporated.
- Increase the mixer speed to medium-high, and beat frosting for an additional 3 minutes.
- Makes about 2 ½ cups of frosting.
This makes a medium consistency frosting, which is very spreadable and creamy.
- For a stiff decorator frosting: add more powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time, until desired consistency (about another cup or so.)
- For a thinner consistency to fill cupcakes or sandwich cookies, add about ½ cup less powdered sugar.
Oh my gosh my quest for perfect buttercream is finally over…THANK YOU SO MUCH this is beautiful. I was nervous about the cream overwhipping, or the chocolate seizing (eek the anguish of whether it’s just cool enough!), but it blended beautifully. Big thanks from the UK! I used this on an Eric Lanlard chocolate cupcake, adding 1tsp of orange essence to the recipe to make a chocolate orange cupcake, and ‘garnished’ with a piece of Terry’s Chocolate Orange. Happy happy!
Susie Cupcake–you are totally speaking my language! Chocolate Orange Cupcake + White Chocolate Frosting + Chocolate Orange Candy = FABULOUS idea!!
I’ve been looking for a recipe to use for a cake I want to make for my partners birthday, and this one looks to be not too daunting (I’m a novice when it comes to anything baking related). Would you say that it will be the right consistency for icing the sides and top of a cake? Also, just how “white-chocolatey” is it? If that’s something that one can determine. :S
Hey Tasha! Great questions! Let’s start at the bottom of your list and work backwards, ‘kay? First, the white chocolate flavor is very discernible, and quite a nice change from the ordinary. However, if icing a layer cake, I would increase the amount of powdered sugar listed in the recipe, (as listed in the Notes at the bottom of the recipe,) to make a “decorator’s” consistency and give the frosting a little more “heft.” Upon thickening the consistency, some of the white chocolate flavor is lost, but for the most part I think it still carries through.
Now how Novice is novice? I try my best to include detailed directions and enough photos so as to (hopefully) take any intimidation out of the recipe. I honestly believe that anyone can do it! (Yes, even you!) *Provided* you follow the directions, and choose your ingredients carefully. For this recipe, that mean *absolutely* using top quality white chocolate baking bar, and not any bar with added wax or stabilizers (as are found in morsels, chips, and candy melts.) I always use Baker’s brand white baking chocolate, but other Readers have had success with Lindt and Ghiradelli brand bars.
You can totally do it. If you have a minute, browse the comments on this post for other troubleshooting ideas, as there has been quite a bit of dialogue. If you still aren’t sure, try this recipe instead: http://comfortablydomestic.com/2011/03/30/cream-cheese-frosting/
Good luck!
I usually stick to savoury. I’ve made some mousse, meringues and things like that before, but the majority of my cake-like attempts haven’t been, shall we say, accurate. I tend to think it’s more that I need to practice and find some great recipes. That, and learn to decorate better than a five-year-old.
Roughly how much more powdered sugar would you suggest, and I should add it at the beginning, right? I’m down here in Australia, and I’m 99.9% sure powdered sugar is the same thing as pure icing sugar. I was going to use a Cadbury Dream bar, just because from memory the partner likes it, but now I’m not so sure.
Having read through the instructions a few times, I can say that I’m pretty sure I can handle the processes, although I’d rather steer clear of the microwave. I can never get my chocolate to melt right with that thing. Would a stand mixer w/paddle attachment do instead if a hand mixer? It seems as though I’m trying to change everything, doesn’t it?
I’ll take a look at the comments right now.
If you’ve done mousse & meringue, you can certainly handle this recipe. If you aren’t averse to melting chocolate in a double boiler, then by all means use one! I usually end up somehow splashing water in the chocolate and seizing it, so I stick with the microwave. Also, you absolutely may use a stand mixer. I use one most often, but on the day I photographed this recipe, I was in the midst of a baking marathon, so I grabbed the hand mixer. Either will work.
Icing sugar = powdered sugar = confectioner’s sugar. I usually add about 2 additional cups of powdered sugar to make a stiffer frosting. Just add 1/2 cup at a time until you get the right consistency for your climate. (Plan on 4-5 cups total, to be safe.) Icing a chilled or frozen cake helps the icing to adhere better. Be sure to refrigerate the iced cake until about 30 minutes before you serve it, if possible.
Ah, okay. Just to clarify, all the sugar goes in with the butter at the start, rather than some at the start, then more that the end to adjust? Also, will the same mix be fine for in between the layers?
