Different Buttercream Flavors from One Buttercream Recipe
Why have just one buttercream flavor when you can try so many more. These simple and easy variations to create different buttercream flavors from one recipe will open new and wonderful possibilities for your cake projects. From strawberry to caramel, marzipan or Kahlua, you can use a basic American buttercream, meringue-based buttercream.
The basic recipes
How many buttercream flavors have you tried? I bet many!! And yet, did you know that you can make one basic buttercream and then use that to create different flavors?
First of all, I have already given you a few of my basic buttercream recipes:
- Stiff Buttercream Frosting for piping sugar flowers
- Best Buttercream Frosting (eggless)
- Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (eggless)
- Velvet American Buttercream (ABC) (contains meringue powder)
- Italian Meringue Buttercream (IMBC) (with raw egg whites)
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream (SMBC) (white raw egg whites)
- Classic French Buttercream (FBC) (with whole eggs)
- German Buttercream (GBC) (with vanilla pastry cream)
These are the basic buttercream recipes. And yet, often you get asked to make different flavors. While sometimes you have to start from scratch, often it’s easier to use the basic recipe and create new buttercream flavors.
And, you can also use any of the above recipes as your base recipe to create new flavors. And yet, I find that using my stiff buttercream frosting for piping sugar flowers works best as a base to create more flavors. Why? Because, the additional ingredients result in buttercream with the right consistency, and not too soft.
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Meringue buttercream recipes
So these flavors work with all types of buttercream. And, in some cases, the consistency may be soft or even too soft. Also, I often prefer to have a soft consistency meringue buttercream for my cakes.
Since you are the cake decorator, I’ll leave it for you to decide what consistency you need for your cake. Hence, you can use either my Velvet American Buttercream, Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Italian Meringue Buttercream, Classic French Buttercream or German Buttercream
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Buttercream frosting recipes
My preferred recipe is my stiff buttercream because it works best in terms of consistency. And, consistency may vary from other buttercream recipes, since it depends on the additional liquid ingredients needed to get the right flavor.
More buttercream recipes from scratch
- Best Buttercream Frosting Recipe – Vanilla Buttercream
- Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Bakery Style Vanilla Frosting
- Bakery Style Chocolate Frosting
- Velvet American Buttercream Frosting
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Italian Meringue Buttercream
- Meringue Buttercream From Meringue Powder
- Stiff Buttercream Frosting for piping buttercream flowers
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- No-Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- Best Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
- Perfect Pink Champagne Buttercream
- Coffee Buttercream Frosting
- Eggnog Buttercream Frosting
- Caramel Buttercream
- Butterscotch Buttercream Frosting
- Rich Dark Nutella Buttercream Frosting
- Kahlua Buttercream Frosting
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Different Buttercream Flavors from One Recipe
Why have just one buttercream flavor when you can try so many more. These simple, easy and effortless variations to create different buttercream flavors from one recipe will open new and wonderful possibilities for your cake projects. From strawberry to caramel, marzipan or Kahlua, you can use a basic American buttercream, meringue-based buttercream.
Ingredients
- 8 oz (225 g) chocolate
- 8 oz (225 g) chocolate
- 2 tbsp strong Espresso coffee (liquid)
- ¾ cup (0.75 cup ) caramel sauce
- ¾ cup (0.75 cup) caramel sauce
- 1 tbsp ( ) rock salt
- ¾ cup (0.75 cup ) Nutella
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 200 ml (7 oz) crushed strawberries
- ½ tsp strawberry extract (optional)
- 8 oz (7 oz) crushed raspberries
- ½ tsp raspberry extract (optional)
- ¾ cup (0.75 cup ) peanut butter
- 8 oz (200 ml ) crushed pineapple
- ½ tsp pineapple extract (optional)
- ½ cup maraschino cherries
- 2 tsp cherry juice
- ½ cup (120 ml) Baileys or Kahlua
- ½ cup (120 g) Coconut cream
- ½ cup (110 g) marzipan
- ¾ cup (180 ml) vanilla pastry cream
Method
- Add melted cooled chocolate to the buttercream.
