[Wilton Wednesday] Buttercream Icing

Welcome to Wilton Wednesday!  

Today is about Buttercream Icing.

I have never tried making buttercream icing in my cakes so it was pretty interesting.  

You can find the recipe HERE.

We had to make a double batch for class:  

2 cups vegetable shortening, meringue powder, 2 lbs powdered sugar, water or milk, vanilla and a dash of salt.  

I used McCormick pure vanilla and though it didn't discolor my icing, you might want to use a brand that will not tint your icing (such as Wilton vanilla) especially if you want it stark white..

The procedure is pretty simple.  Mix all the ingredients and beat until smooth.  Add the water or milk a little at a time until the desired consistency is achieved.  I learned that there are three types of icing:  Stiff, Medium and Thin each had its own purpose.

Stiff icing is used for flowers with upright petals like the rose.  Notice that the spatula doesn't move.

Medium icing is used for stars, shells, borders, rosettes, zigzags and flowers with flat petals.  The spatula will move slightly and start to lean.

Thin icing is for printing, writing and leaves.  It is also used for icing the cake.  To test for consistency, the spatula will fall over.

 I baked a boxed cake for class... not as good as the real thing but it works for practice.

I tort the cake and filled it with this Grave's Mountain Cantaloupe Peach jam from Virginia.  Oh, it was delicious! This was given to us by friends from their trip.

I used thin icing to crumb and cover the cake.  I didn't add a lot because I didn't want to waste it and it's too sweet to my liking.  I added gel color and piped stars and swirls in my cupcake design.

I learned how to make the pearl border too.  I was fun!

Oh well... I need to practice, practice and practice some more.

A friend of mine asked me how much sugar I consume a day with all my baking and cooking.  Not too much.  The secret is sharing and spreading the joy with others.

See ya'll next week.

♥  michelle  ♥