Special Buttercream Frosting

I made a huge birthday cake for 50 people yesterday and wanted to try a different buttercream recipe. I made 2 changes based on other reviews. (1) I used 1 1/2 cups shortening and 1/2 cup butter. I didn't use more butter because of potential problems with softening/melting. (2) I added 1 tsp Wilton's butter flavoring. I left everything else the same. What a great icing! It was very spreadable and great when piping shell borders, rosettes and lettering. It also tinted beautifully. I did have to refrigerate the pastry bags after a minutes of use because the heat from my hands was too much and the icing became very soft. At the birthday party, I had 4 guests who bake tell me that this was the best icing ever--that it was so buttery and not too sweet. I will definitely use again.

I tried two variations of this recipe so far. The first time I tried a variation I read in the reviews because I didn't want the frosting to have a greasy after taste. I used 1 c. butter and 1 c. shortening, and only 4.5 cups of powered sugar and 4 oz of heavy cream (along with the other ingrediants). This tasted great and wasn't too sweet. The only problem is that it tended to be a bit more runny that I liked and I had to refrigerate it often because it was getting too soft for my decorations. The 2nd batch I made was 1 1/2 c. shortening, 1/2 c butter and the rest of the ingrediants according to the recipe. This batch came out fabulous! It was sweet (as expected) but with a great consistency for piping, star tip design, and other decorating techniques. I don't care for really sweet frosting, however, I didn't have a problem with this frosting at all. I think from now on I'm going to stick to the 2nd variation for my cakes!

This is the best buttercream recipe I have ever tried before, but I read the reviews and substituted 1 and 1/2 cups of the shortening with butter (having made buttercream that tasted "greasy" before) and only added 1/2 a cup of shortening. It was phenomenal!! I froze the extra so that I can use it for any decorating needs in the future - perfect decorating consistency, but tasty also. I also needed to make a lemon buttercream icing, so I substituted the vanilla with lemon extract. I could not stop "taste-testing". Didn't give it 5 stars just because if it was made as is with 2 cups of shortening, I do believe it would be too greasy-tasting. This is a keeper!

While this recipe is really good, it is definitely not for cakes to decorate in the Wilton fashion. It is too soft to hold up intricate work. Also, because of the cream, refrigeration is necessary. Another reason to not use it on a large elaborate cake, unless you have a lot of room in your frig. But if you just want to frost a cake this is really delicious. I don't usually like to lick frosting, but this one is lickable.

Its not buttercream if it doesn't have butter in it

This really is a GREAT RECIPE however I STRONGLY recommend using half unsalted butter for half the shortening and only 5 cups sifted powdered sugar (otherwise it would be much too sweet). I also used real vanilla powder (less color than extract). With the heavy cream, it becomes a terrificly light, fluffy frosting that spreads beautifully. You could beat in slightly more sugar to part of the finished frosting if you want to use it to pipe roses (but don't use that much sugar to cover the whole cake).

I substituted the shortening for butter and it was the best frosting I've ever made.

After reading several reviews and seeing all the changes everyone made to this recipe, I looked for the opinion of someone who actually followed the recipe. I followed it exactly and it is the best frosting I've used. Fluffy, easy to work with, delicious and a beautiful white color. Thank you, Rick!!

Yum! This was the frosting for my daughter's first birthday cake (cake was Creay White Layers, filling was Lemon Filling-- both also on this site). Wonderful, pretty, tasty frosting. Here were my modifications, based on other reviews: - I used 1 c. salted butter, 1 c. shortening, and omitted the salt; - I used only 4.5 cups of powdered sugar; - I used only 1/2 cup (4 oz.) heavy cream. Next time, I will only make 1/2 a recipe. That would have been enough to liberally frost my filled 9-in. 2 layer cake. I think it would be enough even if I were using this frosting to fill the cake. Not that there's anything wrong with leftover frosting-- it's great with fresh strawberries and vanilla wafers!

I've tried any number of similar buttercream recipes from this site and most have been very good - after all, with minor variations they're pretty much the same. This recipe, however, sets itself apart from most others. First, it's reliable - the frosting comes out exactly as it's supposed to following the recipe just as written, so you can feel confident that very little, if any, tweaking is going to be required. Second, I like the addition of the salt, which noticeably heightens this frosting's flavor, as well as the heavy cream, which contributes a fresh, dairy taste, important when you're using shortening and imitation vanilla. It spreads or pipes beautifully, LOOKS beautiful, and the bonus is that it tastes good too. No wonder this frosting is such a hit on this site! I used this to frost cupcakes made from the "Butter Pound Cake," recipe, also from this site. It was like they were made for each other!