I’ve heard of freezing the cakes beforehand, which makes so much sense, but for how long?
So many questions!
I would make the frosting as written, so gradually add the initial 2 1/2 cups to the butter at the start, and then when you’ve completed the rest of the recipe, add the additional sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until you get the right consistency. You want the frosting stiff enough that if you stick a butter knife eon end in the middle of the bowl, and then shake the bowl a bit from side to side, that the knife with move from side to side, but not fall to the edge of the bowl. Also, blend in the additional sugar on low to medium-low speed so that you don;’t wind up with large amounts of air bubbles, which will show up in the frosting.
The same frosting should be used between the layers. I usually tightly wrap completely cooled cakes in plastic wrap, and freeze them overnight before decorating. Honestly, I’ve made/frozen the cakes up to a week (or more) ahead of time, and they’ve been just fine. They are much easier to handle without worrying about the layers breaking/cracking when you work with them, and they give off less crumbs to get in the frosting. Let the cake stand at room temperature for 15 minutes or so before you start to ice them. (Usually the time it takes to make the frosting,)
I did a brief tutorial on frosting layer cakes, here:
http://comfortablydomestic.com/2011/03/31/red-ish-velvet-cake/
Also, the nice folks at Wilton also do a fine tutorial:
http://www.wilton.com/decorating/icing/using-a-spatula.cfm
Tasha–you *must* come back and tell me how this all worked out for you!
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I cannot wait to make this. I mean really, I can’t. I told my sister about this recipe and she told me I had to put it on her birthday cake. =) I am a baker at the heart, really there’s nothing I’d rather do than to decorate cakes for a living (I have gone to school for this), but as for now, I’m a cashier at the grocery store. Anyway, I’ll be sure to let you know how this turns out, since my sister eats EVERYTHING I make at home.
Yay, Jessica! I hope that you (and your sister) love it as much as we do. I look forward to hearing all about it. Here’s hoping you are able to follow your passion and decorate cakes for a living, one day.
My best friend’s birthday was this last Tuesday (I know I know, I said I would put it on my SISTER’s birthday cake, haven’t made it yet. I’m waiting until she feels better to make hers) and her favorite cake is red velvet, so that’s what I made, but in cupcake form. But I mentioned this recipe but told her I was putting cream cheese frosting on hers… and she jokingly mentioned having both. So I made both. Both were your recipes, because they are amazing. Anyway, so I made this buttercream, just like I said I would. I am forever sold on this recipe and will use it for the rest of my life. I hated store-brand frosting anyway, These cupcakes were little bites of heaven thanks to this recipe as well as the cream cheese frosting. Thank you so much for posting this, because I am forever grateful to you. =)
However, I did find that i prefer to use the double boiler method of melting my chocolate. It might just be my microwave, but my chocolate siezed up when I did it that way, but did not when I used the stove. Also, it is very difficult to find decent white chocolate in my area to use for this, but eventually i found it.
Hooray, Jessica! You just made my day! SO glad to hear about your frosting successes. Hopefully, your sister will get to sample your wares very soon. Kudos to you for using a double boiler to melt your chocolate. *My* chocolate usually seizes when I do it that way because somehow I invariably get a drop of water/condensation in the chocolate. Whatever works, right?
HI, I just bought the brand VALOR white chocolate drops to melt for my recepi, because I can find no other brand here in the Dominican Republic. Let me know if I can make it with this chocolate.
Thank you
Hi Julia! I’m not familiar with Valor brand, so I can’t give you a definite answer to your question. I will say that the “drops” part of your description makes me nervous. To me, “drops” sound as if the chocolate should maintain it’s shape in the oven, much like “chips” or “morsels” will when baking a cookie. If that is that case, the white chocolate likely contains wax, and will not smoothly incorporate into the rest of the ingredients for this recipe. When wax is present, you’ll end up with little hard bits of it in the frosting. A good quality white chocolate baking bar is really best.
Thanks for your respond: The box of the chocolate says , specially for melting and pastrymaking. Its made from natural cacao and no other greases added. Here is the link of the chocolate.
http://www.valor.es/reposteria.html
Its the one in the back that says : GOTAS
Resposteria is pastrymaking.
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The frosting looks delicious. Would it be too rich on top of devils food cupcakes? Also, is it really 2 whole sticks of butter to yield 2 1/2 cups of frosting!? Ouch!
