Alternatives to buttercream icing

[RollerCola]

I find buttercream a bit too sickly - is there an alternative that pipes a swirl top nicely onto cupcakes? I like sweetness, just not so sickly sweet.

Watching with interest- DD2 hates butter but loves baking.

The closest I've found is the American frosting stuff you can get from catering shops, but its still too sweet for me.

I've tried a cream cheese topping but it's not thick enough to pipe i'm in need of ideas too!!

Carrot cake icing- 50/50 icing sugar and cream cheese
Lemon curd
Lemon drizzle
Cocoa powder and icing sugar mix buttercream (less sickly)

Mascarpone?

Fresh whipped cream?

You can do a meringue frosting or an American marshmallow one

Haven't got recipes off the top of my head but i'm sure there is loads on the net

I make buttercream but I whisk it for at least 10 mins in a mixer and it double/triples in quantity and is no where near as sickly

Swiss meringue buttercream? Or Seven-minute frosting?

Praline
Smooth peanut butter
Ginger icing
Salted caramel

Swiss meringue pipes beautifully, and is not sickly - dh hates buttercream, but asks me to do swiss meringue buttercream

Notapizzer, i agree with you, i do exactly the same as you and beat it for about 10mins in my mixer and as you say it doubles in size and resembles double cream, and no one has ever says its sickly, quite the opposite, i'm always asked how do i make it so light and fluffy.

oh and i always use the same butter, willow, tried others and this seems to work for me, making red nose cupcakes this week, lots of them,arrrrgh.

Can anyone tell me what cream cheese icing tastes like compared to buttercream? I must have tasted it before I'm sure but can't quite 'taste' it in my mind!

A slight sharp edge and sticks to the roof of the mouth longer. A thicker texture, denser, less open.

Is it sweet? And as sickly?

You can also use ganache to pipe swirls too.

i find if you add cream cheese to whisked double cream and it light and fluffy, you can add as much or as little icing sugar as you want.

Ganache......mmm....drools!

Helpful huh!

i made some choccy cakes today, abit of an over load of choc but it is mothers day, i also added big chunks of white choc to cake mix, then i topped them with ganache and the really naughty i know but i crushed up maltesers and sprinkled them over the top, tut tut, diabetes here i come!

1/4 cup unrefined (virgin) coconut oil
16 oz icing sugar
4-6 tablespoons coconut or soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

I really like old-fashioned cooked buttercream, which you make with - shock horror - flour. From the list of ingredients, it looks like it can't possibly work but you end up with a very light, not-too-sweet, not-too-claggy icing that's closer to whipped cream.

After several attempts to learn to love Swiss Meringue Buttercream - it's just too much like whipped butter for me, and I LOVE butter - this is the one I end up making most often now.

That or normal butter/icing sugar with half a tin of Carnation Caramel whisked in with a pinch of sea salt. [drools]

French buttercream is a rich, smooth buttercream, not as sweet buttercream made with icing sugar and pipes beautifully.

especially yummy with the added chocolate

Notapizzaeater..... I tried that once and it split and looked curdled, what is your recipe please?
TIA

Depends on the buttercream. You're probably talking about American Buttercream (with butter and icing sugar), that recipe is actually really sweet and dense. My personal choice to frost cakes and cupcakes is the Swiss Meringue Buttercream. You can easily find it on the internet :)