Flavoring buttercream icing and cake mixes

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Becky Zastrow on March 11, 2010 at 9:37am

There are lots of ways to add flavor, sometimes you just have to think outside the box a bit....
1) use fruit juice or puree in place of water or liquid called for
2) Many bakers add instant pudding mix to their cake batter; look for interesting "limited time" flavors such as pumpkin spice or strawberry flavored pudding. White chocolate or cheesecake pudding are also great mixed into cake batter.
3) Go beyond extracts: look for LorAnn flavor oils or Amoretti flavoring compounds. These are very concentrated flavors, so you don't need much....
4) Some bakers add sour cream to their cake batters...try using flavored yogurt instead!
5) Some bakers also like to brush their baked cakes with a simple sugar syrup to add moisture; try adding liquors or fruit juice to the syrup for added flavor.
6) As you said, you can add flavored liquid coffee creamer to cake batter or buttercream for added flavor too....but you can also look for gourmet coffee flavorings for a different twist.

These are just a few ideas, really ~ the possiblilities are endless!

Permalink Reply by Bunny Flowers on April 23, 2010 at 9:55pm

When you say extracts, do you mean the liquid extracts by Wilton or in the grocery store only? I am taking my classes at a locally owned cake supply store and they have flavor emulsions such as Creme Bouquet, which are quite tasty in my opinion.

Permalink Reply by Crystal Stricklin on April 24, 2010 at 1:21am

I have only used the extracts from the grocery store. I wouldn't mind trying the creme bouquet.

Permalink Reply by Bunny Flowers on April 24, 2010 at 10:22pm

Do you have a source? If not, try www.cakestuffonline.com -- that's where I get mine.

Crystal Stricklin said:

I have only used the extracts from the grocery store. I wouldn't mind trying the creme bouquet.

Permalink Reply by Melissa on August 3, 2010 at 6:26pm

I use Unsweetened Cherry Kool-Aid to make cherry cake. I have read that people use Unsweentened K-A in their buttercream for different flavors. I made cherry cake using jello before but didn't care for the texture. The K-A doesn't have the 'wet' texture that the jello does.

Permalink Reply by Keegan Luvs Cake on August 7, 2010 at 8:01pm

Davinci or Torani syrups also!

Permalink Reply by Jennifer Cintron on August 8, 2010 at 11:25am

Crystal, when using the liquid coffee creamers you can do it just by replacing the milk or water in the recipe with the creamer. I am a big fan of Coffeemate's Italian Sweet Cream in my coffee, so one day I said hmmmm wonder what this would do to buttercream and the result was rave reviews! It doesn't taste like anything in particular - not almond or vanilla or whatever, but it adds a sweet richness to both my coffee and plain vanilla buttercream icing!

I like all of Becky's ideas too - you should definitely try a bit of orange juice and orange zest for a yummy "dreamsicle" buttercream, and I have found that the Lorann flavoring oils do go a long way. I just used some leftover chocolate-coconut buttercream to do my sister's baby shower cake yesterday, and the coconut flavor was much stronger after sitting in the fridge for a few days (I had a lot of leftover frosting from a cake I did the weekend before). Just try stuff out - if you're not sure, take a quarter or a half cup of your buttercream and mix in a fraction of whatever flavoring you would use for the whole recipe - if it tastes bad, dump it - but if it works, go whole hog! Maybe even dedicate one whole recipe of buttercream to try 6-8 different flavors that way. I am still just in the newbie stages of baking so I find myself making it up as I go along and my family is usually content to be my guinea pigs.

Also re cake mix flavors, there is a book called the cake mix doctor - my mom bought it at a garage sale a while back and I turned my nose up at it but I have to admit that now, since I bake so much more than I used to, I have been trying a couple of the recipes and the last 3 chocolate cakes that I have sold (well, let's not count the one for my sister's shower since that was obviously free of charge!) have used her "chocolate better than ??? cake." Buy the book or see if you can pick it up at your local library, look through it and get some ideas. I am planning to try her cherry-chocolate cake soon - she adds a can of cherry filling in the cake mix!

Good luck and happy baking!

Permalink Reply by shay smith on August 16, 2010 at 5:12pm

Hey Becky im new to this and thanks i have to treat these ideas out they all sound great !

Permalink Reply by Crystal Stricklin on August 16, 2010 at 9:09pm

I just bought some Torani syrup that was hazelnut and put it in my cakes and my buttercream and omg it was so good. The flavor really came through

Keegan Luvs Cake said:

Davinci or Torani syrups also!

Permalink Reply by Nancy Russell on September 11, 2010 at 3:00am

how much did you add to the cake mix? did it replace the liquid in the reciepe? looking to use Torani white chocolate sauce in a cake.