Ha! Creamy decadence comes with a buttery price tag!
No, I don’t find this frosting to be too rich on top of devils food cupcakes. In fact, I often use it for chocolate cakes because the flavor of the frosting is so light and subtle as not to overwhelm.
For some reason mine didn’t turn out right. It’s all soupy and won’t thicken up. What did I do?
I’m sorry that happened to you, Amy. Did you follow the recipe exactly as written/demonstrated in this post? If so, without knowing specifically which ingredients were used on your end, I’m really not sure why this didn’t turn out for you. My first trouble shooting would be to check the type of white chocolate and heavy whipping cream that was used. The white chocolate must be high quality, and not contain any wax to hold it together (as found in chips, morsels, and candy melt wafers.) Also, the heavy whipping cream should be pasteurized, not “raw,” and the unsalted butter should be pure butter, and not a blend or margarine. All ingredients should be at room temperature before beginning. Best of luck!
because of the whipping cream would leftovers need to be refrigerated? Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Yes. I would definitely refrigerate the frosted cake and/or cupcakes. To fully enjoy the creamy texture, I would allow them to come to room temperature before serving.
I want to frost my cupcakes with chocolate but the toppers I want to put on them need to be on light colored frosting to show up correctly. So started my seach for a white chocolate.. Being not a big chocolate eater, so I have no clue… will this frosting taste like regular chocolate frostings?
No, Amy. This frosting tastes distinctly like white chocolate which has a much different taste than other types of chocolate.
So, would it be a good or bad pairing for a chocolate or yellow cupcake?
I think it is lovely paired with either flavor cupcake. Just be sure to use a good quality white chocolate baking bar, as outlined in both the post and the recipe. Good luck!
I have paired this frosting with EVERYTHING! Keylime cupcakes, peach cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes, yellow cupcakes, strawberry cupcakes, and angelfood cupcakes. It is AWESOME and literally goes with everything. And I’ll be pairing it with pumpkin cupcakes for Thanksgiving!
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How early can I make the frosting and let it sit in the fridge before use? I will use on a Saturday. I just want to make sure I have enough time to make it again if I mess it up the first time. = )
Good question, Amy! The frosting can hang out in the refrigerator for a couple of days before using. Be sure to let the frosting come to room temperature before applying to the cake.
Great question, Amy! The frosting can hang out in the fridge for up to two days before you use it. Just be sure to let it come to room temperature before frosting the cake.
Is it okay to use food coloring in the frosting
Sure thing, Nancy!
What brand of white chocolate do you use?
Dee, I use Baker’s brand white baking chocolate and it has never failed me. I find it on the top shelf in the baking aisle with the chocolate chips.
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can this be used to “dirty ice” a cake before icing with fondant icing
Yep! No problem. Make it stiffer, and chill the cake to re-set the icing before applying the fondant.
This afternoon I made a pan of dark chocolate brownies, and wanted something different and spectacular with which to frost them – so of course, I thought of this divine white chocolate buttercream. But I was also feeling a little Christmas-y, so ultimately decided to make one tiny alteration to the recipe as written: I used pure peppermint extract instead of vanilla. It is THE BOMB! White chocolate peppermint buttercream?? Are you hearing this, people? Ah-maz-ing!
This looks incredible. However I’m planning on using it on sugar cookies, then topping them with nuts and dried fruit. So I’d like something not as thick, more along the lines of an icing than a frosting. Should I follow the recipe for the thinner version?
Good question, Heaven. You could easily follow the recipe for the thinner version to put a thin layer of frosting on the cookies, but it will still be more of a buttercream consistency. I’ve not tried to make it any thinner, as you would for a glaze.
Hello!!
I’ve made your recipe several times this month and I absolutely love it. I used Lindt white chocolate the first few times and had no trouble. I decided to try Ghirardelli white chocolate and got it in chip form. BAD decision on my part haha. It didn’t melt well and it clogged up my piping tip with chunks. Just a heads up to other people making this recipe. Otherwise thank you very very much love the recipe!!
Ha ha Gabby! I laugh only because I tried using white chips when developing the recipe, and encountered the same problem. Glad you’re here to back me up! I’m not just being a nag about the type of ingredients–it really makes a difference.
Hello! Would I use a wire whisk for the buttercream or flat beater?
Use the paddle attachment.
