Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A
Hi Anthonia,
You can make white buttercream by substituting the butter for shortening (Trex). I made some the other day, but it doesn’t taste as nice as when you use butter. I’m going to order some Wilton clear vanilla extract to add to it to see if this helps the taste (I say ‘clear’ extract as the normal extract is coloured and it might affect the colour of the frosting).
I also read about adding a touch of blue gel paste to buttercream to whiten it. I tried this yesterday, twice, and both times the yellow of the buttercream went, but I was left with a grey white instead.
I would be interested to see if anyone has found a different way of making pure white buttercream (that’s not too long winded lol!)
Hi anthonia, Wilton’s recipe below uses meringue powder,
Here is the classic wedding cake icing. Snow-White Buttercream is used for icing cakes smooth, borders, flowers and more. Its pure white color yields the truest colors.
Ingredients:
2/3 cup + 3 tablespoons water, divided
1/4 cup Meringue Powder Easy
12 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar, (about 3 lbs.) divided
1 1/4 cups solid vegetable shortening
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon no-color almond extract
3/4 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon no-color butter flavor
About 7 cups of icing.
Instructions:
step 1
Stiff Consistency:
In large bowl, combine 2/3 cup water and meringue powder; whip with electric mixer at high speed until peaks form. Add 4 cups sugar, one cup at a time, beating at low speed after each addition. Add remaining 8 cups sugar and 3 tablespoons water, shortening and corn syrup in 3 additions, blending well after each. Add salt and flavorings; beat at low speed until smooth. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use. For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.
step 2
For thin (spreading) consistency icing, add up to 4 more tablespoons each water and corn syrup.
You can also use SuperWhite which is white colouring, I believe SugarShack keep it and also Squires Kitchen.
You can also try Merriwhite which you’ll get from most cake shops (including Lakeland). Not too sure about the supermarkets but worth asking.
Kind regards
David
Sorry, not trying to take over Anthonia’s post but I’d like to know how to make white buttercream too!
I don’t know about Anthonia, but I’ve tried SuperWhite ( but tks MIWL), practically a whole tub of it actually and it didn’t change the colour enough (and it’s too expensive to use in large quantities).
I haven’t tried the Merriwhite though David, will give that a go next thanks.
I’d like to give your recipe a go too Zeina , the only trouble is I don’t know what Meringue Powder Easy is and does anyone know where to find it here in the UK? Also, is ‘light corn syrup’ the same as liquid glucose? And finally (!) is Trex a ‘solid vegetable shortening’ (out of interest, what’s a ‘not solid vegetable shortening’?)
There, now I’ll let Anthonia get a word in edgeways lol!
Hi loobianca
I’ve got a feeling it may be the Wilton meringue powder which gets added directly into the icing without the usual reconstituting.
