Types of Buttercream and making practice cream

Buttercream

There are many different types of buttercreams for piping. Finding the right cream for you is the most fundamental step before you start piping flowers. I have made most of the buttercreams for flower piping that are available online or in books, and I'm still finding my own better recipes as I've made a lot of the same types of buttercreams with different ingredients, times, temperatures, etc.

1. Italian Buttercream: It is a cream made by pouring hot sugar syrup into egg meringue. Depending on the time, temperature, and external environment, the taste and texture of the cream can be different, so it is a bit tricky to make. However, a well-made buttercream has the right firmness and rich flavor for flower piping. It is the buttercream most commonly used by flower pipers.
   

2. American Buttercream: With its basic ingredients of butter and sugar, American buttercream is much simpler to make than Italian buttercream, and beginners can easily make a firmer buttercream than other buttercreams. However, it is much sweeter than Italian buttercream and lacks the rich of flavor.
   

3. Ermine Flour Buttercream: This is a cream made by mixing flour paste with butter. It was used as a traditional frosting for red velvet cakes before cream cheese frosting became popular, and it has a different flavor and depth from Italian buttercream. To use it for flower piping, you need to adjust the amount of butter to make a firmer buttercream.
   

4. In addition to the buttercream described above, such as Swiss buttercream, 3-minute buttercream, and Korean gloss buttercream, there are various buttercreams. These buttercreams are made with similar ingredients, but the process of making them is slightly different, and depending on the process, you may end up with a buttercream with a different flavor or texture even if the ingredients are the same.
   

Practice Creams

Constant practice is the most important part of flower piping for beginners. But more often, the hassle of making the buttercream every time is too much of a deterrent to practice, so I've tried a variety of easy-to-use practice creams.

1. Shortening cream: It is not a cream with the exact same texture as buttercream, but it is the cream that is closest to the texture of buttercream for practice. To make it, you simply beat the shortening in a mixer once, then add the powder sugar and mix it again. It doesn't need to be refrigerated liker buttercream, you can store it in a cool room temperature. Slightly mixing it again when you are ready to use it. It will keep for a long time. Like buttercream, shortening cream is affected by temperature, so you may want to adjust the amount of sugar powder using the chart below. Winter: 100 g shortening + 50 g powdered sugar Spring and fall: 100 g shortening + 100 g sugar powder Summer: 100 g shortening + 150 g powdered sugar Just like buttercream, shortening cream softens as you use it. Depending on the type of shortening, some creams harden again when you put them in the refrigerator for a bit, while others do not harden again even after they are put in the refrigerator. If they do not harden again when refrigerated, mix in little more corn starch or sugar powder to adjust to an appropriate consistency for practice.
   

2. Mashed potatoes: This is a practice cream substitute that is not affected by temperature. You can buy instant mashed potato flour any supermarkets, and mix it with water, milk, or syrup until it's the right consistency for flower piping. It has a more drippy feel than buttercream, but it is not as sensitive to temperature as shortening or buttercream, so beginners can save themselves the hassle of having to keep putting melting cream in and out of the refrigerator to practice.
   

3. Buttercream Frosting: Use store bought pre-made buttercream to practice without the hassle of making buttercream. The downside to this method is that the cream is a bit more sticky than the homemade buttercream, so it doesn't come off as easily when you squeeze out each petal. You can add starch to the mix to loosen it up a bit and use it for practice.