Buttercream Icing

Summary

A stand-mixer buttercream with two swap-in footnotes (an all-white variant and a corn-syrup thinning option), useful when a cake needs frosting and the storage/rewhip instructions are wanted along with the recipe.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine*
• 1 teaspoon clear vanilla
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approx. 1 lb)
• 2 Tbsp milk**

Substitute all-vegetable shortening + 1/2 teaspoon Wilton Butter Flavor for pure white icing and stiffer consistency. *Add 3–4 tablespoons light corn syrup per recipe to thin for icing a cake.

Method

1. Cream butter and shortening with electric mixer.
2. Add vanilla.
3. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed, scraping sides and bottom of bowl often. Icing will appear dry once all the sugar is mixed in.
4. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.
5. Keep icing covered with a damp cloth until ready to use. For best results, keep the icing bowl in the refrigerator when not in use.
6. Refrigerated in an airtight container, icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

Notes on the artifact

Handwritten in cursive ink on three-hole-punched lined notebook paper. Undated and unsigned — no name, date, or attribution visible on the page.