I was looking for a buttercream frosting recipe to use for my brother’s wedding cake and after trying several other recipes, and found this to be the best. I reduced the amount of shortening by 1/2 cup and added 1/2 cup unsalted butter. I also used real vanilla, not the clear vanilla, and the frosting was still very white in color. This frosting was not only eat with a spoon good, but was a dream to work with and it held up very well to piping. The frosting received rave reviews from wedding guests and from the bride and groom.

This is an amazing recipe! The only thing I changed is used 1 cup shortening and 1 cup butter, and since I didn't have any clear vanilla extract I used Almond extract and it made all the difference! I used this to frost cupcakes that I took to work and EVERYONE went nuts over the frosting!

I first used this recipe for a shower cake and it was a big hit. My daughter wanted it for her wedding cake in May. It has such a smooth creamy taste unlike other buttercream. The wedding cake was done in the basket weave and it turned out great. I even used it again for my neices wedding cake last week.It can be used for most decorating but not the very detailed. Its the only buttercream I use now in my bakery. Thank You for sharing it.

I;m not giving this recipe 5 stars because I did change some things with PHENOMENAL results!!! I used all real unsalted butter and real vanilla extract. It made some out of this world delicious buttercream! I also used only about half of the heavy cream so that the icing wouldn't get too soft for what I'm using it for (basketweave piping). It is perfect, rich, and melt-in-your-mouth. I suggest using butter and real vanilla. I could not stop licking the bowl :P I used this to fill and ice David's Yellow Cake (which is also scrumptious!).

This a great recipe! I use it for cakes that I sell and never fail to get compliments. I do make two changes...I use only butter (shortening is an abomination) and I use REAL, high quality vanilla. My white frosting isn't necessarily brilliant white, but it's white enough that no one ever notices.

This recipe is terrific! I have been skeptical of any recipes that call for crisco, but I substituted 3 parts butter and 1 part crisco, and it worked out great. Any advice on how to store the frosting if I'm not going to use it for a few days? Fridge, countertop? How far in advance can I use it to make buttercream roses if I leave them in the fridge? Thanks!!

This is THE BEST buttercream frosting! I've been trying to decorate cakes for a couple of years and haven't been able to "perfect" the buttercream recipe. THIS IS IT! I had no idea that you could whip up shortening all by itself just like that even with a hand mixer. My husband almost ate a spoon full of just shortening because it looked so delicious! It decorates a cake nicely, pipes well, and tastes great. If you like a buttery taste, you may want to substitute a bit of butter in the recipe, but it was good for me. It crusts a bit too so you can smooth it using the paper towel trick to look like fondant... everyone thought I used fondant. So easy, so delicious. I will never use a different recipe again.

I am one of the world's pickiest people when it comes to frosting. Whenever I move to a new city I will try out all the bakery's until I find the one with the best frosting. I was very skeptical when I made this but I am pleased to say that it deserves 5 stars for sure! It was incredibly easy to make and yeilds a TON of frosting. I used butter flavored crisco and though it came out slightly yellow (obviously), it colored nicely with food coloring. This frosting is exactly what I was looking for. For a thicker frosting only add 6 oz of the whipping cream. For a lighter fluffier frosting add a couple more oz. Be sure to only stir in the 6 called for oz first and THEN slowly add the other if desired. It spreads easy, pipes easy, and tastes fabulous on everything!!!

This is the perfect buttercream frosting recipe! The consistency and FLAVOR were exactly what I was looking for. It's easy to mix up and easy to work with on cakes. I took the advice of using 1/2 butter and 1/2 shortening, and it was delicious! This is now my favorite frosting recipe!

I very rarely leave reviews, but I just have to say this frosting is AWESOME! OMG so good! I followed other reviewers tips to use 1-1/2 C shortening and 1/2 C butter, only used 7 C powdered sugar and it turned out great! Will be using this recipe from now on, thanks so much!! YUMMY!

I put my own twist on the frosting, rather than using all shortening, I used half the amount and the other half I used unsalted butter, it really made a nice frosting.