Hi! I just wanted to thank you for this recipe, I used it today. I couldn’t find any white chocolate except the chips, so I opted for a Hershey’s Cookies & Cream Bar. I used 7 oz of that, and it came out perfect! The little chocolate crunchies added a nice crunch in the icing, I made it with a chocolate cake so it came out delicious, and the consistency was perfect.. Just wanted to report that!
Way to improvise, Holly! Thanks so much for checking in to let me know. I’ve often wondered how the cookies & cream bars would work in this buttercream.
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YUM!! Thanks for this, my quest for the perfect white choc buttercream has ended!
Hooray! Thanks Grace. I’d love to hear about the cake that you pair it with.
Can I use salted butter instead of unsalted? And just omit the salt?
Thanks!
You bet, Jessica!
hey!i will try this one out tonight for a surprise party for my best friend!!!she loves buttercream but not the ones that are all butteryflavored.so i was wondering if with the chocolate and the whipped cream the buttery taste would fade.. and another question,i want to make some rossettes,like flowers,is it stiff enough to do something like that?thank you and have a great week!!
The combined whipped cream/white chocolate flavors are at the forefront of this frosting, with the butter flavor taking on more of a supporting role. Preparing the buttercream as written give a creamy and light texture, but the Notes section of the recipe contains instructions to stiffen the texture for piping rosettes or other decorative touches. You’re very sweet to make a cake for your best friend. I hope that she loves it!
I made this frosting for a birthday cake last year, and i have never used another. I love it and so did everyone else:)
Hooray! You made my day, Tonya!
I was curious as to the colour of this frosting. I was looking for something pure white to go on my Valentine’s Day cupcakes under the chocolate dipped strawberry. However, I expect that it isn’t pure white with the butter and all, but if it is close and would provide a stark enough contrast between the chocolate dipped strawberries and the icing, I would gladly make the switch. And perhaps not put any white cross hatching on the strawberries themselves. I’m not entirely sure how using shortening would adversely affect the recipe.
Personally, I don’t think the frosting would taste at all the same with the same amount of shortening. The frosting is a slight off white color due to the butter and the white chocolate. Americolor makes a white food coloring (yes, really!) that would tint the frosting a brighter white. http://www.amazon.com/BRIGHT-WHITE-SOFT-PASTE-Decorating/dp/B001M1ZVH8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358366528&sr=8-1&keywords=americolor+white+soft+gel+paste
Also, if you dip the end of a toothpick into Wiltons Violet colour paste, it offesets the yellow and gives yo beautiful white frosting. Jusat be sure to only add the smallest pin head amount at a time.
Wow! I had no idea, but I will be trying this in the future. Thanks, Renee!
I’m in Australia and am a litle curious about the amounts used with the different metric system. What does the ‘C’ stand for when referring to amount in the ingredients list??
Great question, Renee! The “C” is a US cup measurement. Here’s a handy chart for converting the recipe to metric units, including Australian units:
http://www.egglesscooking.com/baking-101/baking-measurements/
Question: You say to let the chocolate completely cool, but if it’s cooled off then won’t it harden? How cool is “cool”?
How cool does the chocolate need to be? If it cools too much then won’t it harden back up?
Nice question, Andrea! The melted white chocolate must cool to room temperature before using it in the recipe; meaning that if you pick up the bowl, it should no longer feel hot or even warm to the touch. Stir the cooled white chocolate before blending it into the recipe.
At the point of cooling to room temperature, the white chocolate will still be a liquid and pourable–it will only set up again after being left at room temperature for an extended period of time.
Hi! Just found this recipe and your blog, so pumped!! I am attempting to make cupcakes for my 2 boys birthday this weekend and this sounds like a great frosting flavor for what I am thinking. But I would love your input. I am making French vanilla and triple chocolate cupcakes. The frosting will be tinted yellow to go with he theme. This recipe will go okay with the cupcake favors I am making, right? And, I soul like to fill my cupcakes but I have never done this before. What kind of filling would you use? I could just use this frosting right? But would it be too much in regards to flavor? Maybe crushed Oreos added to the frosting for the filling?? I don’t know….and should the filling be tinted yellow as well? Help, I am so lost! The theme is batman and I have black and yellow cupcake liners and toppers. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks, Yvette.
