So, I realize I've been completely MIA with absolutely zero explanation for the past week. Oops.
I have no real excuse for skipping out on you — I had posts planned, photographed, etc. and then just got distracted in preparation for a killer ski weekend in Big Sky! My bad. In my defense, I did have a lot of house-cleaning to do in order to get our ridiculously messy house into a state where I can feel only mild embarrassment rather than incapacitating embarrassment. Really, it was bad.
Before spending the weekend skiing down vertical faces off the top of a freaking huge mountain (seriously, we skied off the VERY top of Lone Peak. I may have cried.) I made what is, literally, the best buttercream frosting I have EVER had. Ever.
I'm generally more of a cream cheese frosting kind of gal; however, this recipe might change all of that. I wanted a punch of flavor in my frosting, so I cooked some blackberries down, added them to some buttercream and was AMAZED at how much the berry flavor stood out. No messing around! You could use any type of berry, hence the generic title, but I personally prefer blackberries and raspberries. Frozen berries work wonderfully, if berries aren't in season!
In case you need inspiration, this frosting is incredible on these flourless chocolate cupcakes and these vanilla bean cupcakes! Get on it!
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Berry Buttercream
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup berries
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2-3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the berries and sugar together. Use a wooden spoon to break the berries apart.
- Simmer until significantly reduced — you should have about ⅓ cup of liquid.
- Remove from the heat and let cool before proceeding.
- With a mixer, cream the butter together with the cooled berries and 1 cup of powdered sugar.
- Mix until completely smooth, then add the vanilla and remaining powdered sugar to your desired consistency.
Notes
If you don't want the texture from the fiber and seeds in the berries, double the amount of berries you use and press them through a sieve as soon as they are broken up. Continue to cook just the juice to reduce.
Rosie @ Blueberry Kitchen says
Yum, your berry buttercream sounds so delicious!
Allison @ thebakingyear says
This looks delicious! I once tried to make raspberry buttercream but it turned out disgusting. I'll definitely use this recipe next time!!!
Mary says
Thanks, Allison! I was blown away by how delicious this was - hopefully you are too!
Laura says
So I made it this weekend for Easter dessert (atop your vanilla bean cupcakes). The problem I had with it was that once you stop mixing, it begins to separate. I let the frosting sit out for a good 15min while I did some youtube research on the frosting techniques I wanted to use, and when I finally put it in the bag to pipe, it came out quite chunky. I put it back in the kitcheaid to remix, but even after thoroughly mixing it again, it still came out cracked and started to separate.
It tasted delicious, don't get me wrong, but the cracked appearance wasn't as pretty on my cupcakes as a smooth frosting. Did this happen to you, or did you not pipe it through a bag? Also, FYI, I pressed my berries through a sieve to get rid of seeds before mixing with butter and sugar.
Mary says
Very weird! I didn't have that problem at all, and used mine over the course of a week with no issues. Sorry yours acted funny! My first reaction would be the question if it was mixed enough, but it sounds like you had that handled. I'll have to think on this - I'm not sure how to fix it!
I did use a bag and piped it all over cakes and cupcakes, without any cracking/separating issues. Weird.
Sadie says
Hi, I wanted to share that i struggle with this too. I make strawberry buttercream, and it breaks almost every time. A lot of other sites suggest playing with temperature bc the separation is due to the butter fat being too cold or warm for the other ingredients. It's always delicious, but never as pretty as vanilla or chocolate buttercream.
Alison says
Maybe it is the type of berries or they weren’t reduced down enough?
I used frozen raspberries and blueberries and had them on the stove much longer than I thought, basically until they looked like jam. This mixed into the buttercream really well and didn’t separate..
I think I will try blackberries next time to try and get a bit of tartness to balance out the sugar.
thehiddencook says
Hi,
Love this recipe and photos! Recently came across the blog and have to say I follwed it for my own frosting, using guava instead of berries and it turned out fabulously! Rich and smooth, yet suberbly whipped and light...and it was the first time I ever made butter cream frosting! I made mention of this recipe on my own post(hope you don't mind). Please check it out to see how great the guava butter cream frosting turned out
🙂 http://thehiddencook.com/citrus-guava-cake/
Kristen says
Yum! Made this my husbands workmate because loves berry icing!
It was amazing!
Mary says
Woohoo! Glad you liked it!
Jen says
Do you think this will work with strawberries? It's strawberry season here in maine and I've gone a bit over board 🙂
Mary says
I think it should work - let me know if you try!!
BitsyBet says
I would love to try this frosting on a chocolate cake. I do not like the seeds, so should I press two cups of broken raspberries through a sieve, and then add the sugar and continue to cook? If I'm using more berries, do I have to add more sugar?
Mary says
This would be delicious on a chocolate cake! I would definitely keep the proportion of sugar and berry, so yes: increase sugar if you add more berries. You're right on for getting rid of the seeds - you could even wait until after adding the sugar (when it's really cooked and smooth), then pour the final product through the sieve before letting it cool. Good luck!
BitsyBet says
Thank you, Mary. Looking forward to trying it.
Adriana says
Hi,
Thanks for sharing the recipe! It tasted delicious and I used it on chocolate cupcakes. The tangy taste definitely complimented the chocolate. My only qualm was the consistency. It just doesn't get that smooth, no matter how much I mixed it. Looking from your pictures, I can tell it didn't get all that smooth either. Not as aesthetically pleasing on the cupcakes as some other frostings, but the taste made up for it!
