• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Gretchen's Vegan Bakery
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Cake Recipes
    • Cupcakes
    • Icings and Fillings
    • Cookies
    • Cheesecake
    • Layer Cakes
    • Brownies and Bars
    • Pies and Tarts
    • No Bake Desserts
    • Holiday Baking
  • Cheesecake
  • Layer Cakes
  • Privacy Policy
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube

The Best Way to Flavor your Buttercream Recipes

July 4, 2021 By Gretchen 11 Comments

You can create just about any flavor under the sun and add it straight away into the base recipe of whatever buttercream recipe you love the most!

Aquafaba Italian Meringue Buttercream

There is just one thing to keep in mind when you start experimenting with adding more ingredients to your buttercream.

DO NOT OVER SATURATE.

Buttercream is an oil based formula.

Butter= Fat.

Fat=Oil

Oil and water do not typically mix well together.

Wait a minute, you must be saying “Why would I add water to my buttercream?”

When I say “water” I mean liquid and liquid can come in many different forms when it comes to flavorings.

From puree to extracts and even concentrated juices, champagne and wine are all options that I have used to flavor buttercream.

But too much will almost certainly break your silky smooth buttercream and turn it into a horrific mess!

If the mixture starts to separate or “break” this means over saturation and once you get to that point, there ain’t no going back!

How to Fix a Broken Buttercream

Ok that’s a lie, Sometimes when this happens, a hefty amount of vigorous blending will do the trick to help it come back together to a smooth emulsion

But if you have stepped too far over the line to the land of over saturation,  you will have to re balance, usually by adding more neutral buttercream.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO TUTORIAL ON HOW TO SAVE A FAILED BUTTERCREAM

Aquafaba Swiss Buttercream Recipen

THE BEST OPTIONS TO FLAVOR YOUR BUTTERCREAM

Obviously we all know that vanilla extract can transform our recipes with just a a few teaspoons

This is also true with many other extracts like lemon, almond, coconut etc…

But we also know that vanilla bean paste will do the job even better.

The difference between emulsions and extracts

Extracts are typically made with an alcohol base that is a great neutral carrier for flavorings, the problem is alcohol evaporates and dissipates especially upon heat/baking thus taking some of that luscious flavor oil with it.

Bakery Emulsions are water and vegetable gum based flavors that won’t bake out like traditional alcohol-based extracts.

That means you don’t have to add extra to get the flavor you are looking for

But what about when we want super intense fruit flavorings?

Jams and jellies are an option, but with an already super sweet recipe like buttercream, jams and jellies are literally just adding a huge amount of more sugar.

Purees are not the greatest to add either, since their concentration of flavor is not as pronounced so you will tend to add more, causing breakage.

Strawberry Puree

Don’t get me wrong, I do it in certain instances like adding a really strong, super concentrated Strawberry Puree is great

But even better than purees would be to use freeze dried fruit powders

*not sponsored

Freeze Dried Fruit

Literally just freeze dried fruit in little snack packs that you find at the supermarket can be ground down in a spice grinder to a powder for the most intense fruit flavors with no added liquid!

Just add the fruit powder to your buttercream at the last stage of mixing!

It is literally the best way to go, not only does it add intense flavor but it soaks up any excess moisture from the buttercream

Creating a more stable icing!

Oh yeah, and in the fall I do not hesitate to add pumpkin straight to it!

Just like I did here in my Pumpkin Velvet Cake with Spiced Pumpkin Buttercream!

 

HOW MUCH FLAVORING OR PUREE SHOULD I USE?

I have always flavored my buttercreams by “eye” simply by adding a little at a time of whatever I am adding to it and tasting it along the way.

Much of the flavorings are “to taste” and when I say this, it simply means, start with a teaspoon or two of extract or emulsion and then taste it.

Typically about a ¾ – 1 cup of super concentrated puree to an entire recipe of buttercream

I know many of you want a chart that says exactly how much of this to add to the buttercream, but not all BRANDS are crated equally!

I once purchased a mint extract from another source than what I was used to getting and wow!

It was like Listerine Mouthwash!

I talk all about that here in my recipe for Mint Chocolate Chip Layer Cake!

CLICK HERE TO READ ALL ABOUT MINT EXTRACTS!

Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

I encourage you to play around with flavors whenever possible.

BE BRAVE GUYS! No recipes needed! 

Start to rely on your taste buds to guide you to perfect balances.

Just remember anytime you add anything to an already soft base ~like buttercream~ it is going to get even SOFTER!

So be prepared to refrigerate many flavored buttercream recipes not because they will go bad (unless you are using curds or custard of course) but because they are going to be super soft!

With the exception of Peanut Butter Buttercream and Chocolate Buttercream!

Peanut Butter Buttercream Recipe
Peanut Butter Buttercream
Vegan Buttercream ~ Mocha Buttercream
Mocha Buttercream

The addition of peanut butter powder to buttercream has the same effect as the dried fruit powders!

it soaks up any excess moisture and tightens up your buttercream recipe for more stability!

