If you plan to pipe buttercream flowers, the first thing you need is a stiff buttercream frosting recipe for piping flowers. One that will pipe perfect buttercream flowers for you and will taste as delicious as it looks. This is an all-butter buttercream recipe that will give you the best stiff buttercream frosting for cake decorating you will ever need.
What did you make for Mother's Day this year? Last year I made Pink Champagne Cupcakes with Pink Champagne Buttercream for some of my lady customers.
Tip - a great way to simplify orders at peak time is to make an exotic flavor - call it 'flavor of the month', or 'mother's day special' and give a little discount. When more people order the same your workload gets a bit easier to handle and it's less stressful.
Don't those buttercream flowers look gorgeous? Firm and stiff?
This Spring Buttercream Basket of Flowers was this year's mother's day special. I have been waiting to share with you how I made this cake but first, you're going to need the right buttercream for the right job. So, here is my Stiff Buttercream Frosting for Piping flowers and I mean it when I say - this is the best buttercream icing for piping. And did I tell you yet, that it's an all-butter buttercream frosting? Yes!
Why do you need a special buttercream for piping flowers?
Piping buttercream flowers are not difficult if you have the right buttercream frosting for piping. One that is just the right consistency; and not over whipped. Now, I highlight these dilemmas not to discourage you but to share that these can be potential problems, which the below recipe and tips to help piping.
- An over whipped buttercream cake causes air pockets in the buttercream piping bag that will burst when piping flowers - so unlike another buttercream frosting this one is mixed just until it's combined.
- If the consistency is too stiff- it won't be easy to pipe. Your wrist will start hurting after a few flowers - so if your wrist hurts when piping? that's your clue that your frosting is too stiff.
- The petals of the flowers will have cracked edges which on some flowers look nice, but in general, the stiff frosting won't look good for all flowers. Here's another clue that the icing is too stiff.
- If the consistency is too soft, the petals will be limp and not hold their shape. The petals will look swoopy. So when you are piping if you find the petal is not holding its form. Don't continue pipping as it will be a struggle. Sometimes a little powder sugar will do the trick. Unfortunately, sometimes you need a fresh batch of buttercream or new cake design.
- If the frosting is soft, the flowers will be limp and slide off the cake. Another reason the flowers fall of the cake is when you are piping the flowers with the right buttercream, but you covered the cake with a very soft frosting which is why these flowers are sliding. Chilling the cake can often help with this problem.
- The weather - if you live in a place with high humidity often it's not the buttercream but whether that's causing the butter to melt. Sometimes, using a veg shortening buttercream can help solve this problem.
This stiff buttercream frosting for cake decorating works excellent for cakes such as this. This helps me make my flowers without stressing too much about air pockets or whooped petals. Also, read - Tips for coloring icing - icing color combination chart
Ingredients and substitutes
- Butter- Yes, this is an all-butter buttercream recipe! Drum roll, please!
Well you know I love all butter in my buttercream, so this one is no different. Having said that if you live in a hot and humid climate go ahead and substitute half the butter with vegetable shortening/ white fat or ghee.
Take note - I currently live in Israel and summer here in the middle east is hot and humid too! But this works for me. So honestly I think it works with your warm and humid climate also. But don't take my word for it - do a test, make a small batch, and pipe some cupcakes. - Powdered sugar - I have said this before, and I will repeat it. Look for powdered sugar made from pure cane sugar, not beet sugar. And you will never have a grainy or gritty buttercream.
- Pudding Mix or Cornstarch / Cornflour - This is not just for taste, but it helps add stability to the buttercream. What is the pudding mix? It's just flavored cornstarch which adds so much more to the buttercream.
- Clear vanilla and almond - It's best to use clear extract so your buttercream will be neutral and the gel colors you add will be at their best shades.
Step by step instructions (pin)Â
- Have all ingredients at room temperature.
- Place butter in a mixer bowl with a paddle attachment and mix until creamy - 30 seconds.
- Add cream, salt, cornstarch/cornflour/pudding mix - mix slowly to incorporate.
- Make sure you have no lumps - if necessary add a bit of the powdered sugar to help it combine.
- Scarp the sides and bottom of the bowl for any butter stuck.
- Once you have a smooth, creamy mix - add the powdered sugar in two batches.
- When all the sugar is in - scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl again.
- Add vanilla and almond extract.
- Give it one last mix for 2 minutes - check to make sure it's not too stiff and not too gritty.
- If necessary add 1 or 2 tbsp fresh cream or milk to adjust consistency. But remember for flowers this must be a stiff buttercream.
- Unlike my velvet American buttercream recipe, this one gets mixed for barely 5 minutes in total.
Storage and use
- This buttercream cream will stay at room temperature for about three days - having said that this is still an all-butter buttercream recipe so if the weather is hot the frosting will melt.
- When not using - store covered with cling wrap to prevent crusting.