Tasted like sickly sweet shortening. I was looking for a true buttery flavor, but didn't have enough butter so I thought I could use this recipe instead. It doesn't taste like a buttercream at all. Tastes like the filling of a Suzy-Q.

Best. Frosting. Ever. I really don't need to say anymore!

This is the most non-nasty greasy mouth frosting recipe ever! I hate buttercream because it's like eating a stick of butter or a spoon full of crisco!! But this was really great!!!! I did take a lot of people's advice and did 1 cup shortening and 1 cup butter... I might do more 1 1/2 C butter and 1/2C shortening next time just to see if it would work.. Only because the thought of eating crisco nauseates me!!! I sifted the 8C flour and it came out 9 cups.. I only added 8 Cups after the sift and it was fine fine fine. I also only added about 4oz of the whipping cream just to ensure that it was stiff enough to not go anywhere. I did add a dash more of the vanilla too. Overall this is what I will use when I need to do a kids cake from now on!!

I've used this recipe for several batches of cupcakes. The first time I made it exactly per the recipe. The next few times I added a teaspoon of Wilton butter flavoring and a teaspoon of almond extract. It was great both ways! I tinted my icings several colors and used the bag striping technique to decorate my cupcakes. Great every time!

This frosting was pretty good - I read the reviews so I di d some the changes used 1/2 cup of butter and 1/2 cup butter shortening - I used a lot of confectioners sugar to get this to be pretty stiff it was quite runny - I do wish I has more sugar bec I would have liked the frosting to have been a bit more stiff for the cakes I was decorating all in all it was pretty good.

I have started decorating cakes and am working on finding good recipes for cakes and frostings. I have been using another buttercream recipe, but this blows it out of the water!! I followed the other reviewers and substituted butter for half the shortening. I also added a little almond flavoring. The result was the fluffiest, most buttery, melt-in-your-mouth frosting I could have imagined. I can't wait to have my co-workers sample this next cake!!! Thank you!!!!!

I did not enjoy this frosting at all! I was really excited because of all the great reviews, but I did not care for it at all! I felt like I was eating pure Crisco! Maybe it would be better if was butter flavored Crisco? I I don't know it left a terrible taste in my mouth!

All I have to say is yum. This icing piped perfectly, and made my cupcakes look better than the store version. Wonderful recipe. I may try half butter half shortening next time, but other than that, I wouldn't change a thing.

I use this for all my cakes and cupcakes, I use all butter, sift the icing sugar and double the vanilla, usually I start with 1/4 cup of the cream then add as needed depending on the season, great for decorating and frosting. If I want a softer frosting I use half butter and half soy margarine. Full batch frosted 75 cupcakes with 1M tip and had about 1 cup leftover.

The texture was perfect, but the taste was not for me. I ended up tossing the whole thing. It tasted just like shortening. My kids tasted it and didn't care for it either.

Definitely an amazing buttercream! Definitely taste like the local bakery. It did have an bit of a heavy shortening taste. I would follow another reviewer's advice and use half shortening and butter. I also only had 1/4 cup cream so I used milk and all was good!

This is OUTSTANDING!! It tastes EXACTLY like the frosting at the bakery. I needed a durable frosting for cupcakes for my son's school and this was it! Thank so much for sharing! Oh, I halved the recipe b/c seriously - it made a LOT of frosting and I didn't need THAT much! But it came out perfect - I forgot to buy heavy cream & used 2% milk (b/c that's all I had) Perfect fluffy frosting is what I got! I will not be looking for another recipe - this will be my go-to frosting from now on. Will never buy yucky canned frosting again!!

Hands-down best basic, WHITE frosting! Like other reviewers mentioned, it's so universal and can be easily modified. Sometimes I don't have shortening or I don't have butter. My best mix is 1/2 butter, 1/2 shortening. It doesn't taste too much like a bakery frosting, but it's not too rich, either. I've added coloring/flavoring and each time it gets tons of compliments. This recipe is easily cut in half or doubled depending on your needs. I store leftover frosting in a tupperware or even in freezer bags and it always tastes as great. Perfect consistency for spreading and can easily be adjusted by adding more/less cream. I've also used milk when I didn't have cream and got great results. Thanks for the recipe!!

Not bad, if you don't mind the taste that comes from all shortening and no butter. Holds up really well in the heat, but I won't make it again...love real butter buttercream too much!

