Saturday, January 23, 2010

Buttercream Icing for Sat. Blog Showcase




Today is Ann's turn to host the Saturday Blog Showcase on her beautiful blog, Thibaults Table

The idea is to try a new recipe each week,
one that another blogger has shared on his or her blog.
Prepare the recipe any time during the week and
then link your post on Saturday to the Blog Showcase.




It doesn't matter what you make as long as the recipe came from another blog.
Please include the recipe in the body of your post
(only if its NOT a copyright violation)

and a link back to the recipe on the originating blog.

I used the Buttercream Icing recipe from Em at

The Repressed Pastry Chef


Last summer, I took the first in the
Wilton series of cake decorating classes.
They use a buttercream icing that doesn't have any butter in it!
Just Crisco....and its very sweet.

When I found Em's recipe for Buttercream Dream Icing
I wanted to see if I liked hers better
since it contains real butter.



Before I show you my cake, please indulge
me & allow me to share
photos of my Sweet Caroline & her breakfast.
She had a sleep-over with us so she could
be the first person to wish me
"Happy Birthday" in the morning.


We had OJ, hot tea, bacon &
Minnie Mouse pancakes
with PINK punked whipped cream hair & a
chocolate chip face!



Okay, back to the buttercream recipe.

1 stick salted butter – room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter – room temperature
1 cup solid veg. shortening
1 tablespoon clear vanilla extract
2 pounds confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar, 10x)
4-6 tablespoons very cold milk...added according to what you intend to use it for.


Cream the butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer.

Add the clear vanilla extract and combine well.

Begin adding in the sugar in small amounts.

If you cover your mixer with a damp towel

you'll have less of a mess to clean up afterwards.

Mix well after each addition.

After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly,

begin adding the very cold milk… one tablespoon at a time,

combining very well after each addition (mixer on medium-high to high speed)

until you reach the desired consistency.



Now the Wilton recipe does it a little differently.
It calls for 1 tsp. of water or milk
to make "stiff" icing, which is used for flowers.

You add 2 tsp. of water or milk to make
"medium" icing, used for piping borders.

You add 3 tsp. of water or milk to make
"thin" icing, which is used for covering the cake.


My piping bag with a #12 tip attached
for piping a dam of icing around the
edge of the first layer of
LEMON cake.








This is done to hold in the filling layer...
in this case, LEMON curd , my favorite!




If you place the top layer on upside down
you then have a nice flat surface
to work on.

Popping your layers into the freezer
for about 15 minutes prior to icing
it helps to reduce the crumbs.






Start by filling in the sides using an
angled spatula.

I should have placed pieces of
waxed paper under the edges of the cake
to keep the plate clean.
I forgot.

What can I say....I'm a year older now!




Next you pile on the top!

After smoothing it as much as possible
with the angled spatula
I use a high density foam roller
(new & used ONLY for icing!)
to get a smooth surface.


I learned this & lots of other helpful tips & recipes
at CakeCentral.com

I have arthritis developing in
my right hand, so working the pastry
bag is a bit difficult & uncomfortable for me.



My poor little roses look like they were
frost bitten by the Ohio snows!

I have a great deal of respect & admiration for the
people who can create beautiful
masterpieces in this art form.

I'm not one of them.







It tasted pretty good but Ms. Caroline informed me
"Nana, this LEMON stuff in the middle
doesn't go in cakes!"

She was right, too.

The tartness of the LEMON did not
taste good against the sweetness of the icing.

I do, however, prefer Em's recipe of
buttercream dream for flavor.

Please stop by Ann's place,
Thibaults Table
to see what everyone else is cooking up.

Thanks for visiting & have a nice weekend.



22 comments:

  1. What a beautiful cake! I tend to be cake-challenged so don't make them very often. I'm very inspired by yours!

    Your little sous chef is adorable. I love her expression of awe at her breakfast! :D I do so love baking with little ones, too!

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  2. I have much to learn when it comes to decorating cakes. I loved your pictures. And what a great idea to use the paint roller. I had no idea how to make icing smooth.

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  3. Happy Birthday!!!

    I'm so impressed. Cake decorating is not my forte. I love your pictorial. I especially love the tip to use a sponge roller. What a great idea.

    Your granddaughter is a cutie. How sweet that she wanted to be the first to wish you happy birthday.

    Thanks for sharing on the Saturday Blog Showcase.

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  4. Your cake is beautiful, Rett!! I always wondered how the smooth effect was achieved on the frosting. Ah ha!! A foam roller. How awesome. I could never get the hang of a pastry bag. I think I am too impatient for baking, but you did a wonderful job. What a neat event!!

