If you hate regular BUTTERCREAM FROSTING, this less-sweet, silky smooth recipe will change your mind

RECIPE: cakesbymk.com/recipe/silky-sm...
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If you’re looking for a silky smooth buttercream frosting recipe that is not too sweet or grainy, then this recipe is it! I find traditional American style buttercreams way too sweet, so I came up with my own version that has far less icing sugar (in relation to the amount of butter) compared to more traditional recipes. Best part is, it’s still stable enough to use for layered cakes and is great for piping too!
INGREDIENTS:
- 1½ cups (340 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- 3 cups (375 g) icing sugar - also known as powdered/confectioners sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla essence/extract
- ½ cup (120 g) cream - room temperature, minimum fat percentage of 30%
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Thanks for watching!

[@CakesbyMK]

This week's silky smooth, not too sweet American buttercream frosting recipe is probably my favourite out of all the American style buttercream recipes I've shared! I find most traditional recipes a little too sweet, as they usually use double the amount of powdered sugar to butter (in grams). This recipe uses an almost 1:1 ratio of powdered sugar to butter (in grams), and the addition of a decent amount of cream helps to dissolve the sugar crystals and provides extra stability to the frosting (as opposed to using milk or water). This does however mean that it is not a crusting buttercream, so just keep that in mind if you specifically need a crusting buttercream :). Hope you all enjoy it just as much as I do :D get the full written recipe here: cakesbymk.com/recipe/silky-smooth-buttercream-frosting/

[@pinkyreena2864]

MK... Can I no what kind of Cream can I use. Sweet whipping cream or Heavy Cream or Non Dairy Cream. I'm very confident pls explain

[@PreciousA564]

Hello MK, please share a buttercream recipe using margarine. Thank you 🙏

[@reenakassim496]

So this cannot be used underneath a fondant right

[@mamaaawuku1454]

Thanks so much for sharing MK. Can you use this for piping floral?

[@gprincess1256]

What can I use instead of cream?

[@laurawestenra]

Replacing some of the icing sugar with corn starch has always worked well for me. Icing sugar is corn starch and fine sugar. The corn starch alone thickens the buttercream without the excessive sweetness.

[@kaetrinallen3798]

I use cornstarch in buttercream too. Works great.

[@louisedounetas8034]

I will be very grateful if you can share of How much of the icing sugar do you replace with cornstarch.

[@kaetrinallen3798]

@louisedounetas8034 I use a recipe based on one from the Sugar Geek Show for "easy Swiss meringue" buttercream as my first choice. A full batch is 8oz pasteurised egg whites, 32 Oz unsalted butter and 36 Oz of icing sugar. (Original recipe had 32oz icing sugar). Plus 1 tspn salt and vanilla paste each. Of the 36oz of dry ingredients I use 8oz of cornstarch and reduce the icing sugar by the same amount. Recently I've had the best results by adding in the cornstarch and egg whites first and whipping them until the cornstarch is fully dissolved (only takes a minute or two) then adding in all the icing sugar and whipping that. I find the result is much smoother and less grainy. Then add the butter bit by bit. All this uses the whisk attachment on a stand mixer. Once the butter is in and it's looking like buttercream, switch to the paddle attachment and mix on a lower speed for up to 10 minutes to smooth it out and get rid of air bubbles. Basically though, you can sub out as much icing sugar for cornstarch as suits your preferred taste. Dissolving it in the egg whites first works best for something far easier than actual Swiss meringue buttercream but which very very closely approximates it. American buttercream is similar. You sub out icing sugar for cornstarch to taste. Start small until you find your preferred sweetness level. Hope that helps!

[@unneomexaenlacocina9380]

Doesn't it taste like crap when raw?

[@reneegalloway6687]

​@kaetrinallen3798 This is great! Thanks for sharing. If only I can figure out how to save a comment. lol 😊

[@penelopehammerton2907]

Thank you so much for this frosting recipe. I tried it yesterday and the first thing one of my friends said was oh! this is not too sweet. Everyone in the group loved it and some came back for two or three slices of cake. So thank you again. Love from England.

[@treehuger3akahalima5]

Someone made this cream on their cupcakes and it tasted exactly like Swiss meringue buttercream but I could’ve believe it was this recipe. So silky and smooth and just tasted divine

[@lindsaymcintyre610]

It does taste exactly like Swiss meringue I agree.

[@ritasullivan4583]

Excellent. Not grainy not to sweet. Everyone loved it.