- Add gel food color without over mixing to avoid incorporating to much air
- You can store this buttercream in the fridge for a month or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- It is best to thaw in the fridge from frozen, then re-mixed to bring to consistency.
Frequently asked questions
If you make extra buttercream flowers don't throw them away, leave them on the parchment squares and freeze them in a single layer. They will last for months. Wrap them well covered away from other foods.Â
It really depends on the type of frosting you use and the weather where you keep the cake. My stiff buttercream frosting can be kept out for a few days (2 to 3 days at room temperature) as long as it's not hot and humid because it's made with butter. Having said that if you live in a hot and humid climate like Israel, India or Texas summer, the buttercream flowers will stay well for a few hours at room temperature. They will be soft at room temperature but not melt unless you place them in a sunny place.Â
Buttercream flowers can elevate a simple cake to an impressive work of art in merely minutes. Making buttercream flowers is simple and easy if you have the right buttercream recipe and use the right piping technique which I am going to share with you today in this video and step by step tutorial.
You certainly can but it's stiff consistency and would not be so easy to spread. I use my Velvet American Buttercream for frosting all my cake. There is a reason why I call it velvet and I highly recommend you check it out. I also use it as a base for all my many buttercream flavors. If you want an eggless buttercream for cakes, use this classic vanilla buttercream frosting
Pudding mix is usually cornstarch also known as cornflour or sometimes arrowroot with flavoring (and sometimes sugar). So, if you don't have pudding mix, use cornstarch, cornflour or arrowroot powder. I've used a pudding mix for the added flavor.
Yes. This recipe will work perfectly with the popular Russian piping tips.Â
Yes, you sure can use this as a base for other flavors. I do have over 30 buttercream frosting recipes on this blog. Some from scratch and some made from a basic buttercream recipe. Also read, Buttercream Basic -Buttercream 101 a great guide for beginners
If you want to make chocolate buttercream flowers I highly recommend you substitute ½ cup powdered sugar with ½ cup cocoa powder. If you want to frost a cake I suggest you use my Chocolate buttercream frosting (with real chocolate or my Bakery style chocolate buttercream frosting (with cocoa powder)
You can but it really depends on the weather you enjoy. If cool weather any meringue buttercream will make buttercream flowers but in summer or hot and humid weather that might just not be possible. However, there is a Korean buttercream recipe that works well for making buttercream flowers despite the humidity.
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The Best Stiff Buttercream frosting for cake decorating Pipping Buttercream Flowers
Print Pin RateDescription
Ingredients
- 1 lb (450 g) Unsalted butter (4 sticks) (room temperature)
- 2 lbs (900 g) Powdered sugar / Confectioners sugar
- 2 tbsp Pudding mix (see substitute above)
- 2 tbsp Whipping cream (plus extra for consistency)
- 1 tsp Clear vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp Clear almond extract
- 1 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Have all ingredients at room temperature.
- Place butter in a mixer bowl with a paddle attachment and mix until creamy - 30 seconds.
- Add cream, salt, cornflour - mix slowly to incorporate.
- Make sure you have no lumps - if necessary add a bit of the powdered sugar to help it combine.
- Scarp the sides and bottom of the bowl for any butter stuck.
- Once you have a smooth creamy mix - add the powdered sugar in two batches.
- When all the sugar is in - scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl again.
- Add vanilla and almond extract.
- Give it one last mix for 2 minutes - check to make sure it's not too stiff and not too gritty.
- If necessary add 1 or 2 tbsp fresh cream or milk to adjust consistency.
- Unlike my Velvet American Buttercream Recipe, this one gets mixed for barely 5 minutes in total.
Recipe Notes
- Ensure the butter is room temperature when creaming (or you will have little lumps of  butter in the buttercream)
- Sift the powdered sugar - twice if needed when making this buttercream - Any bits of sugar left in; can clog the piping bag and become very frustrating.
- When adding gel do not over mix as it incorporates too much air in the buttercream causing air pockets in the piping bag.
- Add color to small batches and a tiny bit at a time. A little can go a long way.
- Use gel, not water-based colors - water-based colors will affect consistency if you have to use water-based use less cream/milk at the beginning in the recipe.
- Check final consistency after adding color to the buttercream - as gel colors can alter consistency too.
- If the buttercream is too soft to pipe add powdered sugar if the buttercream is too stiff add fresh cream or milk  - but do it a teaspoon at a time.
Storage and use
- This buttercream cream will stay at room temperature for about 3 days - having said that this is still an all-butter buttercream recipe so if the weather is hot the frosting will start to melt.
- When not using - store covered with cling wrap to prevent crusting.
- Add gel food color without over mixing to avoid incorporating to much air.
- You can store this buttercream in the fridge for a month or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- It is best thawed in the fridge from frozen, then re-mixed to bring to consistency.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