Same goes for the cocoa powder paste addition and coffee granules to make chocolate and/or mocha buttercream!

CLICK HERE FOR PEANUT BUTTER BUTTERCREAM RECIPE

CLICK HERE FOR MOCHA BUTTERCREAM RECIPE

*Chocolate buttercream is the same as mocha only leave out the coffee!

Here are just a few suggestions off the top of my head that you can achieve simply by adding some liquors, flavor oils or emulsions, extracts or fruit purees.

Simply stir desired amount into the buttercream and off you go!! 

Be sure to refrigerate accordingly if you are using an addition of fruit curds

  • Amaretto – add liquor
  • Vegan Bailey’s Irish Cream- Add liquor
  • Peanut Butter – add peanut butter
  • Nutella – add nutella
  • Lemon Buttercream -add lemon Curd and lemon zest
  • Coconut – add toasted coconut and coconut extract
  • Key Lime – add key lime juice and grated lime zest
  • Cinnamon- Duh!
  • Kahlua- add instant coffee and Kahlua liquor
  • Pineapple- add canned pineapple (drained first and patted dry) & some freeze dried pineapple powder
  • Marachino Cherry – add the Juice from the canned cherries and even some pureed cherries too

 

Filed Under: Baking 101

Previous Post: « No Bake White Chocolate Blueberry Cheesecake
Next Post: Basil Ice Cream Recipe~ Vegan »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kate

    February 25, 2019 at 11:08 pm

    Coco powder for chocolate?

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      February 26, 2019 at 4:19 pm

      Yes you can use cocoa, but I always make it into a paste first. Add about 4 Tbs of cocoa : 3 Tbs of hot water, whisk smooth then add it COOLED to the buttercream

      Reply
  2. Nami

    February 26, 2020 at 2:06 pm

    Hello Gretchen, Its first time on your website and I like how it break it down in such a practical way to understand the basics of vegan baking and frosting. I am curious to know how the vegan bakeries I visit make butter beer frosting. I would like to give it a shot. Could you help me with that? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      February 26, 2020 at 6:54 pm

      HI Nami thanks! I am not familiar with that icing, but from what it sounds like, is it just buttercream with beer added?? LOL
      As you probably read from this post, it is difficult (especially more with vegan buttercream) to add liquids to this already delicate emulsion.

      Reply
      • Mimi

        August 24, 2020 at 5:42 am

        Butterbeer is a made-up drink in the Harry Potter books. I’ve seen it interpreted as a caramel ice cream blended with soda or ginger ale in real life, although there isn’t a definitive recipe. It is supposed to be creamy, frothy, and warming (in the books, it’s the students’ favorite drink to order during their winter trips to the nearby town). So you can go with your imagination. 🙂

        Reply
  3. Nadia

    April 16, 2020 at 12:22 am

    Hi Gretchen, I just watched your video on YouTube and left you a comment.
    I am so sorry those people wrote such horrible things. You are one of the BEST teachers who took your own time to teach us. I have benefitted from you a lot over the years. I just wish I had saved your recipes. Whenever I needed something I would just go to your page. I know in the video you said you no longer have your old recipes. I was just wondering if there is any way you have the strawberry and vanilla chiffon cake recipes. I LOVED your chiffon cake. I wish I had save them. If you do, please can you send them to me. Much appreciate it. Love everything you do. ❤️

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      April 16, 2020 at 2:34 pm

      Hi Thank you. I no longer have any of the old recipes

      Reply
  4. Nina

    September 21, 2020 at 1:55 pm

    Hi Gretchen,
    I would like to create a less sweet, fresher taste of this creme for a naked wedding cake and thought about adding vegan cream cheese. Do you think that is possible or do you have any suggestions?

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      September 21, 2020 at 5:15 pm

      Yes you can do that, you make 1 recipe CREAM CHEESE ICING and 1 Recipe of BUTTERCREAM then combine them together

      Reply
  5. Amalija

    February 9, 2022 at 6:04 pm

    Hi Gretchen! Thanks for all your help. Do you have any tips on adding coloring to frosting? (Like, any favorite brands of gel coloring, or which buttercream frosting takes on color the best, or which ones pipe the smoothest and most stable for things like flowers?) <3

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      February 9, 2022 at 7:42 pm

      Best buttercream for decor would be the American style BC (*with the shortening addition) Same goers for best to take color, the swiss & italian not so friendly for color because the moisture content is so high, making those harder to work with all the way around
      I think I have americolor food colors right now, I don’;t use food color much anymore

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

My Cookbook is available!

See What's New! Subscribe to my email list!

loader

Email Address*

Name

Yep, it's me Gretchen~ Owner of Gretchen's Bakery. Well, I no longer own a physical bakery since I sold mine in late 2014 & since 2016 I make nothing but the best vegan recipes! Read More…

Recipe Categories

Copyright © 2023 Gretchen's Vegan Bakery on the Foodie Pro Theme