This buttercream frosting is awesome, with some of my own changes. As is the recipe works fine, but I prefer my buttercream frosting to actually use real butter, so that's what I did. I substituted real, salted butter for the shortening and omitted the extra call for salt, although the adding it wouldn't have hurt. I also used non-fat milk, but that was only because I didn't have any heavy cream in the fridge. The key to making this, or any frosting, is to first cream your butter and then add the confectioners sugar slowly. If you add it all it once, you'll end up with a big clumpy mess. Adding the sugar slowly allows time for everything to come together. Very smooth frosting and very tasty. This is my go-to buttercream frosting recipe from now on!!!!!

Very good, 1 used 1c shortening and 1c butter. Was not too sweet and not too bland, just right! I frosted 3 layers and had enough extra to do a rosette border around the top and bottom, rosettes and dots all over the sides and still had over a cup of frosting left. Perfect!

I finally found the perfect buttercream frosting of choice!!! Not too sweet, just perfect! (I did use only 6 cups of sugar for less sweetness) Would give 100 stars if possible! So tasty and everyone raved!!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!

BEST FROSTING I ever made. I did substitute 1.5 cups butter and 1/2 cup shorting for 2 cups shorting and it turned out fantastic. Will use over and over again. Thanks Rick

I can't understand how this recipe got 5 stars. I followed directions exactly as shown and it was so greasy tasting. It tasted like sweetened grease. I'll never waste my time and money on this recipe again.

Was great! I dont even like butter cream frosting and found myself liking this one. I did use butter flavored shortning and half butter though.

Excellent (when substituted half shortening for butter) Make sure you add the icing sugar slowly or it will be lumpy!

If you like the texture of plastic, by all means make this frosting.

This was my first trial at the buttercream and this recipe totally rocked!! I sifted the confectioners sugar as per one of the tips in some other recipe which took a lot of time. Otherwise, I will use this recipe everytime I make cupcakes or cake!!

I tried this recipe straight up, followed the directions to a tee, and without any ingredient alterations. I LOVED the texture and how well this frosting stood up to all the piping I do. This recipe makes A LOT of frosting, but it is ok. The frosting gets better with time. A week later I used the leftovers on some cookies, and it was AWESOME!!! One change that I have made on my next batch was adding 1 tsp. of butter extract and it was even more scrumptious. GREAT recipe!!!

Excellent frosting! I used regular real vanilla (not clear) and it worked just fine. I put the leftovers in the fridge, and it seemed to get even better the following days. Thanks for the recipe!!

I have used this recipe multiple times. Everyone in the family always asks for a piece to take home. Do as users say 1/2 butter 1/2 shortening. And there is a flavoring called WEDDING BOUQUET. They call it the baker's secret. And it is!!! It makes cakes and frosting taste amazing! ENJOY!!!!

Awesome recipe!! Really easy to make. Don't get Confectioner's sugar (powdered) and Granulated sugar mixed up though, like I did. I agree with other people that less sugar should be used. I used 6 cups of sugar and it was pretty sweet. I should have actually used less sugar since I made this for my son's 1st birthday cake. I love frosting anyway, so I'll just have to eat the rest.

very good, easy to make i recommend the 1/2 butter 1/2 shortening to make it taste better this recipe is enough to cover 2 9x13 cakes comfortably.

Instead of shortening, I used butter (1 1/2 cups) and then 1/2 cup shortening. I make all the birthday cakes for my family and have taken cake decorating classes. This is BY FAR the best icing I have made. The whipping cream makes all the difference in the world.

Really good frosting. Not too sweet. I halved the recipe and did half butter and half shortening. Came out perfectly and was super easy to spread. I paired this frosting with a dark chocolate cake I also found on this site.

This recipe tastes just like the buttercream frosting they use at bakeries and grocery store bakeries. Easy to make, delicious and PERFECT for decorating. I recently started a cake decorating business...this is my go-to recipe for icing for all of my cakes. Add some cocoa powder to make it chocolatey, or flavored oils to give it any flavor you like...orange, lemon, rasberry...YUM!

I used half shortening and half butter (love the butter taste, but shortening seems to set better) and it turned out perfect. It was delicious and set well. This is my new go-to recipe for buttercream frosting, thanks!

I first tried it with all shortening as the recipe stated and felt like it just tasted like greasy shortening. I had leftover ingredients so I tried a second batch with half butter as recommended by others. It wasn't much better. What a waste of time and ingredients :(

This is the last buttercream recipe I will ever try. I tried is with 3 parts shortening and 1 part butter. It tasted exactly how I wanted to. If you do all shortening, I think it would taste exactly like bakery icing. If you want a more buttery taste, it's easy to adjust the ratio.

