Butter and vanilla naturally tint frosting yellow, which can make winter-white buttercream surprisingly tricky. A simple pantry staple can instantly brighten it.
When holiday baking season is in full swing, every baker I know becomes part-artist, part-alchemist. Many of us chase that perfectly smooth, snowy-white frosting for Christmas cookies, gingerbread houses and holiday cakes, only to remember that classic buttercream frosting naturally leans yellow.
Some of that yellow tint is just butter doing what butter does, and regular vanilla can nudge it a shade or two darker. Delicious, yes, but not exactly the look you want when you’re aiming for a brilliantly crisp, winter-white frosting. Which is why, at this time of year, bakers are always trying to figure out or remember how to make buttercream white. Thankfully, we’ve got the answer.
What can I use to make buttercream bright white?
The secret to making buttercream bright white is to add a tiny squeeze of purple food coloring. Yes, really. The science behind it is simple: purple cancels out yellow on the color wheel, which helps neutralize the warm tint in buttercream. It’s the same reason purple shampoo is commonly used to tone brassy strands of blonde hair.
The result is a cooler, cleaner and far brighter white, without any change to the flavor, texture or stability of your buttercream. It’s an easy trick that bakers swear by, and a great solution for anyone wondering how to make buttercream white without having to buy special products like titanium dioxide.
Here’s how it works:
- Make your buttercream frosting as usual. (This trick works with all types of buttercream, including American, Swiss and Italian.)
- Add a tiny amount of purple food coloring to your frosting, either gel or liquid. A small toothpick dab works well for gel, and for liquid, only a tiny drop is needed.
- Swirl the food coloring into the frosting and mix it thoroughly. The purple will disappear, and the yellow hue will neutralize, leaving you with a noticeably whiter buttercream.
- Continue to add tiny amounts at a time as needed, taking care not to add too much. Bright white can quickly give way to a pretty—but decidedly unwanted—lilac color.
It’s the kind of trick that will seriously surprise you the first time you see it work. And just like that, your holiday cookies get a little brighter—and a little more magical too.
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