[@tammiemartinez6485]

That's great to hear. I was about to say no to this because that's the amount of butter I use to make a full batch of SMBC, lol. But now that I know it has the same taste I'll definitely give this a go. At least I won't have to deal with the double boiler, lol. Thanks for sharing... 👍

[@joannasarcamedes8191]

I appreciate how you explain the details of how each ingredient and temperature etc. affects the end consistency.

[@carbonfrog1]

I am an American and have always despised Buttercream frosting, I was that little kid at friends bday party 's who would be peeling off the Godawful pink and blue frostings they were so gross and gave me awful headaches. As an adult I always stuck with ganache and or whipped cream for frosting. It's nice to know that there is a potential buttercream recipe that I might be able to tolerate. Kudos to your inventiveness!

[@annavizard970]

Me too. American who does not like buttercream.

[@lia53233]

One of my earliest memories is of scraping the icing off of a cupcake as another little girl licked the icing off her cupcake, both of us looking at each other as if the other was crazy.

[@angelbulldog4934]

If you're referring to grocery store bakery abominations, that icing is made with solid Crisco. Yuck! I won't touch that stuff, but love real buttercream.

[@emv7316]

Love you add troubleshooting and how to fix it. Thanks

[@UnicornTailz]

I’m American and I dislike overly sweet frostings. My kids also avoid the over sweet and will only eat the cakes that I make. I’m going to try this recipe - it looks yummy!! And I love a good buttercream frosting but most are wayyyy too sweet. Thank you for sharing ❤

[@lilane259]

This is ingenious. I remember I got fed up quite a few years back with the consistency of my buttercream and started adding miniscule quantities of milk. It never seemed enough, so I ended up using quite a lot. But I was also anxious it might backfire and fall apart. Whipping cream sounds like a winner!

[@emastanton9199]

Thank you so much. I am always playing stop and go when adding icing sugar, trying to get it 'not too sweet' but still frosting consistency. The room temp cream sounds like the ideal way of getting helping the icing sugar to dissolve. Plus mix mix mix!

[@basanimkhari9465]

I tried this recipe today and it came out amazingly ❤

[@laskatz3626]

Looks delish! I’ve never been a buttercream fan. Too thick and greasy. This looks much more palatable. Thank you for this recipe. ❤

[@daniaurriola6237]

Hola MK se ve súper deli esa crema de mantequilla, tiene una textura de lujo. Gracias mil por compartir. Saludos desde Panamá

[@vimmi8353]

The icing looks so good thank you MK for the lovely recipes God bless you ❤️🙏

[@nikiTricoteuse]

This looks brilliant. I stopped icing cakes ages ago cos it made them too sweet but, will definitely try this as it looks fantastic. Love to hear the kiwi accent an a cooking video. Makes me proud e hoa. 😊

[@lacretiastarr]

THANK YOU🎉 These are recipes you have to pay for. So thank you❤

[@rnorth9286]

I'm making buttercream now from a different recipe using your technique and adding cornstarch like someone here mentioned. Wow what an improvement! 😋 Light and not too sweet ❤️❤️❤️

[@veirap1571]

Hi how much cornstarch did you used, thank you

[@lisasmith5291]

So glad to find a "less sweet" recipe! Thanks MK!

[@CakesbyMK]

You're so welcome Lisa! Hope you enjoy it :D

[@taimaasatik2874]

​@CakesbyMK plz this amount how much enough for the size of cake?

[@013spygp4]

I only recently found your channel and what a treasure it is. Thank you. A pleasant surprise to find out you're in New Zealand too. ❤

[@juanitavandeweerd699]

It is awesome that you are in New Zealand, it just means that it might be a bit easier to find ingredients for some baking. Made the frosting for the first time and it was just beautiful, thank you so much! I love sugar, but the usual buttercreams are just too sweet for me

[@viennehaake9149]

I made that white cake and the buttercream- both were wonderful. Cake release works well too. Thanks.

[@user-tv1uw3jv2i]

Muchas gracias por tu receta , es deliciosa. Saludos de MC desde España

[@UzmaSS]

This is something that I have been needing since forever! Thank you

[@cookingwithrila]

Thanks for sharing this recipe

[@jboydbears]

Thank you for creating and sharing this wonderful frosting! I have made it 4 times now, and it came out perfect each time. Everyone raves about how good it is. ❤

[@CakesbyMK]

Ohh wow yay!! So happy to hear you've been loving the frosting recipe :D if you manage to find a spare minute I'd be so so grateful if you can kindly leave a review on my blog, it really helps my content out :D thanks so much again for trying the recipe :)

[@fitrigagne197]

I love your lightly sweet buttercream frosting recipe, it's definitely a keeper!

