Here are tips (plus inspiration) for piped buttercream flower success!
Image via Miso BakesButtercream types
Craftsy instructor Erica O’Brien has a very useful chart on her blog outlining the different types of buttercream, their uses, pros and cons. Here’s a brief roundup in terms of how each type works when piping buttercream flowers.-
- Store-bought: Great for practice, but doesn’t firm up as well as other types of buttercreams. Easy to color. Difficult to move flowers once they’ve been piped.
- American: Very easy to adjust the thickness as you go. Can have an ivory tint if your recipe contains butter, making it a little more challenging to color. Easy to move flowers once they’ve been piped and have crusted over. Since the buttercream crusts, the flowers will have a little crunch to them once set.
- Swiss Meringue: Very smooth and easy to pipe with. Sets up quickly in the fridge. Easy to move flowers once they’ve been piped. Needs some time to return to the perfect piping consistency if it gets too warm or too cold. Isn’t pure white, so it’s a little more challenging to color than a shortening based buttercream.
- Italian Meringue: All of the same attributes of Swiss meringue buttercream. It’s a little more difficult to make than SMBC, but it’s also a little more stable in warmer weather.
So nice!!!!