- Add melted cool chocolate and espresso to the buttercream.
- Add caramel to the buttercream.
- Combine thick caramel to the buttercream – mix well.
- Sprinkle over the rock salt and barely mix.
- Add Nutella to the buttercream – stir well.
- Add lemon juice and zest to the buttercream.
- Stir in the crushed fruit and extract to the buttercream.
- Combine the peanut butter to the buttercream – stir well.
- Stir in the Baileys or Kahlua to the buttercream.
- Add a few tbsp. canned MC juice + chopped cherries.
- Stir vanilla pastry cream to the stiff buttercream frosting recipe.
- Add coconut cream to the buttercream.
- You can add either toasted coconut flakes or toasted desiccated chocolate to add texture.
- Soften one cup Marzipan with a few drops of water. Add it to the buttercream.
I just stumbled on your site. I am making 200 mini cupcakes and need to make black frosting to use for piping decorations on top of the mini cups. I have tried 3 different recipes one using dark and black cocoa and one with melted chocolate. So far the taste isn’t there and the AMC buttercream are gritty. I’m using Americolor Super Black Gel Paste. I see a black frosted cake picture but I can’t find a recipe for how you achieved it. Can you please help me with this. I have spent way too much time and money on ingredients.
Thank you.
Hi Pam. Yes black buttercream can be tricky. The best way I achieve black frosting is I use half dark chocolate ganache and half chocolate buttercream frosting. I make sure my chocolate buttercream is fairly stiff consistency. Then I add black food color. I have to use much less gel color with this method.
The other thing I always do is, I make the frosting a few days ahead of time. That way the black color intensifies more.
I hope this helps.
Oh these are such a treat. Every time I need a buttercream recipe I come back to this post. I have tried a few of them with your Velvet Buttercream. Love the lemon and Strawberry. The Baileys is a treat and the pineapple is to die for. Thank you so much for always sharing all your tried and tested recipes. Your blog is my go to place for recipes
Thank you so much Siob!! So happy to hear that you enjoy my recipes! And thank you so much for coming to leave this feedback. Appreciate it very much
I’m a little lost can you send me step by step on how to make chocolate frosting. I need to make chocolate butter cream for some cupcakes .
Use my basic Velvet Buttercream Frosting and add melted cooled chocolate to it.
Is it baking chocolate?
NO I use good quality eating chocolate. Thanks.
I am making French buttercream and I want to flavor it with caramel. How might I do that? Love all your recipes. This one is amazing
I usually add less liquid in the buttercream and then add the caramel later so it won’t be too soft in consistency. I’d go with 1 cup caramel for every 4 to 5 cups buttercream – more or less.
Tq good tips. I really enjoy reading all your post on Facebook ! THank you for your kindness
Thank you so much Abdul
minha querida sempre e maravilhozo ler suas receitas, porque vc sempre faz maravilhas e maravilhozas tortas que sao uma preciozuras em obra de arte, obrigada por compartir esses tips com a gente. obrigada querida
I tried the buttercream, it was really tasty but i could still feel a bit of the sugar. Although i didn’t use all the 250 ml liquid since i wanted to pipe with it. But everyone loved the taste and it was so easy to make. Thanks
Check the sugar you are using. some brand sugars tend to leave a gritty taste.
The liquid helps melt the sugar too..
I am anxious to try your buttercream recipe. Am wondering if the non-dairy creamer adds a taste, so will make a batch. My family are great taste testers.
Taste? NO!! Unless you use one that is flavored lol!!
thanks, love it, i've learned a lot. You make everthing look so easy. I love trying your recipes they always work for me.
wonderful , <3 thanks for the recipes. love this site. You are truly appreciated. Thank you so much