Hello,

I find that I really don’t like the classic american buttercream because its too sweet, but it does hold well for piping cakes and cupcakes due to the shortening

Does anyone have a successful true and tried recipe for a whipped topping that is sturdy and /or crusts?  So that it is not sweet but it holds well on piping, flowers, and on cupcake swirls?

Also, i find with cream cheese icing, the icing becomes really heavy with the addition of butter and cream cheese and then confectioners sugar, but the swirls dont hold up long, they end up drooping down and looking flat :(  I dont know how bakeries make those amazing red velvet or carrot cupcakes with light and sturdy cream cheese icing that will stand up and hold the swirls?  This frustrates me everytime!

Any insights, recipes, or experience would help!

Welcome sara_sf!

A Mouselline (Italian meringue-based) buttercream is incredibly stable and will hold up the best for a non-shortening based bc.  It does not crust.  Rose has recipes in The Cake Bible or Rose’s Heavenly Cakes.  If you want a large collection of frosting recipes, go with TCB as she has endless variations.  The big things with Mouselline:  use a thermometer for the syrup, ensure your butter is about 75F, and don’t panic if it looks curdled—warming or cooling will almost always fix it (ideally it should be 75F before beating if it was in fridge).  She has videos illustrating the process on the web site.

You may want to check out the Sweeter Side of Amy’s Bread—it has a recipe for a poured fondant sweetened cream cheese frosting.  I don’t know how it is with regular cream cheese—I made a modified non-dairy version and it was quite soft, but it may be better with cream cheese (real stuff).

I’ve made the recipe from “The Sweeter Side of Amy’s Bread” as written. It pipes quite well and is smoother than cream cheese frosting made with powdered sugar.

Thanks so much, Sherrie, I have been reading about Italian Mirangue Buttercream and shall surely give it a try….the thing is that although I do a lot of baking, I do it with my hand mixer (moved away from home for some time so all i have is a hand mixer for now)...wanting to invest in a kitchenaid mixer soon   And I have heard countless reviews about the Cake Bible, even a cake and cupcakes class I took last weekend discussed some of the recipes so I surely should invest in that :

And also thank you Violetsareblue, shall look into that book as well too

Any other suggestions?

I mean to also add if anyone has any other variations of sturdy light whipped topping recipes that crust?

Could either of you kindly share the recipe you refer to in “The Sweeter Side of Amy’s Bread” please?  I havent been able to find it and want to try it out before buying her book.

Thanks so much

To me whipped topping would be like whipped cream…  But I know that is not what you mean.

To me something that has the airy and fullfy texture that holds its shape would be something like the 7 minute icing.  That is what Martha Stewart used on her Top Hat cupcakes.. that she dipped in chocolate.

Thanks for your response, prettycake but I’m looking for something different than the classic American frosting that is overly sweet and waxy

I was thinking more along the lines of whipped cream with some stabilizers in it like mirangue powder, gelatin, or agar.
I have seen a few recipes but not sure how effective they are as I havent seen any reviews or ratings.

Sorry for being unclear, and thanks for your response

7 minute icing is not waxy.  its like meringue and marshmallow combined.  You can control the sugar you add.

Hi there, maybe i’m misinterpreting your version of 7 minute icing?

Can you provide the recipe please?

Thanks!