This was horrible! It tasted like shortening. (we did half butter half shortening but it still tasted like shortening) It was really a waste of ingridients and time!

Awesome frosting and so versatile. I have used this for both cakes and cookies and licking off the spoon for girl time. I have used the heavy cream but have also substituted half&half as well as whole and 2% milk. So easy to play around with

This was really good! I followed everyone's advice of using half butter and half shortening, and im glad i did so. even with a full cup of shortening AND a full cup of butter, the bowl still smelled greasy. the important part was that it didnt taste greasy, so definitely use half butter, half shortening. Also, DO NOT USE 8C SUGAR! i used 7 and it was too much, so i had to add more heavy cream. i'd advice using 5 and a half cups of sifted powdered sugar and then add to your personal taste. the clear imitation vanilla extract has too many unnecessary restrictions. my vanilla extract was alcohol free, meaning it had a thicker consistency and was dark brown-ish but my buttercream still came out snow white. i advise using pure vanilla extract. good luck! :)

I don't think this recipe really needs another glowing review, but here it is. This was wonderful, tasty and easy to make. I used 1 cup of butter and 1 of shortening. The color was creamy white and easy to spread. This is a keeper. I am not a Wilton cake maker so I need a frosting that is pretty and doesn't need special tools to make a pretty cake.

Great recipe! I just finished making this a while ago and finished decorating my friends Bday cake. I only made half of this since her cake isn't large. Instead of shortening I used butter (I'm not a big fan of shortening). The recipe called for 4 cups of confectioners' sugar. I only used two and already, that's as much sweetness as I needed (and probably a tad too much). I also made it into chocolate buttercream frosting. I added 1/4 of a cup of cocoa powder to 1 cup of butter 2 cups of sugar 1/4 tsp salt 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream (half of the recipe with 2 cups of sugar omitted) Great recipe nevertheless. I will start using this every time I make a cake.

It tastes like grease and leaves a nasty greasy film in your mouth. Don't understand all the 5 star ratings. It went in the trash, what a waste of ingredients!

This was great for a piping or decorative border. The taste isnt so great. If you use 1/2 butter 1/2 shortening the taste is much butter for icicng. I added some melted white chocolate ...that was very good !!! Frosted a cake for a wedding shower ...it was loved!!

I'm very picky about frosting, but this was a keeper! I read many reviews prior and noticed a bunch of people recommended using part/all butter as a replacement for shortening. I used butter flavored shortening and wish I didn't. Despite it being 'buttercream', it had an overwhelming butter taste. I had to add additional vanilla to mask the taste. I recommend using regular shortening!

This was my first attempt at buttercream frosting. I didn't have whip cream so I just used milk. That's probably why I was slightly disappointed with this. I was hoping for something with the taste and texture of the buttercream frosting from Publix grocery store. If anyone knows of a recipe like that, please let me in on the secret!

Okay. First, let me say that the consistency, texture, and overall flexibility of this recipe gives it a 5-star rating. What drops it down is the greasy aftertaste tha I cannot seem to get rid of. I did read most of the reviews for this recipe and I tried it both ways. Using all vegetable shortening, doesn't give me the rich buttercream flavor that I like, but it's great as it is. I tried the recipe doing half vegetable shortening and half butter flavored shortening and I love the flavor, but not the greasy after taste. I am hesitant to try all butter because I know it won't hold up as well as using shortening. I haven't found the Alpine shortening, but I will keep looking. So, the recipe is great, but it's not what I'm looking for. I'll keep trying once I get the Alpine shortening and post a second review.

One of the best, I will always use this. I did the 1/2 Butter and 1/2 Crisco, and love it.....

Yum! I am not a huge frosting person, but I was able to lick the bowl completely clean! It has the taste of bakery buttercream frostings. This recipe makes enough to frost 2 layer cakes. I happened to make two cakes on this occasion, but for future times I will half the recipe.

Rick, you rock! I made this frosting to go over a vegan chocolate cake for my daughter's first b-day, and got rave reviews. So easy and yummy! I split the shortening with butter, half and half. I also put in only about 6 c. of the sugar. So good I'll never buy frosting again. Thanks!

just a quick question that if someone can answer would be great ...do i whip the heavy cream before adding it in?

