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
This is AMAZING, I will probably never go back to the previous way of making butter cream. I do not have the words to even explain how thankful I am that I found this recipe. I had literally just thrown out two big batches of ABC due to grittiness, and was about to panic trying to complete a cake for someone’s birthday. You and your recipe saved the day! It piped beautifully!
Awesome!! So so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Valerie! Really appreciate the feedback 😀
Best buttercream recipe for ever 😍
Thank you so much for the feedback Hira! So happy to hear you enjoyed the frosting 😀
Amazing buttercream. So easy. I used a vanilla bean and let the milk/sugar mixture set with the vanilla bean until cool then strained. Worked perfectly. Also I didn’t have any meringue powder so I used 2 tbsp of instant vanilla pudding while mixing the buttercream for the last 10 min. It helped make it fluffy and stable with minimal graininess. Thanks so much for the inspiration
Awesome! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe and the addition of vanilla pudding sounds wonderful 😀 I’ll have to try that out as a stabilizer sometime 🙂
Thanks so much again for the feedback! 🙂
Thank you thank you thank you ….so easy to make and so smooth. This buttercream is delicious and simply melts in your mouth . Will be using this again and again ❤
You’re so welcome Eileen! So happy to hear you loved the recipe 😀
Sugary, grainy frosting. No thanks. I love this recipe. I am just a home baker. I did not realize how many different interpretations there are to buttercream frosting. I do know that I don’t like how sugary most are. Also, I had problems with air bubbles, graininess, and soupiness. I love the taste of this. I can see wanting the frosting to “crust,” but this just tastes so good! I’ll have to try your other recipe too. Thank you!
So so happy to hear you loved the buttercream Margaret! 😀 Yes there are indeed so many different types of buttercreams – takes a bit of trial and error to see what type you like the best! Another buttercream you may like to try is Swiss meringue buttercream – it’s less sweet compared to regular buttercream that uses powdered sugar and very smooth 🙂
Love the dissolved sugar buttercream, I however did 2:1 butter and shortening for stability. What method do you recommend to get vibrant colours with this recipe. I tried the microwave method but it made the buttercream slightly gritty after cooling and whisking again. Thanks
So happy to hear you loved the recipe Tej! 🙂 If the microwave method didn’t work too well, you could try the immersion blender method and see if that works better – you basically just use an immersion blender once the buttercream is finished and this is supposed to make the buttercream brighter 🙂
Could I add Dulce de Leche to this?! If so, how?
Hi Luana! Yes you could totally do that – simply mix it in at the end 🙂 just keep in mind this will most likely make the frosting a little softer. Enjoy!
Hii. I made around 4 to 5 batches of this buttercream and it always works well.
But this time, its melting very easily and getting very difficult to work with. 5 minutes out of the refrigerator, even the warmth of my hands touching the piping bag and its melting. The buttet seems to seperate. How to prevent this?
Hi Bushra! 🙂 It sounds like you may have a bit of a broken or split buttercream. This is usually due to the butter being too cold and not incorporating well with the other ingredients, causing it to separate. Check out this video for more info and how to fix it 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=HG6diwnwT-k
Can I make this into a chocolate buttercream?
Hi Maria! Yes you could do that by adding in cocoa powder or folding in some melted semi-sweet chocolate 🙂 if the frosting is a little soft after adding in the chocolate, simply pop it into the fridge for 30 mins then re-whip it. Enjoy!
Thank you so much! I already tried the recipe as shown and it’s yummy! I’m sure it will be even better with the chocolate! Thank you so much! 🙂
What ratio of melted chocolate would you add ? For white / milk and dark . Thank you . Love this recipe
Hi Liz! 🙂 It really depends on how firm you want your frosting to be, and how much of a chocolate flavor you want. I would add about 180g of chocolate (either dark, milk or white) to 1 batch of this recipe and then do a taste test and see if you want to add in more 🙂
Can this be stored at room temperature?
Hi Brooke! Yes it can be stored at room temp for a day or two, after which it’s best refrigerated due to the milk 🙂