    The look on Caroline's face is priceless!! What a breakfast treat!! :-)

    xoxo
    Jane

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  5. You did a beautiful job on the cake! Too cute.
    Your Granddaughter is a cutie.
    Great post, thanks for the pictorial.
    Pam

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  6. That cake looks so tasty. It looks professional!

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  7. Your cake is beautiful, Rett. That roller tip is priceless. Oh, I would eat lemon curd on dirt.

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  8. HI!!!!
    I want to wish you a very Happy Birthday!!!!!You and I have Birthdays very close together!!!!Thank you so much for the sweet birthday wishes!!!!!
    I love that cake!!!! The icing is so pretty and looks so delicious!!!!
    I love Caroline's excited face with the MInnie Mouse Pancake!!!! I have the Mickey MOuse pancake mold, I could add a bow!!!!!How cute!!!
    have a great day!!!!
    hugs,
    jamie

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  9. A beautiful cake! I enjoyed the photos! I love the look of glee on your helper's face!

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  10. Happy, Happy Birthday Rett!! (((hugs))

    What a sweet way to celebrate with your darling granddaughter, a FUN breakfast and a beautiful cake.

    Thank you so much for all of the great tips on decorating a cake, putting it in the freezer for a bit is brilliant, as well as piping a dam edge to keep the filling in place. I think your cake is adorable, the roses and the dots look so cute and add a perfect finishing touch.

    Thank you for the recommendation of Em's Buttercream. You know, long before I ever thought of starting a blog Em's was the very first blog I ever followed. Small world!

    I hope all of your wishes come true and that your birthday and new year hold lots of happiness and nice surprises.

    Happy Birthday and Happy Saturday Blog Showcase, too! xo !,

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  11. Oh my goodness, I have NEVER seen a foam roller like this for a CAKE.. But you know what?.. I LOVE it!.. And the pictures of your granddaughter are ADORABLE! What a fun visit here today! Have a great weekend! ~tina

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  12. Happy Birthday! I love those first pictures...priceless. I had the grands here this weekend too, so fun.

    I rarely eat the "real" frosting unless I'm at a wedding. I just can't stand the thought of the Crisco in it. I remember when I used to do lots of things with solid Crisco, but that was decades ago. I think your cake turned out beautifully...and I love lemon!

    Sue

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  13. I'm just amazed by anyone that can make that beautiful icing - period! I just love Caroline's expressions. She is such a beautiful girl, and looks like she is really growing up way too fast.

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  14. Thanks for sharing the time about the sponge roller. I often wonder how to get that perfect flat icing. The cake turned out beautiful.

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  15. Rett, I'm on my way....this cake looks delicious and so beautiful! Love the smile on Caroline's face. How special that she wanted to be the first to wish you a Happy Birthday. Loved seeing all these photos, and I'm definitely impressed with the pastry chef!

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  16. Rett
    What a special time with your beautiful granddaughter! Your cake looks very professional, well done! Happy Birthday!
    Dee Dee

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  17. what a fab cake, i am craving a big hunk right now!

    i hope your husband is doing well~

    thanks for popping in fwt, it was great to hear from you. i look forward to seeing what book you will be sharing!

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  18. Rhett,
    Now this cake has made me want a sweet...shame on you...just kidding! It looks soooo yummy...you did a wonderful job making it:)

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  19. Oh my goodness Rett, your little Caroline is beyond adorable! I would never get anything done with a precious one like her in my life!
    Your cake is beautiful! Kudos to you!!!! I hope you are also posting on Pink Saturday. This post is so "sweet".

    You asked about my camera. I just have a little Sony Cybershot. I love it! It even has a food setting.
    For Christmas my husband, Bobby, gave me a fancy schmancy camera with all kinds of lenses. I just don't know how to work it yet. I am slowly learning, but I don't think I'll ever give up my Cybershot completely- this is my second one.
    Yvonne

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  20. Hi RETT!!!!
    Thank you so much for the sweet Birthday wishes!!!!
    It was a spectacular day!!!!
    How lucky you are to get to go snow sledding any time you want!!!! Camdyn loves looking at the snow pictures on the computer and says SNOW!!!! I think she really liked it!!! Oh my goodness, where we were sledding up in Flagstaff, I think you said you've been UP there, the elevation is over 7,000 feet, so we climb that small hill even in a foot or foot and a half, it was so much work!!!! I realized then how OUT of shape I am!!!! But boy is that ride down so WORTH it!!!!! Just seeing her smile and laugh made it all worth it!!!!!
    Glad you and Caroline had a fun sledding day too!!!!!
    Anything new at your house?????
    have a great day
    hugs,
    jamie

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  21. I love the Minnie pancakes, and the cute look on Caroline's face! Have you seen my Blogaversary Give-away! I bet Caroline would like it!

    Katherine

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Thank you so much for leaving a comment. I read them all & each one is so very special to me & I try really hard to return the visit!

fondly,
~Rett~