[@247mrb]

Hey thank yo for this video, and I'm baking my first cake this weekend!!

[@zubeidawaqar4833]

Finally I made a three tier peach color cake with edible pearls using this recipe and it turned out beautiful and yummy!!Everyone just loved it,thanks to you.I also filled it with dark chocolate ganache.Thank you once again.

[@aish_6477]

Please tell me what kind of cream use?

[@zubeidawaqar4833]

@@aish_6477 its the same one MK has made but I used 315 gms icing sugar 60 gms corn starch 340 gms butter Vanilla and cream as mentioned in the recipe This ratio made it less sweet

[@FatSheba100]

Does it crust like regular American buttercream or stay soft?

[@mizlife]

Can't wait to try this when I make my daughter's birthday cake!! Just the kind of recipe I was looking for, thank you!

[@CakesbyMK]

Awesome! Hope you all enjoy it and early happy birthday to your daughter :D

[@PamelaHalse]

I made your buttercream recipe today to decorate my grandaughters 10th birthday cake it was easy to make and use and so creamy I will definitely be making it again .

[@mellissa82]

I've been looking for a recipe like this. Thank you!!! God bless!

[@jenevievemusonda9166]

Thankyou for sharing your recipe MK if anything I just love all your recipes and I make my cakes just like you.

[@veronicastephens5408]

Thank you for sharing! Love from NJ [USA]💜

[@lucindaperez7845]

Another GREAT lesson, thank you!!🥰🥰

[@SanSanclp]

Thank you for the recipe ❤

[@kendieparadise4216]

Thank you for sharing. I am using this recipe for a birthday cake I am making tomorrow.

[@ashleyrodriguez5829]

I made this frosting and everyone loved it because it’s definitely not too sweet I made a tres leches cake and put this on top. It was delicious

[@euniceosamudiamen2420]

Thank you so much ma'am.

[@sophanebremner8664]

Thanks MK for sharing 😊

[@briarwoodimp]

Thanks for the inspiration! I did a chocolate version, using info from both you and sugarologie, and cocoa powder, with adjustments to liquid and sweetness levels to accommodate it. It was much loved by all, including the uncle who hates frosting.

[@muslimgirl6782]

Can you share the sugarologie recipe you used pls and thank you

[@briarwoodimp]

@@muslimgirl6782 I will look for my notes. I remember writing it down as I was watching the videos, but I am drawing a total blank on what I did with it after I made the cake.

[@sandb2007]

​@briarwoodimp omg I would love this recipe to fill my daughters chocolate cake! If you manage to find your notes,please kindly share! ❤

[@ruthnoronha8206]

I really want to try it next time because yah regular BC is so sweet. Thanks for sharing.

[@manelabdallah]

Thank you very much sister ❤❤❤

[@paulinefriar6916]

You're no nonsense ❤ that buttercream looks fab

[@krithicaramdhani2116]

MK dear, you are my go-to channel for recipes and tips. Thanks for sharing another yummy frosting 🍰 recipe. I can't wait to try it. Oh, and if possible, kindly share a 🍫 version. Best wishes from 🇿🇦❤

[@cookingwithmimmo]

Thank you so much for your recipe

[@nonamehall8002]

Thank you for this simple recipe, I think i can make this!!

[@Katya-zj7ni]

I love your videos! Your little mmmm at the buttercream made me smile ❤

[@lindyannfarrier8463]

Definitely gonna try it n hope it's stable for hot climate especially these day reaching high in yellow alert

[@joantionette734]

I agree I always use other options and I am American. Thanks for the recipe

[@nomusasibanda6172]

I love your videos. ❤keep up the good work.

[@charmaine8512]

Thanks for the measurements in grams as it helps a lot

[@koravinthakral6928]

You are simply the best

[@nonnie2428]

Looks & sounds yummy. Thanks for sharing.

[@debrashort7061]

I have to try this 😊. Thanks for the recipe!

[@bjrgstre-mauger5398]

So good!!

[@arzoofatima8596]

I TRIED THIS TODAY AND THIS CAME OUT SUPER AMAZING!!!!THANKYOUUSOMUCHH

[@angiesdelights]

This is definitely the best buttercream I made so far. Thank you so much for the recipe. Everyone loved it!!

