This grit free American buttercream (ABC) is everything you love about a traditional ABC, minus the grainy/gritty texture! It’s easy to make, yet smooth as a Swiss meringue buttercream!
What makes this better than a regular American buttercream?
American buttercream (ABC) is one of the easiest and most commonly made frostings, but the biggest problem that most people have with it is that it often has a ‘gritty’ or grainy feel to it. This is because of undissolved icing sugar (also known as powdered/confectioners sugar).
This version uses a technique where the icing sugar is dissolved into hot milk, which is then cooled and added to the butter. This results in a super smooth, grit free buttercream! I first saw this technique on Cupcake Savvys YouTube channel, so kudos to them for introducing us to this method!
Another common complaint is that ABC is far too sweet! Most recipes have double the amount of powdered sugar to butter, which is just far too sweet for some. This recipes uses far less icing sugar without your frosting tasting too buttery.
Is it stable enough?
This was the first thing that came to my mind when I decided to try this technique. Would dissolving the icing sugar into the hot milk make the buttercream less stable? I decided to give the method a go, and experimented with using water instead of milk as my ‘thinning’ ingredient to make the ABC a little more creamy. I also used a bit more sugar than the original recipe so that the frosting was a little more stable. I also did some research and found that meringue powder is a great stabiliser and could easily be added in to this buttercream to provide additional stability.
The result – OH MY! A super delicious, creamy, GRIT FREE American buttercream! It basically tasted like a Swiss meringue buttercream (SMBC) but so much easier to make! Was the recipe good enough to put on my blog – ABSOLUTELY! My new favourite way of making ABC!
Does this grit free version still crust?
The only downside for cake decorators is that this buttercream does not crust because the icing sugar has been dissolved. It acts more like a SMBC where it hardens when placed in the fridge, but at room temperature is soft to the touch. If you’re looking for a traditional American buttercream that crusts, then check out my original ABC recipe.
Grit Free American Buttercream
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (500 g) unsalted butter - room temperature, see note 1
- ½ cup (125 ml) milk
- 2 tsp vanilla essence/extract
- ¼ tsp salt - omit if using salted butter
- 2½ cups (330 g) icing/powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp meringue powder - OPTIONAL
Instructions
- Add your butter to a stand mixer, and using the paddle attachment, mix on a medium high speed for 5 minutes until it is light and fluffy. Give the bowl a scrape down every now and then to make sure everything is mixing well.
- In a microwave safe bowl, combine the milk, vanilla and salt and heat it in the microwave so that it's hot, but not bubbling (about 30 seconds to a minute).
- Add your icing sugar to the heated milk mixture and mix until the icing sugar is dissolved. It should be a thin paste like consistency.
- Strain the milk/icing sugar mixture to get rid of any lumps, and then let the mixture cool to room temperature. You can speed this up by placing the mixture into the fridge for 15 minutes, stirring it every 5 minutes.
- Once cooled, turn your mixer onto a medium speed and slowly drizzle in the milk/icing sugar paste into your whipped butter. It may look like the mixture is curdling, but this is normal.
- Once the mixture is added into the butter, scrape down your bowl, and then mix on a medium speed for a further 10 minutes. This is going to lighten the buttercream in both taste and texture. Your buttercream is now ready!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
141 Comments
Fantastic recipe, thank you very much for putting this online for free! I made it today, it is delicious!
So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Michelle! 🙂
Hi there, love watching your videos . A quick question. Can I use wooden spoon white margarine which is for icing & baking to make this buttercream?
Hi Waheeda! So happy to hear you’re enjoying the videos 🙂 and I haven’t tried that myself so I’m not too sure sorry! If it can be used as a 1:1 substitute for butter then I imagine it should be fine 🙂
Hi,
I made a bento cake with American buttercream, so I put it in the refrigerator so it comes together.
When it was time to eat I took it and let it rest for 15 mins but still, the buttercream was a bit hard idk why.
Do u think Swiss meringue will be best for bento cake?
Hi Ilham! Usually with buttercream you need to leave it out for about an hour to fully soften and come to room temp 🙂 hope that helps!
Hello! Can i use this under fondant because of the high milk content?
Thank you!
Hi Jovana! Because of the sugar and fat the buttercream should be fine to be left out overnight but after that I would recommend refrigerating it so depends on whether you’re comfortable with placing your fondant in the fridge 🙂
Could you use heavy whipping cream instead of milk?
Hi Whitney! I haven’t tried with heavy cream myself so I’m not too sure sorry. I don’t imagine it being a problem, the only thing I’m a little unsure about is the long mixing required at the end and whether that may cause the buttercream to curdle if the heavy cream is overwhipped. Would love to hear how you go if you decide to give it a go! 🙂
Absolutely! Thank you!
Thank you for the recipe ,
Can it be made ahead of time ?
Also this buttercream stay outside the fridge for 24 hours ?
Hi there! 🙂 Yes can totally be made ahead of time, you may just need to re-whip it before using to get rid of air bubbles, and yes can stay outside the fridge for 24 hours but after that best to refrigerate the cake 🙂
Please is there a substitute I can use for meringue powder?
Hi there! I haven’t used another substitute myself so I’m not too sure sorry! Maybe tylose powder might work? To make it more stable you could also substitute some of the butter with shortening but this may impact the taste 🙂
I don’t have a stand mixer yet only a hand held mixer, could I still do this recipe with the hand mixer?
Yes totally! Will just be a bit of an arm workout 🙂
How to colour this buttercream?
Hi there! Simply add in gel colours before the 10 minutes of mixing at the end 🙂
Hi, when to use meringue powder to this recipe. Please guide me through it
Hi Keerthana! You can add it in at the end before whipping for the 10 minutes 🙂
Do you just add the meringue powdered without dissolving it with water, rigth?
Yes that’s correct 🙂