LOVE your ideas, Yvette! I think the white chocolate buttercream would go beautifully with vanilla/triple chocolate cupcakes. This buttercream works will as a filling, but with what you are planning, I think it might be a little too much to use both as a filling and topping. If I were to fill them, I’d use a fruit jam, but that might not go with your theme, so you could try pudding instead? I wouldn’t dye the filling to match the cupcakes, that way it stands out on its own. This may be kind of time consuming, but you could skip the filling altogether, crush the Oreos, and use a bat stencil over the frosting, filling the bat shaped stencil with the Oreos. OK, that might end in a big mess, but I wanted to give you another idea. You could also tint the frosting two colors, and swirl them together when piping it on before adding the toppers.Birthdays are a huge deal in our house, too so now you have me thinking! Also, in my experience with colored cupcake wrappers, the colors tend to fade once the cakes are baked. When I want the liner colors to really pop, I bake the cakes in plain wrappers, and then set the baked/finished cupcakes into the decorative wrappers for serving. Happy Birthday to your boys! Have fun!
Hi! I absolutely love this recipe and can’t tell you how many others I’ve passed it on to. I’m making it for cupcakes this time and was wondering about how many I could ice with one batch, roughly. Thanks for coming up with this GREAT recipe!
How cool, Lisa! I’m glad my buttercream is such a hit! As far as icing cupcakes goes, if you’re going to spread a thin layer of icing with a knife, then you could definitely ice two dozen cupcakes. If you’re planning to thicken the frosting a bit to ice them with a pastry bag and decorator tip, then I’d plan on it stretching to cover between 12 to 16 cupcakes, depending on the design. Have fun!
Although I’m a decent cook, baking cakes has never been my forte. My luck changed with your white chocolate icing recipe. It was simply the best I or anyone in my family has ever tasted. I was lucky with the white chocolate. I used Ghirardelli’s white bar chocolate and it melted down perfectly. One thing I improvised with is that for the filling between layers, I set aside some of the icing and then mixed it with freshly whipped heavy cream. It was to die for. I’ll be making it from now until further notice for all family birthdays. Thank you so much!
Hooray! You absolutely made my day, Joyce. You are very welcome. I love your idea of folding some whipped cream into a bit of icing to use as a filling. Brilliant!
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Can I Whipped Topping Instead Of Whipping Cream?
Unfortunately no, Joshua. Although I haven’t tried it myself, the chemical makeup of whipped topping is vastly different than heavy whipping cream and as such, it will not perform the same functions as the cream. I wouldn’t recommend using whipped topping.
Does This Frosting Crust?
If you prepare it as a stiff decorator’s frosting, it will lightly crust but not as much as a bakery-style buttercream.
This frosting was Yummy!!! I used the Lindt white chocolate bars. They weren’t baking bars. And found them in the actual candy section of the store. (4.4oz, so I had to get two obviously). I used about 1 and 2/3 of the second bar. As for the powdered sugar and consistency, I used 3 cups and got a great fluffiness to the frosting. I didn’t pipe it, it seemed to soft for that and I actually used some red coloring drops to get a soft pink color. I spread it over a raspberry flavored cake and it was the perfect chocolate complement to the raspberry flavor. Delicious. I will absolutely be using this recipe again. Thank you.
White chocolate and raspberry were made for each other. Sounds delicious!
I just found your site when googling white chocolate frosting recipes. I can’t wait to try this frosting recipe on a strawberry cake I’m making for my son’s birthday! I’m so excited to have found your site and I just have to say that from the reviews I’ve read, I think it’s really awesome that you seem to answer every reader’s questions. PS. I’m starting to homeschool my 4 little ones and the fact that you’re able to do it all while homeschooling is an inspiration!
Hooray, Morgan! You made my day, Friend! I can tell you from experience that this frosting is fantastic on strawberry cake. Congratulations on deciding to homeschool your littles. My biggest adjustment was carving out a little time each day for me, but once I included myself on the never-ending To Do List of a homeschool mom of four, things got much easier. The laundry suffers, but the rest of us are happy.
Good luck! I’d love to hear what you thought of the frosting.
It’s been a couple of weeks but I’ve been wanting to let you know that the frosting was a huge hit at our home and it was just the thing I needed for the cake I made -it’s definitely going to be one of my go-to frostings
!!! The kids and the hubs wanted to eat all the leftover frosting by itself haha. I can’t wait to try out your other recipes! Thanks a million!