Athena says
This looks great! I'm entering a baking competition at my secondary school and I'm going to use this. I have one question: How much frosting does this make (in cups)?
Athena says
Hello, I would also like to ask whether this would be suitable for a plain sponge cake and will it keep its shape if I pipe it? I'm going to use a star tip. Thanks!
Mary says
Hi Athena! This makes about 1.5 cups, if I remember correctly. You may need to add more powdered sugar to get a consistency suitable for piping! Add as much as you need to get it thick enough! Enjoy!
Athena says
Thanks! I'm sure it'll taste great! 🙂
Layla says
Hi,
I've been looking for a recipe like this!
Just wondering, do you think it will be stiff enough to survive as a cake FILLING?
I've tried a few things that looked promising but ended up being squished out the sides! Normally I wouldn't be bothered but this is for my wedding cake! ?
Mary says
Hi Layla! You can definitely make it as stiff as it needs to be — just add more powdered sugar! Make sure you cook the berries down for a long enough time, so they reduce and are pretty syrupy, before proceeding. Let me know how it goes! xo
Layla says
Thanks, it turned out great and everyone loved it!
Mary says
Yay! Glad to hear it, Layla! Congratulations!
Thom says
Made this frosting for my daughter's 1y birthday cake and it turned out wonderfully using raspberries (unstrained). Gave such great flavor in a very short time, and a beautiful color amd texture. Additionally, I made a tart raspberry-lime filling for the middle layer.
Thanks for publishing this, she (and everyone else) loved it.
/T
Mary says
Thanks for the comment, Thom! I'm glad it was a hit! xo
Louise says
i am definitely going to try this!!!
Mary says
Thanks, Louise! I hope you enjoy it! xo
Jools says
Hi Mary,
Do you think I can pipe do the frosting on the cake a day ahead and leave it in the fridge to be eaten the next day? Her party's at lunch time and wouldn't have enough time to prep other things and frost the cake. Thanks
Mary says
Hi Jools! I do think that would work — just make sure you add enough powdered sugar to get the frosting to a fairly thick consistency. Enjoy! xo
Jools says
Thank you!!
KAMI says
I just put this frosting on dark chocolate cupcakes for my daughter's classroom birthday party. I made the frosting extra thick by adding more sugar and topped them with a single raspberry. They were adorable and a HUGE hit with the kids and teachers. I shared the extra's at work now everyone is asking for the link! Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
Mary says
Ooh those sound so fun, Kami!! Thanks for sharing! Glad to have you here 🙂
Mike says
Use brown Sugar instead of regular, and I added some orange zest to the icing mixture for an extra zing and it came out superb!
Using this icing on a yellow cake.??
★★★★★
Mary says
Sounds great! Thanks for sharing, Mike! xo
Danny B says
How much icing does this make? I'm making a 2 tier cake and don't know if I should double it or not
Mary says
Hmm it's been a while, Danny, but I think this makes about 2 cups. Depending on the radius of your 2 tiers, I'd probably double it!
Barbara Lowery says
I made a lemon cake and wanted a Raspberry frosting. This was the Perfect recipe. It's not only a Delicious match but my Best Birthday cake yet . I recommend this recipe for Everyone that's looking for a fresh clean taste.✅✅✅???
★★★★★
Mary says
Thanks, Barbara! I'm glad you enjoyed it! xo
Katie says
Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe... It was delicious and my kids loved it ??
★★★★★
Mary says
Thanks, Katie! I'm glad they liked it! xoxo
Savannah says
I made this with huckleberry! Amazing! Thank you! Should leftover frosting sit on counter or chilled?
★★★★★
Lana Wonnacott says
I found this a little too buttery...but delish otherwise and a great consistency.
★★★★
Mary says
Thanks, Lana! If you don't like buttery frosting, I suggest trying something other than buttercream!
Debra says
Maybe use heavy cream instead of butter, if you prefer less of a buttery taste.
★★★★★
Danica says
I used frozen mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries & blueberries) and this is seriously the best frosting I’ve ever made. Saving this recipe for repeated use. Absolutely delicious!! ??
★★★★★
Mary says
So glad you liked it, Danica!! I love that you used mixed berries — sounds delicious!! xo
Robin Shearburn says
Used this recipe to add a little more color to my blueberry muffins. 🙂
Blueberries work great in this recipe.
Thank you!
★★★★★
Grace says
Does this buttercream work well under fondant?
Mary says
I don't have any experience with fondant, so I can't say. Sorry — good luck!
Caitlin says
This is the best frosting I’ve ever made! Turned out perfect - creamy, flavourful and tangy (and no separating, which I’ve had issues with in the past)! I cooked down 2 cups of mixed berries with 1.5 tables spoons sugar and strained out the seeds. I used 2 cups of icing sugar, and I made sure all ingredients were at room temperature before mixing. Used to fill some lovely French macarons. Delicious!
★★★★★
Liesl says
Absolutely delicious! I pushed the raspberries through a sieve and got a good pipeable texture.
★★★★★
Halie says
Would the berry reduction require sugar? Or could I simply reduce the berries & add to the buttercream portion (still using the powdered sugar)?