Permalink Reply by Anne M on October 19, 2010 at 11:44am

Did you bake your cherry cake? I would love to know the result. I have a cake to bake next week and I am also thinking of doctoring it with strwberry pie filling..........will it become too moist? I need to carve it as well. Would love your input.



Jennifer Cintron said:

Crystal, when using the liquid coffee creamers you can do it just by replacing the milk or water in the recipe with the creamer. I am a big fan of Coffeemate's Italian Sweet Cream in my coffee, so one day I said hmmmm wonder what this would do to buttercream and the result was rave reviews! It doesn't taste like anything in particular - not almond or vanilla or whatever, but it adds a sweet richness to both my coffee and plain vanilla buttercream icing!

I like all of Becky's ideas too - you should definitely try a bit of orange juice and orange zest for a yummy "dreamsicle" buttercream, and I have found that the Lorann flavoring oils do go a long way. I just used some leftover chocolate-coconut buttercream to do my sister's baby shower cake yesterday, and the coconut flavor was much stronger after sitting in the fridge for a few days (I had a lot of leftover frosting from a cake I did the weekend before). Just try stuff out - if you're not sure, take a quarter or a half cup of your buttercream and mix in a fraction of whatever flavoring you would use for the whole recipe - if it tastes bad, dump it - but if it works, go whole hog! Maybe even dedicate one whole recipe of buttercream to try 6-8 different flavors that way. I am still just in the newbie stages of baking so I find myself making it up as I go along and my family is usually content to be my guinea pigs.

Also re cake mix flavors, there is a book called the cake mix doctor - my mom bought it at a garage sale a while back and I turned my nose up at it but I have to admit that now, since I bake so much more than I used to, I have been trying a couple of the recipes and the last 3 chocolate cakes that I have sold (well, let's not count the one for my sister's shower since that was obviously free of charge!) have used her "chocolate better than ??? cake." Buy the book or see if you can pick it up at your local library, look through it and get some ideas. I am planning to try her cherry-chocolate cake soon - she adds a can of cherry filling in the cake mix!

Good luck and happy baking!

Permalink Reply by Jennifer Cintron on October 19, 2010 at 3:10pm

Anne,

I have not yet tried the chocolate cherry cake, but I pulled out the book to give you an idea of the recipe ingredients. It is 1 package of cake mix, I 21-oz can of pie pilling, and 2 eggs. She also adds a teaspoon of almond flavoring but I suspect this is more about flavoring than adding liquid. I'm not sure how well this recipe would work for a cake that you want to carve - my best guess is that it will be a bit gooey, but that is mainly because in the Cake Mix Dr. recipe, she cools it slightly in the pan, then pours a warm glaze over the cake and continues to let it cool completely in the pan. I guess the only way to find out is to make it! If you do, let me know how it comes out! It sounds delish though doesn't it?


Anne M said:

Did you bake your cherry cake? I would love to know the result. I have a cake to bake next week and I am also thinking of doctoring it with strwberry pie filling..........will it become too moist? I need to carve it as well. Would love your input.



Jennifer Cintron said:

Crystal, when using the liquid coffee creamers you can do it just by replacing the milk or water in the recipe with the creamer. I am a big fan of Coffeemate's Italian Sweet Cream in my coffee, so one day I said hmmmm wonder what this would do to buttercream and the result was rave reviews! It doesn't taste like anything in particular - not almond or vanilla or whatever, but it adds a sweet richness to both my coffee and plain vanilla buttercream icing!

I like all of Becky's ideas too - you should definitely try a bit of orange juice and orange zest for a yummy "dreamsicle" buttercream, and I have found that the Lorann flavoring oils do go a long way. I just used some leftover chocolate-coconut buttercream to do my sister's baby shower cake yesterday, and the coconut flavor was much stronger after sitting in the fridge for a few days (I had a lot of leftover frosting from a cake I did the weekend before). Just try stuff out - if you're not sure, take a quarter or a half cup of your buttercream and mix in a fraction of whatever flavoring you would use for the whole recipe - if it tastes bad, dump it - but if it works, go whole hog! Maybe even dedicate one whole recipe of buttercream to try 6-8 different flavors that way. I am still just in the newbie stages of baking so I find myself making it up as I go along and my family is usually content to be my guinea pigs.

Also re cake mix flavors, there is a book called the cake mix doctor - my mom bought it at a garage sale a while back and I turned my nose up at it but I have to admit that now, since I bake so much more than I used to, I have been trying a couple of the recipes and the last 3 chocolate cakes that I have sold (well, let's not count the one for my sister's shower since that was obviously free of charge!) have used her "chocolate better than ??? cake." Buy the book or see if you can pick it up at your local library, look through it and get some ideas. I am planning to try her cherry-chocolate cake soon - she adds a can of cherry filling in the cake mix!

Good luck and happy baking!

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