Homemade Grocery Store Frosting Recipe

Why are cakes from the grocery store so delicious? It's in the frosting. This easy, homemade grocery store frosting delivers the same sweet, smooth flavor of a store-bought cake.

I love butter. I grew up with butter. Real butter and only butter.

Butter is all I use in my favorite buttercream frosting recipe. (Bear with me, I'm getting to the point soon.)

For every one of my kids' birthdays, I make cakes or cupcakes with said buttercream frosting. And then one year, my daughter wanted a cake from the grocery store bakery.

Makes it easier for me, so sure. One bite and I remembered how delicious grocery store bakery cakes are.

Why?! Why are they so delicious? It's that grocery store bakery frosting recipe.

I won't ever fully betray my only-butter buttercream frosting recipe, but every now and then, I'm just going to have to make this homemade grocery store frosting.

The key ingredient in the frosting is the vegetable shortening. Grocery stores use shortening because it's cheaper, more stable, and has a longer shelf life.

It's also less sensitive to heat, so the consistency is more reliable. Speaking of consistency, it helps frosting achieve just that: The perfect consistency.

I find this particular recipe even easier to pipe than traditional buttercream frosting, and it holds its shape beautifully. It's why I add just a little bit of shortening to my royal icing recipe.

So, if you're using this frosting to pipe flowers or decorate a cake? It's divine.

That said, I can't forgo my beloved butter entirely, so here I use a combination of shortening and butter for a perfect blend, much as I use the same combination in my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.

You get the smooth consistency of shortening with the can't-be-beat butter taste.

Want to decorate the cupcakes with the frosting as shown here? If you’d like to tint the frosting, mix a few drops of food coloring into the frosting very well.

Prepare a decorating bag with a star tip, size 1M (my favorite tool for topping cupcakes), fill the bag with some of the frosting, and close with a rubber band.

Start at the center of the cupcake and pipe the frosting, moving to the outside of the cupcake and piping a spiral. Add sprinkles, if you like.

Planning a dinner party and need some inspiration?

How about looking for a new slow cooker dinner idea?

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