Entertaining with a Buttercream Board

 

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

Butter boards are the latest food trend to blow up on social media. It involves spreading softened butter on a wooden cutting board, garnishing it with herbs, spices, etc., and serving it with bread. Just like a charcuterie board, it's endlessly versatile and a great dish to share when entertaining a group.

I'm sure this admission comes as no surprise, but I have a big sweet tooth. So when I first heard about butter boards, I thought, "That sounds delicious, but what about a buttercream board?"

American buttercream is really easy to make, and you can easily make a big batch. So I thought this would be a fun dessert idea for a big group. There are endless possibilities for the board's theme, including the buttercream flavor, the design, and what you serve with it. For example, I made pumpkin buttercream and piped pumpkins onto the board shown in the picture above. I also plan to make a buttercream board with vanilla frosting in the design of a ghost. I will include both those buttercream recipes in this post.

Some companies add yellow dye in their butter. Unfortunately, that affects the color of your buttercream. That's why it's important to use good quality butter. I use Challenge unsalted butter because it's 100% real cream butter. It doesn't have any artificial or synthetic ingredients. You may wonder why I use unsalted butter since salt is on the ingredients list. I always use unsalted butter when baking so I have greater control over the flavor.

Tips and Tidbits:

• You can leave buttercream frosting at room temperature for several days because the high sugar content will prevent it from spoiling despite that fact that there's dairy in the recipe. You can also store it in the refrigerator for about a month, and it will last in the freezer for several months.
• The buttercream will form a crust if you haven't used it in a while. That's okay! Briefly mix it, and it will return to the proper consistency.
• You can thin out the buttercream by adding heavy cream, or you can make it stiffer by adding more powdered sugar.
• Make sure your butter is room temperature. Cold, solid butter is very hard to cream. On the flip side, butter that's too warm may not allow your frosting to form.
• Boards can be expensive! I found the best deal is at Ikea. It's $10 for a large board and $4 for a small board.

Vanilla buttercream board

Yield: Makes enough buttercream to decorate 1 large board

Time: About 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted Challenge butter
• 1 Tablespoon (15 milliliters) vanilla extract (or extract of choice)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 pound confectioner's sugar, sifted
• 3 Tablespoons (45 milliliters) heavy whipping cream
• Optional: gel food coloring, sprinkles, pretzels, graham crackers, cookies

Directions

1. Beat butter on medium speed for about 1 minute until smooth.
2. Mix in vanilla extract and salt on low speed.
3. Add confectioner's sugar in several additions, mixing on low and scraping the bowl after each addition.
4. Add heavy whipping cream and mix on low speed. Continue mixing until frosting is smooth and fluffy.
5. Spread or pipe buttercream onto board. Decorate with candy and sprinkles if desired. Serve with graham crackers, cookies, pretzels, etc.

Pumpkin buttercream board

Yield: Makes enough buttercream to decorate 1 large board

Time: About 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted Challenge butter
• 1 Tablespoon (15 milliliters) vanilla extract (or extract of choice)
• 1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 pound confectioner's sugar, sifted
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• Optional: gel food coloring, sprinkles, pretzels, graham crackers, cookies

Directions

1. Beat butter on medium speed for about 1 minute until smooth.
2. Mix in vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, and salt on low speed.
3. Add confectioner's sugar in several additions, mixing on low and scraping the bowl after each addition.
4. Add pumpkin puree and mix on low speed. Continue mixing until frosting is smooth and fluffy.
5. Spread or pipe buttercream onto board. Decorate with candy and sprinkles if desired. Serve with graham crackers, cookies, pretzels, etc.