Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

5 from 1 vote

Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

This creamy raspberry buttercream frosting uses my American buttercream as a base and mixes it with fresh raspberry puree and lemon juice to create a natural flavor with the perfect balance of sweetness.

Prep Time10

Total Time10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 299kcal

Author: Katalin Nagy

Equipment

Stand mixer

Ingredients

Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

226 g Unsalted butter 82% fat content European-style butter, use it softened
360 g Powdered sugar Sifted
1 tablespoon Lemon juice Freshly squeezed
80 g Raspberry reduction See ingredient notes below
½ tablespoon Vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon Salt
3 tablespoons Heavy cream 36% fat content

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

First, bring your butter to room temperature. Here is how to soften butter. In the meantime, prepare a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Alternatively, use your electric hand mixer.
Cream the room-temperature butter at medium-high speed for 3 minutes until it becomes light in color and fluffy in texture.
Add in the powdered sugar tablespoon by tablespoon on low speed, then turn the mixer back on medium-high speed and whip it for another 4 minutes or until the mixture becomes light, fluffy, and increases in volume.
Lastly, while the mixer is on at low speed, add the raspberry reduction, lemon juice, vanilla extract, salt, and heavy cream and continue whipping for another minute until it is smooth and silky.
This raspberry frosting should have the perfect pipeable fluffy texture, but if, for some reason, it is too thick, add some more cream (1 tablespoon at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar (2 tablespoons at a time).
Note that the raspberry buttercream texture is best straight after making it when the butter is at the right temperature (room temperature), and the mixture is freshly whipped. I like to use the frosting immediately or store it at room temperature in a piping bag for a few hours. If stored in the refrigerator, you will need to bring it back to room temperature before using it and might need to give it another minute or two to whip in the stand mixer to increase the volume again.

Notes

The recipe above is enough to frost 12 cupcakes generously.

To frost cakes, you will need approximately 2x for a 6-inch cake, 2.5x for a 7-inch cake, and 3x for an 8-inch cake (depending on how much frosting vs. sponge ratio you prefer on your cakes and whether you are using any other filling in between the layers).

Ingredient notes:

Measure your ingredients with a digital scale for accuracy.
To make the raspberry reduction, Start with 2-3x more fruit than what you need as reduction. Puree the fresh or frozen raspberries (after defrosting) and remove the seeds with a sieve. Then, reduce this puree by cooking over medium heat for 10 minutes or until the mixture slightly thickens and some water evaporates. Measure it after the reduction process.
Alternatively, instead of the raspberry reduction, use seedless raspberry jam.
Use high fat (36%) heavy cream and good quality high fat (82%) butter for making buttercream.
Alternatively, the recipe can be made with high fat vegan butter and vegan cream, however, the taste will be slightly different, than using dairy products.
It is key to use high quality vanilla for the best flavor, feel free to try my homemade vanilla extract.
Only use fresh lemon juice for the best flavor.

Technique notes:

Make sure you read my Expert Tips section above to maximize your success. A short recipe alone is not able to cover all the necessary details and science behind baking.
The temperature and texture of the butter are key when making buttercream. Wait until it is soft, however, avoid last-minute microwaving.
When adding the powdered sugar, reduce the speed of the mixer to avoid creating a huge powder sugar cloud.
When adding the liquid elements e.g. the lemon juice and the raspberry reduction, make sure that the mixer is on at low speed so the juice gets evenly mixed into the buttercream.
I recommend the paddle attachment to avoid unnecessary air bubbles. To get your buttercream fully silky, without air bubbles, mix the cream at the end by hand with a rubber spatula for a few minutes.

Nutrition