Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks or 226 grams) unsalted butter, softened (or 1 stick salted & 1 stick unsalted)
- 1 (8-ounce/226 grams) package cream cheese, such as Philadelphia®, softened
- 2½ teaspoons (12.5 ml) pure vanilla extract, such as Nielsen-Massey®
- 4 to 4½ cups (480 to 540 grams) confectioners’ sugar, spooned in cup, leveled off & sifted
- 2 to 2½ cups (36 to 45 grams) freeze-dried strawberries or cherries, such as Just Tomatoes, Etc.!, pulverized, about 6 to 8 tablespoons, see Tips below in the Notes section
- Heavy cream, to thin buttercream to desired consistency
Preparation
- Using an electric stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or handheld mixer and large bowl, beat butter on medium speed until creamy. Add cream cheese and vanilla; beat until fully incorporated. Gradually increase mixer speed to high and continue beating until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of bowl as necessary with rubber spatula.
- Gradually add 4 cups confectioners’ sugar, beating on low speed (stir), until well combined. Add additional confectioners’ sugar until desired consistency for spreading and level of sweetness is reached. Add desired amount of pulverized (powdered) strawberries or cherries and mix on low speed (stir) until blended. Beat on high speed until well combined and smooth while scraping down sides of bowl as necessary, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- If desired, beat in heavy cream by the ½ to 1 teaspoonful to reach the ideal consistency for frosting, icing and piping. Before frosting cake layers, rebeat buttercream to ensure smoothness.
Notes
Tips:
If not using immediately, the buttercream can be refrigerated for up to 2 to 3 days in an airtight container. Before using, bring to room temperature before beating smooth again.
If using the buttercream to pipe details, be sure to use chilled hands when handling pastry bag as warm hands can melt the buttercream.
To Pulverize Freeze-Dried Fruit: Using a food processor, process desired amount of fruit for 2 minutes. To prevent the powder from escaping and floating through the air, cover processor with a kitchen towel. After processing, wait 30 seconds before removing lid from processor. This will allow the fruit powder to settle and prevent it from messing up your kitchen workspace. If you do not own a food processor, a blender or very clean coffee grinder (dedicated to spices only perhaps) can be used. However, depending on the type of units used, the consistency may not be as powder-fine.
Source Recipes : -Here-,