[@CakesbyMK]

Yay! So so happy to hear you loved it :D if you manage to find a spare minute I'd be so so grateful if you can kindly leave a review on my blog, it really helps my content out! Thanks so much again for trying the recipe :)

[@sheetalsamji5388]

Beautiful recipe

[@ViviSoren]

You are so adorable and so knowledgeable! I’ll be trying this next time I bake. Subbed 🥰

[@Sincere8250]

Yum! I love buttercream icing. I could eat that whole bowl!

[@shaminirajan2090]

Dear MK , I’ve been using ur old version of American buttercream , that’s definitely super delicious. And I tried this recipe, and OMG I loved the taste of it , soooo Yummy … ❤ all ur recipes … Thank u for sharing it ❤

[@CakesbyMK]

Yay! So so happy to hear you enjoyed it and the other recipes you've tried too :D really appreciate the support and feedback :)

[@MrPuddinhead61]

This recipe is fantastic. Thanks for sharing this less-sweet version. I’ve always thought American buttercream was too sweet, but my husband doesn’t like royal icing on his Christmas sugar cookies. This solved the problem! I’m grateful!

[@tanujamaharaj5336]

Good morning Maryam. Thank you so very much for ur beautiful recipes. May God continue to bless u. May I please ask ur maderia cake recipe doll. Thank you

[@fatimaarif6157]

Thank you so much uploading this one...

[@rhondahill6434]

Thank you for all your tips❤

[@shellyj7536]

I love your channel, your recipes & your lovely personality ❤

[@CakesbyMK]

Thanks so much Shelly! :D Really appreciate all the love and support :)

[@HeavensMee]

That looks delicious! I'll be trying out your recipe soon. 🙂

[@arshvirsingh6161]

In Texas. This was very good. 1000x better than store bought. Light, fluffy and held strong.

[@victorialangdon5645]

Just made it and added some nuts, super delicious and easy. Thank you so much, lots more recipes please 🙏

[@marshaabouhamad9090]

Your recipes are always a success for me 🥰.. I live in Trinidad (in the caribbean) and due to extremely hot temperatures I use shortening instead of butter which stands more firm than butter 😊

[@user-vd2it1pn7c]

Yesssss I'm from Guyana and I do this as well. I've been using all shortening for a while. It's definitely a game changer.

[@ggiha5989]

shortening only ya?

[@marshaabouhamad9090]

@@ggiha5989 Yes, it does not change the taste and it stays firm in the heat

[@ggiha5989]

@@marshaabouhamad9090 thank you so much ya 🫶🏻

[@marianoshaughnessy]

@@marshaabouhamad9090 if it doesn’t have butter, it must change the taste. I’m sure it does not taste as buttery.

[@mrs.p.studge4349]

I recently tried a recipe that adds corn syrup and its really awesome! Im really glad you posted this video.

[@swathivaishu977]

Finnally I got a wonderful channel about cake.... impressed and lots of love from Tirupati,India... definitely I will follow ur channel

[@pclem4686]

Mm that vanilla cream looks good and wonderful

[@luckyneko1]

I like traditional American buttercream, and I'd like this too. ❤

[@bisolap305]

Thank you for the recipe MK

[@zara67901]

I saw this recipe on your white cake video, and made half a batch to frost some vanilla cupcakes. It turned out really nice. But I found it had a mouthfeel that was slightly too buttery, so i personally prefer to add a little more icing sugar to this recipe (about 50g more icing sugar to the recipe you stated.)

[@CakesbyMK]

Hi Zarah! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe :D and yes that's great I would totally recommend adjusting the quantities slightly based on what you prefer :) appreciate the feedback!

[@marylyn66]

Thank you for this. I'll try this next cake as I agree about disappointing butter cream. I believe the temperature of ingredients and whipping time will produce buttercream as nice as you demonstrated.

[@JanChaos_]

I love buttercream but find it too sweet. Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe with us ❤

[@MWOC]

Beautiful sharing 🥰🥰🥰👏

[@incoco2]

Thanks for Sharing your talent recipes , haven't made them but will.

[@lurklingX]

oh my goodness, i'm already hooked in on "american desserts too sweet" and making stuff with less sugar. i agree, there's a lot of people here who want to overdose on it. they lost the concept of having sweet paired with not sweet (like carrot cake. the cake part is supposed to be not too sweet and then the icing IS. i've only had it properly ONCE in my life. key lime pie is often WAY too sweet also. this was my dad's favorite. so now i have it once a year on his birthday, in memory.)

