Cake Yield: 3 layers of 8" round cake
Frosting Yield: 7.5 cups
Cake Servings (approx): 12-16 slices
This is my Sprinkle 2.0 cake in an 8 inch size frosting with Vanilla American Dreamy Buttercream. See this complete recipe here.
Good cake pairings:
Make this frosting for those who:
I have two versions of American buttercream in my Cakeculator. This American Dreamy buttercream is far smoother, less gritty, and a tad less sweet than my Classic version.
This is an American buttercream in that it's easy to put together and uses only a few ingredients. It's much smoother than traditional American buttercreams because I've split the amount of sugar required between two types of sugar: corn syrup and powdered sugar. By using less powdered sugar, we're able to get a much smoother buttercream with a super sweet buttery flavor that is stable for piping, filling, and frosting large layer cakes.
If you're looking for a crusting, super sweet American buttercream with just powdered sugar - you'll need the other recipe in the Cakeculator. It's labeled "Vanilla Classic American Buttercream".
I came up with this frosting after studying how my emulsion-based frostings work - particularly my Swiss meringue and my Buttercream Cheese frosting. This American Dreamy Buttercream is now also an emulsion-based frosting, and if you'd like to see me make this recipe, check out the video below.
For all other sizes, you should be ok with either grams or volume.
My cakeculator converts to estimated volume (cups, tablespoons, etc.) for American bakers, which are not as accurate and why you you will see differences between the weight and volume amounts. The correct and most accurate one will always be weight.
Ingredients like baking soda and salt are usually given volumentrically (teaspoons) because most household scales are inaccurate with smaller numbers.
This is the OXO scale I use on a daily basis. If you’re interested in other tools I use for my baking, I’ve compiled a list here.
Evenly distribute the batter into the prepared pans.
Loosen the edges of the cakes using an offset spatula or butter knife, and flip the cakes out onto a cooling rack so you can peel off the parchment bottom. Make sure they are completely cool before assembling and/or frosting.
Add the softened butter to the bowl of your stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until it's paler in color and slightly more voluminous.
Add the corn syrup in 3 to 5 additions. Stop the mixer, add a little bit first, and mix it in at medium speed (still using the whisk attachment). Repeat until all the corn syrup has been added. Scrape down the bowl a couple of times to ensure everything is mixed well.
Once all the corn syrup has been added, mix at the highest speed for one minute.
Now give the frosting a taste. It should be smooth, creamy, and very buttery with a slight sweetness. This is to gauge how much powdered sugar to add in this step based on your preference. (Notice how glucose - the sugar used in corn syrup - is not as sweet as powdered sugar.)
Add the powdered sugar in a few additions, mixing on low speed to reduce the mess.
Once all the sugar has been added, mix on high speed for 30 seconds. Give it another taste. Do you want it sweeter or need a firmer consistency of buttercream?
You can stop here or add as much powdered sugar as you like. It can handle way more, but remember that the more you add, the sandier the finished frosting will be.
Now let’s flavor and color the buttercream. Add the vanilla, a pinch of salt, and, optionally, a toothpick’s end of purple food coloring (to achieve a whiter shade). Mix on high speed for another minute.
Give it a taste. If it's too buttery, add some heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time, until you like the consistency. Whip it in on high speed for at least one minute when you like the texture. (See my footnotes about this below.) Switch over to a paddle attachment and run the frosting on low speed to get out any large air pockets. The finished buttercream will have minimal air bubbles and be ready to use.
*I use Karo light corn syrup, which is a syrup of sugars (glucose + maltose) derived from corn. (High fructose syrup, the other kind of corn syrup that has an undeserved bad reputation, is another type of product and not what I'm using here.) The "light" is just an indication of the color of the syrup, not the sweetness. You'll probably be able to substitute other syrups here if you like, but corn syrup is a flavorless option that allows us to customize this recipe for different flavors later on. If you do sub something else, know that corn syrup is less sweet than most other baking sugars. You'll likely have to use less than what I've written in this recipe here.
**This is a little over the maximum amount of sugar that will dissolve in the water contained in the butter. If you want less sweet buttercream, use less. If you want a stiffer consistency or sweeter buttercream, use more. Just know the more you add, the more grainy the finished buttercream will be. Don't worry, though; it will still be light years smoother than a traditional American buttercream.
***If at the end of mixing you find that your buttercream is too thick/heavy/overly buttery, you can add heavy cream. Start with one tablespoon, whisk on high speed, and taste it. You can keep doing this until you like the texture and taste. The butter can handle a little more liquid (probably up to double the amount I have listed in this recipe) but once it gets to the texture of a firm Greek yogurt you'll probably need to stop adding heavy cream. If you get to the break point where to buttercream is too loose or splits, just add a tablespoon of softened butter to re-emulsify the buttercream.
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