Whiskey Buttercream

Whisky Buttercream – Smooth sweet buttercream with a delicious kick of Whiskey.

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I now have a new favourite flavour of buttercream – Whiskey buttercream. It truly is absolutely delicious.

I hadn’t originally planned on making a Whiskey buttercream. I had the idea in my head to create a new alcoholic buttercream flavour (as you all seem to like my Baileys and Brandy versions). Given the popularity at the moment of both gin and rum, these were the obvious choices for my new flavour, but seeing as I was recipe testing, I raided my drinks cupboard and tested a few others too.

Sadly the gin and rum buttercreams didn’t work out as I’d have liked. Despite adding A LOT of alcohol to both, the gin and rum got a bit lost in the sweetness of the buttercream, I needed something with a more powerful flavour. Enter Whiskey.

I’m not really a huge fan of Whiskey as a drink, I find it a bit too bitter on its own – I’m definitely more of a Baileys girl. However, it tastes simply amazing as a buttercream as the powerful flavour of the Whiskey goes perfectly with the sweetness of the buttercream. That buttercream is then perfect on some coffee cupcakes to make a kind of Irish coffee cake like the ones in these pictures. It also tastes great with vanilla, chocolate or caramel cake too.

If you really like the sound of gin and rum buttercream, fear not, I’ll keep working on them and I’ll share the recipe as soon as it’s ready.

Whiskey Buttercream, Whisky Buttercream or Bourbon Buttercream?

I was in two minds whether to go for Whiskey or Whisky when I named this recipe. In the end, I deferred to the knowledge of my Insta followers and did a poll in my stories. Whiskey with an e was the clear winner.

In reality, it doesn’t matter which you buy; the recipe works equally as well with any. You can also use Bourbon if you prefer. However, there was no way I could call it Bourbon Buttercream as if I saw that written down I’d always assume it was flavoured with the classic British chocolate biscuit (which while I’m thinking about it, would make a brilliant flavour – I’ll have to add it to my to-make list).

Whisky Buttercream

Whisky Buttercream - Smooth sweet buttercream with a delicious kick of Whiskey.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 12 servings

INGREDIENTS

Metric - US Cups/Ounces

• 175 g butter - soft at room temperature
• 350 g icing sugar
• 60 ml whiskey - choose your favourite as the flavour will come through in the buttercream

INSTRUCTIONS

• Beat the butter (175g) on a low speed until it's soft. 
• Add the icing sugar (350g) and beat it into the butter on a low speed until it is combined. I like to add the sugar a little at a time as it's easier to mix into the butter.
• Add the whisky (60ml) no more than 1 tsp at a time and beat it into the buttercream mixture (again on a low speed). 

  If you find that you've accidentally added your Whiskey a little too fast and your buttercream has gone a little grainy, don't worry, there's an extra tip below the recipe for rescuing it.
• Once all of your whisky has been added, your buttercream is now ready to use.

NOTES

This recipe makes enough buttercream to decorate 12 cupcakes as shown in the picture. These cupcakes were decorated using a JEM1B nozzle.

It also makes enough to fill and top my coffee cake.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Calories: 236kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 0.1g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7.6g | Sodium: 9.3mg | Sugar: 28.4g

Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.

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Author: Charlotte Oates

Tip – How to rescue your buttercream if it starts to go grainy

In order to create a Whiskey buttercream that’s packed full of flavour, you have to add a decent amount of Whiskey. Unfortunately, butter isn’t a big fan of liquid so if you’re not careful your buttercream can start to split as you add more.

The solution to this is very simple – to add the Whiskey very slowly (no more than a teaspoon at a time). By adding the Whiskey slowly, you can make sure each addition is completely beaten in before adding more, and you’ll find the buttercream can incorporate a surprising amount of liquid.