[@jz4948]

I cannot wait to make this. Can I make this a day or two in advance and refrigerate it in an airtight container? Also, I use this on my cake, can the cake be refrigerated overnight ? Lastly, can this butticream hold fondant or fondant made cake toppers? Thank you!

[@peggychu3002]

I’m definitely trying this and preparing as you suggest. Thank you ☺️

[@yuvanesh2156]

Thanks for amazing delicious recipe ma'am , but we love the original version of ABC frosting even though it's too sweet cuz it has the magic crust on it. Medical student Malaysia God bless 👍👏🙏

[@sharonmaher6208]

Could you try a tres leche cake soon, would love to see how you would make this, as all your cakes are amazingly good. Tried and tempted 😊

[@noushinmunir1875]

Nice cake decoration

[@dave9624]

You absolute bloody LEGEND!!! Literally just finished a test batch, thinking "another try at a not sweet ABC...hmm lets see" and I was blown away. A TINY bit sweeter than I would like but thats me being picky. It was fantastic and rivals the taste of my usua; SMBC. And I had forgotten what a dream ABC is to pipe with - can't wait to get it on some baking. I have tried 1/2 tsp of salt in your recipe and also 1/2 tsp citric acid and both work well to counter that last little bit of over sweetness (again me being picky I could eat it as is easily) - waiting for a friend to taste test to let me know which is better. I honestly can not tell how exciting it is knowing I do not have to make an SMBC everytime I bake something. Can't wait to try flavouring like biscoff, lemon or coconut in it. Yay you!

[@dcordero1984]

Citric acid as in lemon juice? Or would orange juice work too?

[@dave9624]

@@dcordero1984 No - citric acid like this cdn0.woolworths.media/content/wowproductimages/large/000344.jpg aailable in the cooking aisle at your supermarket usually with baking powder etc

[@doesnotFempute]

​@@dcordero1984 Citric acid is a powder. You can find it on the coating of sour patch kids and other sour candies. Using acidic juice in this would possibly cause the cream to curdle (but only one way to find out...)

[@SultryAngel]

Have used a recipe like this one for years!!

[@PreciousA564]

Hi MK, please share a buttercream recipe for those of us who don't have easy access to butter and cream

[@margieg1908]

Thanks for the info, will try this thank you from Blue Ridge Mountains, Western North Carolina USA

[@CakesbyMK]

You're welcome! Much love from NZ to the USA :D

[@runaalamgir7112]

I thought you need to beat the butter first, to make it white and then add icing sugar and rest, but this is so convenient!

[@blueismylove3128]

In order to get rid of the grainess, I wonder if heating the cream then dissolving the sugar, cooling it, whipping that up, then folding that into the whipped up buttercream would work. Its not the same as just Amercan buttercream, but my next little experiment sounds infinitely more tastier inshallah 🤤🤤

[@dorothybermudez8904]

Instant pudding, an envelope of Dream Whip and 1 & 1/2 cups milk makes a great not overly sweet icing.

[@jessicabullock2990]

This looks absolutely amazing MK!! Hope you are well ❤. I’m in NZ too. Wondering what brand of butter do you tend to use? Whatever’s on special or a particular one? Thank you so much 😊

[@CakesbyMK]

Thanks so much Jessica! And yes I just use whatever's on special :) though I do find that Westgold butter is my preferred option for buttercream specifically :) when it comes to cakes/baking, anything is fine!

[@samirahUCw78]

Very nice idea. Thank you for sharing sis.

[@Kateseyes]

Can’t wait to try this! ❤

[@nietzschesmuse]

Thank you so much!

[@Kenjiro5775]

Yum! I think there is going to be a cake in my near future with your butter cream recipe. 😁👍

[@thisisbatoule]

Amazing!

[@jennifermckenzie14]

Hi hi thank you so much for yr lovely recipes but is the cream you speak about is it whipping cream or just cooking cream ? Thanks so much for taking the time and patience to do them from Trinidad love love to you and yr family

[@shivonnehernandez6201]

Hello MK, I am new to your channel, and was looking for a good buttercream recipe to start doing cupcakes decorating with my eldest daughter, I did have a question. If I wanted to make it the day before, can it be refrigerated and then brought back to temp the following day to be used? And is heavy whipping cream OK to use. That's the only cream I normally buy for baking. Thanks! Loved your piping video as well.