Fantastic. I added full fat cream cheese instead of double/heavy cream, and its really beautiful … Soft, fluffy and white. Thank you
You’re welcome Michelle! I really like your idea of adding cream cheese instead of the heavy cream. Great idea!
Hi, thank you for your recipe. I am attempting my son’s wedding cake and his future wife loves cocnut. Is this frosting suitable and will it stand at room temperature? I also need to incorporate a coconut flavour. Do you have any ideas for me. I am beginning to panic. Thanks Rose
You are so welcome, Rosemary! As far as the wedding cake goes, ack!! So much pressure for such an important cake! Congratulations on your son getting married. I think it is very sweet that you’d like to try a coconut variation for your future DIL. You could try substituting coconut extract for the vanilla extract, and maybe even increase the amount to 1/2 tsp. I would practice well ahead of time to see if the coconut flavor comes through the white chocolate–I think the flavors should be pretty complimentary. Several Readers have commented and emailed to tell me that they used this frosting for wedding cakes with great success.
I’m not sure what the heat/humidity are where you are, but both will effect your cake. If you are planning to keep it in a climate controlled environment (air conditioned room) then I would keep the cake refrigerated until an hour or two before serving, depending on the size of the cake. I suggest using the best quality ingredients possible, following the directions for a “decorator’s consistency” frosting to give it more body, and definitely baking a smaller “mock up” of the cake ahead of time under conditions similar to what you expect on the wedding day. Leave your mock up out for several hours and see what you think. If you think of it, please let me know how it all worked out.
I am making this frosting for a (cupcake) wedding in early May on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The weather here can be very touchy, so I am wondering how well this will hold up in any kind of heat and humidity-hard to predict here. I love the taste of this frosting!! I tried making a half recipe with half butter and half shortening, 1st attempt was with Hi ratio shortening, 2nd attempt with Crisco, and each time, the white chocolate seemed to get chunky, and stick to the side of the bowl and get lumpy. I used a high quality chocolate-Merckens white chocolate, and I don’t understand what happened. Never had this problem when using only unsalted butter. Do you think by just adding more confectioners sugar, that it will hold up better? Would love any comments.
Hi Michele! Geez, heat over 70 degrees and any kind of humidity make me nervous with any type of buttercream. I can’t tell from your comment if you’re planning a cake for an outdoor wedding? Provided that the frosting is made as written, add more powdered sugar to make the stiffer decorator’s consistency version, let the frosted cake stand until the icing crusts well on the cake, and then keep the iced cake refrigerated until the last possible second, you might be OK to have it sit outdoors for a few hours in the shade if it is less than 80 degrees. High humidity is not a friend of buttercream, so you’d have to use your best judgement with that one. I wish I could give you a more definitive answer.
As for the clumping…what type of Merckens white chocolate did you use? I ask because to my knowledge, Merckens white chocolate candy melts contain some form of wax, which would cause the clumping that you described when adding them to this recipe, whereas the baking bars do not. As far as substituting shortening goes, I haven’t I tried to substitute it for part of the butter, so I’ve never had the clumping experience with the white chocolate. However, with what I know of the ingredients, I can say this: Shortening is 100% fat, whereas butter is 80% fat, so they behave differently in recipes. Shortening is a hydrogenated fat, meaning hydrogen atoms are whipped into the structure to provide stability and help it retain its structure. Once hydrogenated, the shortening fats will not blend cohesively with another liquid–kind of like oil and water, or in this case, the melted white chocolate. I’m guessing that the shortening was part of the problem.
Can you please let me know what C. means in your ingredient list? Is it cups? Wanted to be sure so I can convert to metric if necessary. Thanks
Yes, Emzie! The C. stands for US cups, so 1 cup = 120 g by weight, or 8 ounces = 240mL by volume.
Hey! I’ve tried your frosting with lemon flavored vanilla cupcakes and it turned out amazingly delicious!
For my birthday I’m doing a six layered rainbow cake (Yey!) I’m doing it in and out with this frosting and i was wondering if I should double,triple or quadruple or (you get the idea) the recipe..At first i thought i would do a dose and then another one and another one…but then i decided it would be easier to just ask ^^ So yeah, what do you think?
