High Ratio Frosting
This high ratio frosting recipe is a great option to have in your recipe file of favorites! It is light, fluffy, and has a wonderful flavor.
If you are unfamiliar with high ratio shortening, it is a popular choice because it contains emulsifiers which allow it to absorb more sugar and liquid than regular shortening.
You'll love the creamy consistency that high ratio shortening lends to this frosting, and there is no greasy aftertaste. There are many different brands of high ratio frosting, but Sweetex is what we use most often.
Table of Contents
Advantages of Shortening Based Frostings
Probably the biggest advantage of shortening based frostings is that they hold up nicely in warmer weather. Although it isn't heat proof (no frosting is), shortening-based frostings hold up much better in warm conditions than butter based frostings.
Another bonus to shortening based frostings is the white color. Butter-based frostings have a slight yellow tint, and if natural vanilla flavoring is used rather than clear vanilla, it is more of an ivory shade. If a stark white frosting is what your design (or customer) calls for, this frosting is a great choice.
More Extracts may be Needed in shortening-Based Frostings...
Due to the absence of butter in this recipe, we have to rely more heavily on extracts to make this frosting flavorful. There is a lot of wiggle room here and so don't hesitate to do a little experimenting! We hope that you enjoy the recipe!
Have Gritty Buttercream? It Could be Your Powdered Sugar...
** We've had great results with Domino's confectioners sugar and US Sugar (we buy ours from Costco). Some brands of confectioners sugar don't work as well with buttercream frosting recipes.
If a package doesn't say pure cane sugar, it contains beet sugar which is more likely to give you a grainy outcome. In addition to that, we've noticed that even some brands that say "Pure Cane Sugar" will give a grainy consistency.
One example is Dixie Crystals (although it used to work great for us a few years ago.) Something has changed...it's a mystery. Anyway, this recipe should not be grainy, and so if it is, experiment with a different brand of confectioners sugar.
High Ratio Frosting
This easy high ratio frosting pipes perfectly and is a good choice for higher temperatures as it is more heat resistant than butter-based frosting.
Ingredients
- *This Recipe makes a lot of frosting. It can be halved!
- 2 cups (386 g) high ratio shortening (We use Sweetex and CK brands)
- 2 Tablespoons (24 g) clear vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) butter flavoring
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) lemon or almond flavoring
- 4 lbs. (1820 g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 cup (238 g) or more if needed - milk or heavy cream (you get a softer crust using heavy cream)
- ½ to 1 teaspoon (2g to 4g ) salt ( I use popcorn salt because of its fine grain or let your regular salt dissolve in the milk) This will cut the sweetness.
Instructions
- Cream the shortening and flavorings .
- Add the confectioners’ sugar and cream, mixing slowing and gradually increasing speed .
- Mix approx. 8 min. until creamy and smooth, DURING THE LAST 2 TO 3 MINUTES OF MIXING SLOW DOWN THE SPEED TO VERY SLOW THIS WILL ELIMINATE MOST OF THE AIR BUBBLES THAT OCCUR.
- If you are still seeing what looks like bubbles that have burst (small holes) in your buttercream, continue to add milk a teaspoon at a time until most of them disappear.
- This is still sweet though the salt cuts some of the sweetness.
Makes approximately 11 ½ cups
Notes
***We slightly altered this recipe from our previous version, which had 2 lbs (910g) confectioner’s sugar. We still really like the previous version, but it has a much lighter and softer consistency and while it crusted, it didn’t crust quite as firm. Using the Viva paper towel method of smoothing is easier with the updated version.
Hi Barbara, We do use 4 Tablespoons vanilla. The recipe uses 4 lbs. powdered sugar. The recipe could cut the recipe by 1/2.
I've been making Buttercream frosting for 50 years and this is the first time I have ever had a problem.
I bought a 25 lb box of powdered sugar from GFS, like I normally do.
I use Sweetex. I noticed that my icing was grainy, which has never happened before. I looked on the box and it said 6x. This is the first time I have seen 6x powdered sugar. Well, my question is how do I eliminate the grainy texture. I'm making icing for 25 dozen cupcakes, so I just can't start over again. Please help asap!
Hi Dianne, I know your frustration, I am so sorry you are having this problem with a large cupcake order. First, I have never used 6X powdered sugar. I had to research to learn that 6X powdered sugar is larger particles of powdered sugar than 10X. The numbers refer to the size mesh screens used to sift the pulverized granulated sugar through when making powdered sugar. I think using 6X could be the problem. I experienced this a few weeks ago, tried everything I could find online to solve the problem and could not. I was using a 7 lb. of 10X bag of US brand bought at Costco. I have used this brand of pure cane sugar for years. I tried so many remedies found online to eliminate grainy buttercream and none worked. I switched to Dominos and all was good. Just for testing purposes I decided to try the US brand one more time. It was fine, no problem. I was thinking that my bag possibly was old but now that I read your post, it could have had 6X rather than 10X in it, by mistake. I now test a new bag by putting a small amount ( 2 T) in a bowl and dissolve with water. It always looks fine but if you rub it between your fingers and can feel a gritty texture, don't use. I hope you have not made the total amount you need for the cupcakes. I want to add that the brand Dixie Crystals 10X is gritty and has been so for years. It is pure cane sugar but Melissa and I think they have changed their formulation of the amount of cornstarch they use, causing it to be gritty. We used to tell members using pure cane sugar was the answer, but when Dixie Crystals changed we could no longer say that. Wishing you good luck.
Thank you for answering so quickly! The batch I made was for half of the order. I had some other powdered sugar which was fine. My daughter gave me an idea, since they are cupcakes, I can embellish 100 of them with decorative sugars. The other 100 I will add strawberry preserves, which will hopefully confuse the person eating them into thinking it is part of the icing. Lol I have definitely learned my lesson and from now on, test the sugar first. I contact the store I bought the product from, they gave me a refund and I purchase another brand that was in 2 lb. packages, which did test. I also read them the riot act about the 6x. Thanks again!
Hi Dianne, Thanks so much for the follow up, I was thinking about you today. I think you and your daughter have come up with 2 good solutions to disguise the problem, good for you! I am so glad to know your problem had a happy ending.
I can use this frosting and put fondant on top of a cake???? It's first time I would attempt to do fondant on a cake and I'm trying to learn from my own experiences and try a new frosting more stable than regular one with butter? thanks.
Hi Vernice, Yes, you can use this frosting with fondant. Chill the frosted cake before laying on the fondant to make it easier to reposition the fondant if needed.
Should I just let my cake crust on the counter vs in the fridge? I found that when I let it crust in the fridge it was harder to smooth with the paper towel. Thanks you.
I forgot to say that I used high ratio shortening vs Crisco. It seemed more solid. Sorry forgot to put that in my comment.
Hi Loretta, yes I just let the frosting crust at room temperature when using the paper towel method of smooth. It usually develops a crust fairly quickly- maybe 10-15 minutes. I hope this helps!
Can this be used for chocolate frosting? If so what ration do I use in making the frosting , like extract and flavoring? I live in Florida and it is getting hot here. Thank you.
Claudia
Ok I did not see my post that I did yesterday. I did something wrong. The question I had was can I do this recipe making chocolate frosting? If so what do I need to change the extract and flavoring to? Thank you again for the second time.
Claudia