The Best Way To Mix Buttercream Frosting For A Silky Texture With No Air Bubbles

The main ingredients in buttercream frosting are butter and sugar, so it's no surprise that it's delicious. Aside from its universal allure, it's also versatile, making it a popular go-to for bakers across the board. Buttercream is the perfect frosting to add color to and pipe onto cakes for special occasions. It can also easily be tweaked by adding ingredients like coffee, citrus zest, chocolate, or cookie crumbles.

There's just one catch. Many people find it challenging to achieve a consistency that is free of air bubbles and easy to spread over cakes. There are several methods to mix buttercream frosting to get that silky smooth texture, but according to this viral TikTok video from Ana Calderone, the most deceptively simple and effective trick is to overfill the mixing bowl. Here's how: Use a larger mixing bowl than you would normally use, and make sure to fill it up above the paddle attachment. Generally speaking, the more frosting in the bowl, the less air in your frosting. The more you whip buttercream the fluffier your icing will get, but only up until a point. Too much whipping can trap air bubbles as well, so time is of the essence.

Making the perfect frosting is a fine art that often requires some tweaking and practice along the way. Though either milk or cream will work, as its name suggests, cream is usually preferable for buttercream frosting. This is especially true when using it for piping, as it will create a more stable consistency and be easier to work with. If you really want to level things up, try swapping sweetened condensed milk for cream. It can give your buttercream frosting an even smoother texture. Make sure to sift out your confectioners' sugar before using, to avoid lumps in your frosting. This is especially important if you will be using the frosting for piping, as the tiniest lump could block the piping tip. The kind of confectioners' sugar matters as well. Choose one that is made from cane sugar rather than beet sugar, as cane sugar crystals melt faster, creating a silkier icing.

Choose a high quality vanilla flavoring. As there are so few ingredients involved, the vanilla flavor will be notable, so it's best to go with a good brand. It's always best to use unsalted butter for your frosting, as it's easier to add salt than to take it away. It's also important to make sure butter is at room temperature before you mix so that it's easier to work with. Cold butter can also compromise consistency, resulting in lumpy frosting.