Sharon's Crusting Buttercream Icing
I never thought I'd have to make icing when I thought of cake decorating. I mean, the stuff is already at the grocery store, right? Why should I have to make it? There are consistency reasons, of course and costs.. it's cheaper to make a big batch of icing than it is to buy it in the store. But man... it's not a neat thing to do and it's a little scary too :)
To see Sharon's recipe on her blog, click here. I highly recommend that you visit her blog and join her group. Great bunch of ladies that are very supportive and helpful.
I'm going to type my notes as well as share pictures.
Ok, to start, I have a kitchen aide 5 quart, which is what the recipe calls for - 5 quart mixer.
The ingredients - super duper simple:
5 generous cups of Sweetex shortening (you want hi-ratio shortening, so the handy dandy Crisco is a big fat No No) Sweetex isn't easy to find, but it's available for online purchase.
5 pounds of powdered sugar. Easiest way to do this - buy 3 bags of 2 pound Domino's powdered sugar. The first of the five pounds will be measured out in 4 cups.
4 tablespoons of extracts... I love wedding bouquet, or you could do almond or vanilla, etc. but it's important that you have four tablespoons because this is part of your "liquid" in the recipe.
11-12 tablespoons of hot coffee creamer liquid (going to explain this one in just a minute). Now, I did 12 tablespoons and I still found that the icing was maybe a touch too stiff in consistency, so I might go 13 tablespoons next time.
Ok, to start - boil some water. Seriously. I put 2 cups of water in a microwave for 40 seconds, just to warm it a touch. I won't boil water in microwaves, because I've had friends receive burns from doing this. Not worth it. So, nuke it 40 seconds and then put it on the stove and bring to "almost" a boil.
Don't watch a boiling pot, in the meantime - put 5 1/2 cups of Sweetex in a mixer bowl. (Now, if anyone is genius enough to figure out how to get shortening out of a measuring cup easily, please share your wisdom!)
Add extract flavors to the Sweetex.
Is the water almost to a boil? If so, measure out ONE cup of HOT water and measure one cup of powdered coffee creamer. Add the coffee creamer slowly into the hot water and mix together with a spoon. It's important for the water to be hot in order for the cream to properly dissolve.
Add 11-13 tablespoons of the hot liquid creamer.
Cover the mixer bowl with a paper towel, because the liquids will splash as you turn on the mixer. Start slow at first and then bring it to a speed of 4. When it starts to stick to the side of the bowl, that's a sign that it's ready - it should be a creamy consistency.
If you are going to color the entire batch, now is the time to add your coloring.
Measure out 4 cups of powdered sugar from one of the bags. Put the mixture on low and put a paper towel to cover - this is going to get messy - move everything on the countertop away from the mixer if you can! (This next picture kills me, because I'm a neat freak by nature.)
Pick up one of the unopened powdered sugar bags and add it rapidly into the mixer - mixer still on low - you can add it rapidly because there's still a lot of liquid in the mix.
Pick up the other unopened powdered sugar bag and add it in slowly, still with the mixer on low. Once all the sugar has been added, you can stop the mixer and use a spatula to scrap down the sides of the bowl getting all the sugar into the "belly" of the bowl. And if you are a neat freak, take a moment to clean and take another picture.
.jpg)
Turn the mixer on and to the speed of 6 - scrapping down the sides as needed. Beat 7-9 minutes. Just watch because you don't want the icing on the sides at the top - push it towards the blade. The key to this recipe is that the mixer blade is covered by the icing and the sides don't allow any air in either.
This icing doesn't need to be refrigerated unless you go a week out. It can store indefinitely in a refrigerator or freezer - plastic freezer bags will do the trick. Once it's thawed, remix it.
Yes, it does make a stiff consistency and sometimes you need that for decorating purposes, but wow.. I stuck a butter knife and it's standing on its own!
