Buttercream icing

Foolproof cake frosting requires just butter and icing sugar – try out different flavourings and use our guide for quantities

Prep:10 mins

Easy

Nutrition per serving

kcal 284
fat 20.6g
saturates 13g
carbs 25g
sugars 0g
fibre 0g
protein 0.1g
salt 0.4g

Ingredients

600g icing sugar, sifted
300g unsalted or salted butter, softened
finely grated lemon zest
finely grated orange zest
a dash of vanilla extract
few drops food colouring
cocoa powder, to taste

Tip

QUANTITIES FOR BUTTERCREAM

A ratio of equal quantities of icing sugar and butter works well unless you’re adding a significant quantity of a liquid (e.g. juice of an orange or lemon or melted chocolate). If you are, you can increase the quantities of icing sugar. You might want to add as much as double. Add gradually, if you like, and make sure it is sifted, to get the consistency you want.

KEEPING THE ICING

If you’re not using the icing straightaway, you can cover it and refrigerate for up to a week. Allow it to come back up to room temperature and beat again if necessary before using.

CELEBRATION CAKE RATIOS

10cm (4 inch) cake: 150g buttercream13cm (5 inch) cake: 225g buttercream15cm (6 inch) cake: 300g buttercream18cm (7 inch) cake: 450g buttercream20cm (8 inch) cake: 600g buttercream23cm (9 inch) cake: 750g buttercream25cm ((10 inch) cake: 900g buttercream28cm (11 inch) cake: 1.2kg buttercream30cm (12 inch) cake: 1.5kg buttercream

SHOULD I USE SALTED OR UNSALTED BUTTER FOR ICING?

Choose unsalted butter for a celebration cake. Salted is good for cupcakes.

Method

Beat 600g sifted icing sugar and 300g butter together with your chosen flavouring and colouring if using, add 2-3 tbsp of boiling water to loosen and beat until smooth.
Fill a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe onto cupcakes or smear in the middle and over the top of a 20cm cake using a palette knife.