Good question, Emma! As you know, this recipe makes enough to thinly frost a 9-inch layer cake. In order to know how many batches you should need, I need to know how many batches of cake you intend to make for your rainbow cake? When I’ve made a rainbow cake in the past, I’ve doubled my usually cake recipe, and tripled the white chocolate buttercream to ensure that I had enough to fill between the six thinner layers of cake. If you are planning to make a different amount of cake, please let me know and we’ll see what we can come up with for the amount of buttercream.:)
Hi! I was wondering just how sweet this icing is I was planning on putting it on a basic white cake or chocolate cake. I am worried about it being too sweet if. Mix it as the decorator icing with the extra sugar.
Hmmm…well Katherine, “too sweet” is kind of subjective when it comes to buttercream frostings. I’m not a big fan of super-sweet frosting like those that dress most bakery cakes. I can tell you that everyone that I’ve served this icing comments on how it isn’t “too sweet,” regardless of which consistency I make it. I think White Chocolate Buttercream pairs delightfully with vanilla and chocolate cakes. Best of luck to you!
I agree! I am forever indebted to you and your blog for this fabulous recipe. This has been my “go to” frosting since I discovered it last year. I’ve made it many, many times and everyone loves it. Often people say they love this frosting when they normally don’t like cupcakes because the frosting is usually “too sweet.” I think it is the perfect amount of sweetness.
Thanks so much, Erica! I couldn’t agree more. I’m not a huge fan of frosting because it is almost always too sweet, which is why I only post the ones that I love here on the blog. I’m so glad the recipe has found its way into your regular baking rotation.
I made this frosting today, and it is by far the best frosting I ever made! Love it! A bit tricky to convert it to metric ( I live in Sweden) but thanks to the internet I was able to make it! I put it on a chocolate cake, with rasberry layers and piped the frosting on top and around!
Yay! I’m so glad to hear it. The raspberry layers with chocolate cake are a perfect compliment to the White Chocolate Buttercream. I *promise* to get a conversion chart up on the blog very soon for my International Friends. Thanks for the reminder, Katarina!
This is the BEST frosting I have ever tasted! I added half of a vanilla bean, and the consistency is that of meringue. The shiny, fluffy, and complex flavors are excellent!
Vanilla bean is an excellent call, Sharon!
Your recipe sounds delicious!!! I was looking for a white buttercream frosting that wasn’t too sweet and was lucky to have found your recipe! I am thinking of making a chocolate cake for my daughter’s birthday and was wondering if I could add raspberries to the recipe and use it as both frosting and filling. What concerns me is would I be able to sustain the consistency if I add the raspberries to the frosting? I am thinking of tinting and decorating the top of the cake. Thanks!
White Chocolate Buttercream is fantastic with red raspberries and chocolate cake! As far as whether adding them to the buttercream to use as a filling and having it hold up, I can’t say for sure. You could add the berries to only the frosting needed to fill the cake, and tint the remaining for decorating. If it were me, I would keep the buttercream as is and add an even layer of raspberries over the middle layer of frosting for a filling. That way, you get all the flavor, and the whole berries would look more dramatic when cutting into the cake. Either way, the berries will add moisture, so I’d be careful not to add too much so you can avoid a soggy cake. I hope this helps! I’d love to hear what you ended up doing, Akay.
Thank you soooo much for the recipe and the tips!!! I mixed the frosting with the raspberries for the filling and tinted the outside with light pink. It turned out beautiful and delicious!!!
Thanks!
Oh, yay! I’m so glad the raspberries worked out for you. Your cake sounds so pretty! Thanks so much for coming back to share your story.
I LOVED this recipe! I am not a cake fan and I HATE frosting, especially buttercream. I made dark chocolate cupcakes with this frosting and oreo crumbles on top-so good and not too sweet.I now know that I like homemade (by me) buttercream frosting! I will be making this again for my daughters first birthday. I think I will make vanilla or chocolate cake with strawberry mousse filling and this frosting. Thanks again!
I’m so happy to hear it, Kristie!
White Chocolate Buttercream is by far my favorite way to top just about any flavor of cake, because it is not too sweet. My favorite chocolate and vanilla cake recipes are posted, if you’re looking for one for your daughter’s birthday party.
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How would this frosting work under fondant? I am making a layered cake for my daughters 1st birthday and I was looking for a white chocolate buttercream instead of just plain buttercream to crumb coat the cake.
Works like a charm! Just make the thicker decorator version, and you’ll be fine. I also refrigerate my crumb coated cakes for a few hours prior to applying fondant, which seems to help considerably with the fondant adhering to the cake.