Bakery perfect cupcakes!
I have a problem - I’ll admit it. I have a serious sweet tooth! So when I first made Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting I thought it had an amazing smooth texture, but it wasn’t sweet enough for me, it tasted like butter. So I just added some more sweetness to it at the end – it seemed to work. If you make this recipe, try it the original way – then if you want to, go ahead and add the extra sweetness to it. Let me know if you were like me on that sweet tooth problem!
Along with the recipe here are some tips for making the frosting look like it came from the bakery! A small investment in some basic supplies you can get at Michale’s will save you money over the long run by not having to get beautiful cupcakes only from the bakery! Before using this method, I just slapped on the frosting with a butter knife – it always tasted good, but definitely didn’t look as pretty as these!
I took a basic Wilton cake decorating class at Michale’s (I am not getting paid to write this) and here are some tools to make the cupcakes look the way as shown here. They also have some great videos on the Wilton website to show you the techniques – Wilton Tips
Tools: 16″ Featherweight bag and a 1M Swirl Tip
First you need to cut the bag to fit the 1M Swirl tip. Open the bag and place the tip down at the narrow bottom opening. Mark the bag 1/4″ below the top of the tip, so that there will be enough opening at the bottom, but not too much that the tip will fall out. Remove tip and cut the bag.
To start decorating, make your frosting – either a traditional buttercream or the Swiss Meringue one here and place a good amount of frosting in your decorating bag that has been cut and fitted for the 1M Swirl tip (I like the larger bags, as you can fold down the sides and jam a bunch of frosting in w/ out having to refill it constantly).
Start in the center of your cupcake by making a single star drop in the center.
Then on the outside rim make a circle to surround the star in the middle.
Then on top of that circle of frosting, make a smaller circle – sprinkle with decorative sprinkles – viola! Bakery perfect cupcakes!
Here is the recipe:
Swiss Meringue Buttercream – Sweeter Version
Ingredients:
5 large egg whites
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 lb. (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners’ sugar (optional for sweeter version)
Method:
Mix the egg whites, sugar and salt in a double boiler set over a pot of simmering water. Heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture is hot to the touch – about 3 minutes and the sugar has dissolved.
Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
Reduce the speed to medium and add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, adding more once each addition has been incorporated. The frosting might get to a point where it looks curdled, just beat on low speed until thick again, about 5 minutes more (be sure not to overbeat it) . Add vanilla extract and mix until combined. Taste the frosting – if the taste is sweet enough for you – you’re done. If you like it sweeter, add up to 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar to sweeten. Tint with gel icing color as desired (not liquid coloring).
If using frosting within several hours, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature in a cool environment. Or transfer to an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator, up to 3 days. Before using, bring frosting to room temperature, and beat on the lowest speed with the paddle attachment until smooth, about 5 minutes.
Yield: about 5 cups
Adapted from Martha Stewart http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/swiss-meringue-buttercream-for-white-cupcakes
Enjoy!
- Helping you achieve your Domestic Success!
Tags: cupcake frosting tips, frosting cupcakes like a bakery, how to decorate cupcakes, swiss meringue buttercream frosting
These do look perfect! Great sprinkles too! Visiting from SITS.
Oh, those look sooooo good. I’m going to try this one, thanks for the recipe.
Forgot to say, stopping by from Lady Bloggers.
These look great! Happy April Fools! Dropping by from SITS!
~Angela
Oh my goodness… I am so hungry now
They look gorgeous!!
What pretty cupcakes! I’m impressed!
Oooh! Thanks for the frosting tip (coming from a baker who just slops the frosting on!)
These cupcakes look absolutely wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe:) I’ll def try it out!
Funny – that’s what I used to do to – but it seemed to hard to make them look professional – but it is soooo easy! Thanks for stopping by Erin!
Oooh! Thanks for the frosting tip (coming from a baker who just slops the frosting on!)
What pretty cupcakes! I’m impressed!
These look great! Happy April Fools! Dropping by from SITS!
~Angela
Oh my goodness… I am so hungry now
They look gorgeous!!
Wow, just what I was looking for! I just made my first attempt at swiss buttercream and felt exactly as you described–love the texture, excited about greater stability, ease of spreading, etc.–but just not sweet enough…I’ll definitely try adding the powdered sugar next time. Thanks for this great post!
Hi Kara – so glad you found this tip – let me know how your next batch comes out! My kids love it!
Wendy
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thanks a lot for the tips and the recipe! i really wanted to make nice cupcakes….
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