For piping flowers, you do need to use a sturdy buttercream recipe! I love this buttercream recipe, it’s really easy and quick to make and tastes delicious. It’s best to make it at least a day before you want to use it so that it can sit in the fridge overnight – this helps to get rid of some of the air and makes it nice and smooth to pipe with! I scrape down the bowl often to make sure everything is mixed really well, and I ALWAYS sift the icing sugar. Even if I open the bag and it appears to be beautifully fine, soft sugar, it goes through the sieve. When you’re using a fine piping tip or a small round tip and a sugar crystal gets stuck in the tip mid flower, it’s really annoying and can spoil what you’ve already piped, so this is a step I never miss out! Make sure your butter is soft enough to easily push through with a knife or spatula so that you don’t damage your mixer. You want the butter to still be holding it’s shape, but soft enough to easily mix. Always use the paddle attachment on the mixer. The whisk attachment creates too much air. You’re beating the butter, not whisking it.
If you don’t have a stand mixer, it is possible to make it with a hand mixer – but I strongly advise to only make HALF a batch. So 250g butter, 500g icing sugar and approximately 2tsp vanilla. Again, it’s best to make it at least a day before you want to use it so that it can sit in the fridge overnight to get rid of some of the air. MAKE SURE that your butter is soft enough to mix by hand so that you don’t damage your hand mixer. Beat the butter in a large bowl for around a minute or two on the lowest setting. The butter should become a little lighter in colour. Now PUT THE HAND MIXER AWAY and mix in the sugar and vanilla extract by hand with a wooden spoon or strong spatula. Add the sugar a little bit at a time so it’s easier to mix in and doesn’t make such a mess! It takes time but it needs to be done this way. Using a hand mixer to incorporate the icing sugar will add way too much air to the buttercream – and it will create the biggest sugar mess you’ve ever seen!