.jpg)
I was told that it needs to stick to the knife when you hold it upside down. It does do that! And yes, this taste yummy. My husband, mother, sister-in-law, aunt all did a taste test and said it was great. (I had a few comment that it was the best icing they have tasted, but this is family, so they might be a tad biased. I don't mind :)
To see Sharon's recipe on her blog, click here. I highly recommend that you visit her blog and join her group. Great bunch of ladies that are very supportive and helpful.
I'm going to type my notes as well as share pictures.
Ok, to start, I have a kitchen aide 5 quart, which is what the recipe calls for - 5 quart mixer.
The ingredients - super duper simple:
5 generous cups of Sweetex shortening (you want hi-ratio shortening, so the handy dandy Crisco is a big fat No No) Sweetex isn't easy to find, but it's available for online purchase.
5 pounds of powdered sugar. Easiest way to do this - buy 3 bags of 2 pound Domino's powdered sugar. The first of the five pounds will be measured out in 4 cups.
4 tablespoons of extracts... I love wedding bouquet, or you could do almond or vanilla, etc. but it's important that you have four tablespoons because this is part of your "liquid" in the recipe.
11-12 tablespoons of hot coffee creamer liquid (going to explain this one in just a minute). Now, I did 12 tablespoons and I still found that the icing was maybe a touch too stiff in consistency, so I might go 13 tablespoons next time.
Ok, to start - boil some water. Seriously. I put 2 cups of water in a microwave for 40 seconds, just to warm it a touch. I won't boil water in microwaves, because I've had friends receive burns from doing this. Not worth it. So, nuke it 40 seconds and then put it on the stove and bring to "almost" a boil.
Don't watch a boiling pot, in the meantime - put 5 1/2 cups of Sweetex in a mixer bowl. (Now, if anyone is genius enough to figure out how to get shortening out of a measuring cup easily, please share your wisdom!)
Add extract flavors to the Sweetex.
Is the water almost to a boil? If so, measure out ONE cup of HOT water and measure one cup of powdered coffee creamer. Add the coffee creamer slowly into the hot water and mix together with a spoon. It's important for the water to be hot in order for the cream to properly dissolve.
Add 11-13 tablespoons of the hot liquid creamer.
Cover the mixer bowl with a paper towel, because the liquids will splash as you turn on the mixer. Start slow at first and then bring it to a speed of 4. When it starts to stick to the side of the bowl, that's a sign that it's ready - it should be a creamy consistency.
If you are going to color the entire batch, now is the time to add your coloring.
Measure out 4 cups of powdered sugar from one of the bags. Put the mixture on low and put a paper towel to cover - this is going to get messy - move everything on the countertop away from the mixer if you can! (This next picture kills me, because I'm a neat freak by nature.)
Pick up one of the unopened powdered sugar bags and add it rapidly into the mixer - mixer still on low - you can add it rapidly because there's still a lot of liquid in the mix.
Pick up the other unopened powdered sugar bag and add it in slowly, still with the mixer on low. Once all the sugar has been added, you can stop the mixer and use a spatula to scrap down the sides of the bowl getting all the sugar into the "belly" of the bowl. And if you are a neat freak, take a moment to clean and take another picture.
.jpg)
Turn the mixer on and to the speed of 6 - scrapping down the sides as needed. Beat 7-9 minutes. Just watch because you don't want the icing on the sides at the top - push it towards the blade. The key to this recipe is that the mixer blade is covered by the icing and the sides don't allow any air in either.
This icing doesn't need to be refrigerated unless you go a week out. It can store indefinitely in a refrigerator or freezer - plastic freezer bags will do the trick. Once it's thawed, remix it.
Yes, it does make a stiff consistency and sometimes you need that for decorating purposes, but wow.. I stuck a butter knife and it's standing on its own!
.jpg)
I was told that it needs to stick to the knife when you hold it upside down. It does do that! And yes, this taste yummy. My husband, mother, sister-in-law, aunt all did a taste test and said it was great. (I had a few comment that it was the best icing they have tasted, but this is family, so they might be a tad biased. I don't mind :)
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