When my daughter asked for white frosting on her birthday cake I was disappointed because I basically think sugar without chocolate is a waste of sugar, but was I surprised at this frosting! It was GREAT! It makes a lot, even cut in half we had plenty leftover after frosting a two-layer eight inch cake, so be warned! I also didn't use any shortening, only (salted) butter, so I left out the salt, which was perfect for us. If your butter is unsalted, then shake away. Overall, a terrific buttercream recipe!

I could only give this 4 stars because I altered the recipe. I have a problem with a frosting being called "butter"cream when there isn't any butter used (and it doesn't remotely taste like buttercream - to me at least). I did what someone else did, I substituted 1 cup of butter for 1 cup of the shortening and it came out with the "butter" taste. Although I make real buttercream frosting, this is so easy and most wouldn't even know the difference, so this will be my frosting for everything except the specialties for which I will stick to my real buttercream recipe. Enjoy. This is good with 1/2 shortening & 1/2 butter.

Delicious! I made it almost to recipe. I used 1.5 cups shortening and .5 cups butter. i wanted the richness butter gave but without the buttery flavor. i also only added .5 teaspoons vanilla-i didnt have any clear and i didnt want to taint the color, but it gave it just enough of the taste. I havent put it on my cake yet, but i think it will work wonders! 5 stars from someone who doesnt like icing? *points to self* is a really good icing.

Hands down excellent recipe. I normally use another one on here, but decided to switch it up a bit. Light and airy, and really creamy. I'm pretty pleased with my overall batch. Used this to make Turkey bird cupcakes and really ones. TY I will use this again.

I'll agree with everyone that by using this recipe as a guide -- making the adjustments that suit your preference for buttery flavor and coloring or shortening consistency and clean hue -- that it is indeed special. Buttercream frosting will forever be the top frosting, but I never realized what was missing by settling for a few tablespoons of milk rather than heavy cream. I was in a hurry when I made it this first time, but I know I could have increased the flavor with more attention. I was slightly disappointed myself and didn't particularly like the flavor (too shortening-like), however the birthday girl was happy, so that was the okay signal to stop fussing.

Wonderful!!! I used half shortening and half unsalted butter. I used my Kitchenaid and whipped the heck out of it :) I also used regular vanilla extract, not clear, and my frosting was very white so I was glad I didn't make a special trip to the store for the clear :) Very delicious buttercream frosting and I will most definitely make this again!

I'm a rather novice cook and even less of a baker. I made this yesterday for my two-year old's birthday party. I halved the recipe to frost a 13 x 9 cake. I had about a cup of frosting leftover. I used other reviewer's advice and made it with half butter and half shortening. I cut down on the salt because I used salted butter. At first when the frosting was done it tasted a little greasy, but I decided to go ahead and use it anyway. I had to stick it in a fridge for an hour before I could frost the cake. That must have helped because after I frosted the cake, it was delicious, light and sweet. I will definitely use this frosting from now on.

I am a big baker and this was my go to frosting for years. Until I learned about the extreme health hazards of trans fats (~ shortening). This is about the worst thing you can eat healthwise (10x worse than animal fat). I've thrown all of it all of my house and you'll notice that the best bakeries all use butter, not shortening, frosting. Plus butter based frostings taste better. I shutter that so many people are still baking with it and eating it. If you don't believe me, then look at NYC and California who have banned this from restaurants. This is what fast food restaurants use and manufacturers use to extend the shelf life of food.

Yum-my. Just like the stuff you get at the store, but not quite as thick. Frosted on David's yellow cake from this site. I recommend this more to cover cakes, not as much for decoration since it is not as stiff

Cut the recipe in half and used 3/4 cup shortening 1/4 cup butter and almond extract instead of vanilla... SOOO GOOD! I don't care for frosting and it was amazing! paired it with one bowl chocolate cake from this site and raspberry preserves in the middle. Was better than a bakery.

Awesome frosting to work with did a hello kitty cake with it !!

I'm giving 4 stars because the frosting went over big with my daughter's birthday guests, but I myself - a pastry chef-in-training - didn't care much for it. My pastry mentor told me that I could sub butter for the shortening next time, so that's what I'm going to do. I think shortening has a wierd aftertaste, so hopefully the butter sub will eliminate that. I am happy, though, that it made a big enough batch to cover a 2 layer cake, plus a crumb layer and a filling layer. And it piped beautifully.

perfect for piping... super sweet. no changes or substitutions.

this icing works well. Creamy and spreadable

this was really great to work with and tasted good. I do like something with a little more flavor though so I would probaby use this again for decorations and boarders only but not as the main frosting.

This is a very functional recipe as I have been in the cake industry for some time. The secret is to beat/beat/beat the frosting for at least 10 minutes to thorougly dissolve the powdered sugar. You can use popcorn salt (finer ground) for the salt as this cuts back on the greasy taste. Great Tasting

It tastes VERY good but it doesn't hold its shape too well unless just out of the refrigerator. It does say that it's ideal for "frosting & borders" which it's great for so I gave it 5 stars + it's delicious. I agree with the others that you can sub. some of the shortening with butter (unsalted) and if you don't have cream you can sub. whole milk or half & half. It does taste pretty awesome, so if you're using it for a simple cake (or like we did, on a cookie "cake") it'll work perfectly & be yummy. It is definitely not a good "glue" nor stable enough for more intricate designs & detail.

Holy cow!! This is the best frosting ever! It's so rich and so delicious. It just ramps up the tastiness of anything you put it on! It's so creamy and light. Fabulous recipe. My new go-to frosting. I usually half the recipe though because I hardly ever need 7 1/2 cups of frosting...not that I mind having that much on hand. ;)

Yum Yum Yum! This is so good! I used 1/2 butter flavored shortening and 1/2 real butter and real vanilla extract, not the fake stuff. It was so good! I am very proud of myself and my fam was impressed.

Made this frosting this morning for a very special cake, my son's going away party (heading to Fort Benning, GA next week). After reading several reviews and personal preferrence I made a couple changes. I used sweet cream butter instead of shortening, omitted the salt, changed the sugar to 6 cups (my husband doesn't like super sweet frosting) and used between 5 & 6 ounces of heavy cream. WOW!!!! This is the best buttercream recipe I have come across, way better than anything I've had out of a bakery. I used about 1/2 cup of the frosting, thinned down with cream, to use as a crumb coat...worked perfectly. I know I changed the recipe, but I still give it 5 stars...was a great recipe to work with. =-)

I took other reviewer's recommendations and used 1/2 shortening, 1/2 butter. I also used pure vanilla extract, but used a little less than 2 teaspoons. I used a little bit more salt and about 1 cup more confectioners' sugar than called for. (It came out perfectly white, no problems). Make sure you beat this for over 5 minutes. Let me tell you, I am an icing junkie and this rates up there with the best!! It tasted exactly like icing from the bakery. Thank you for the recipe, I'll definitely be making this again!!!

I first tried it with the half shortening/half butter option that many people were raving about, and it still left that icky film on the roof of our mouths. Then I tried it with all butter and no shortening, and it didn't stand at all! Granted, it was August, and hotter than Hades, but still, even after leaving the cake in the fridge all day, my meticulously piped stars ended up shapeless and bloated. Maybe it would have held better with the shortening, but who wants to eat greasy frosting, no matter how beautiful it looks?

Very awsome recipe. I followed it exactly and it came out perfect. Very very sweet..

My search for the perfect buttercream frosting has ended. This was so wonderful, not too sweet and so fluffy - everyone thought my cupcakes were from a bakery! Thanks for the wonderful recipie!

This is my go to frosting for cakes and cupcakes!!! You can't go wrong! Perfect consistancy and easy to alter it so its the consistancy you're looking for!! It tastes awesome!! I have made it with half butter and half shortening and that tastes great too!! We LOVE this frosting!!

Tastes slightly better than store bought frosting. Still puts a dimple on your butt!

this was very easy to make. I used it for my sons birthday cake it turned out very nice. I used fondant to make the little green monster in Monsters Inc. and the butter cream frosting for the rest of the cake my entire family loved it

Cut the recipe in half which was enough to cover two dozen cupcakes. Followed recipe exactly... DELICIOUS!

This recipe is enough to frost 4 dozen cupcakes. You can half it if you like. I love this recipe and have been using it for 4 years. I have also added lemon extract to make a delicious lemon frosting. This is an excellant recipe!

This is fantastic and easy. I did substitute and use 1 cup of butter and 1 cup of shortening. I frosted 24 cupcakes and put the extra in the freezer. I love that it made a lot. My family loves this recipe. Last night at bedtime my son said, "That frosting was really good, Mom!" Awww.