Publix Buttercream Icing

If you’ve never had buttercream icing from Publix Supermarket, you’re missing out. Publix Buttercream Icing is known to be one of the best buttercream icing recipes you can get in a store. And now you can make this famous icing at home!

Homemade Buttercream Icing from Publix Supermarket

Why Publix Buttercream Icing is so Unique

Buttercream icing is the perfect icing to use on almost any flavor of the cake. It doesn’t matter if you like chocolate cake, white cake, yellow cake, or even a red velvet cake—this is an icing that tastes good with any of those.  And when you want to make your own buttercream icing, you want to make this Publix copycat recipe.

Publix Buttercream Icing uses both vegetable shortening and butter. This gives the icing a wonderful flavor and it will hold up in a warm room without losing shape.

Homemade copycat Publix Buttercream Icing on a cupcake.

How to Make Publix Buttercream Icing

This recipe has several ingredients in it that aren’t always included in most buttercream icings. Powdered egg whites or meringue powder gives this recipe a nice sturdy structure that makes the icing hold its structure longer than most. Clear vanilla can keep the frosting nice and white. The imitation butter flavor puts back in the butter flavor that we all love.

Here’s what else you need:

  • Butter
  • Vegetable Shortening
  • Almond Extract
  • Confectioners Sugar
  • Milk

These ingredients will go into a mixer a few ingredients at a time until you have the consistency you want in your icing.  Scroll down to watch the video with all the instructions.

Notes

  • Meringue powder and butter flavoring can be found where cake decorating supplies are sold.
  • The recipe can be made without Meringue powder and butter flavoring, but the icing tastes better if you use the butter flavoring. And the icing will hold its shape better with the meringue powder.
  • I highly recommend sifting your confectioners’ sugar before using it. Sifting eliminates those clumps that sometimes form in the confectioners’ sugar. Once you have sifted the confectioners’ sugar it blends together better than unsifted confectioners’ sugar. If you don’t have a sifter you can use a regular sieve.
  • You can make the icing ahead of time before using it. Store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.  Bring it to room temp and whisk or use an electric mixer to make it soft for spreading.

 

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a cupcake with homemade buttercream frosting

Publix Buttercream Icing

Don't live near a Publix?  Make their icing at home. 
4.93 from 65 votes
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Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Publix Buttercream Icing
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 32
Calories: 276kcal

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces butter
  • 2 cups vegetable shortening (preferably Crisco)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon butter flavoring
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 tablespoon meringue powder
  • 2 pounds confectioners’ sugar r, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon milk (optional)

Instructions

  • Combine the butter, Crisco, and salt in a large bowl and beat on low speed for 5 minutes. Add the vanilla, butter flavor, and almond extract and beat until well blended. Turn off the mixer and add the meringue powder and half of the confectioners’ sugar. Mix on the slowest speed the mixer has. Mix in the remaining sugar 1/2 cup at a time, until all the sugar is mixed in.works well.
  •  Turn the mixer up to medium and beat until smooth and creamy. This should take about 5 minutes. If the icing seems too thick to spread, beat in up to 1 tablespoon milk to loosen it.

Video

Notes

  • Meringue powder and butter flavoring can be found where cake decorating supplies are sold.
  • The recipe can be made without Meringue powder and butter flavoring, but the icing tastes better if you use the butter flavoring. And the icing will hold its shape better with the meringue powder.
  • I highly recommend sifting your confectioners’ sugar before using. Sifting eliminates those clumps that sometimes form in the confectioners’ sugar. Once you have sifted the confectioners’ sugar it blends together better than unsifted confectioners’ sugar. If you don’t have a sifter you can use a regular sieve.
  • You can make the icing ahead of time before using.  Store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.  Bring it to room temp and whisk or use an electric mixer to make it soft for spreading.  

Nutrition

Calories: 276kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 0g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 71mg | Potassium: 3mg | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 175IU | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 0mg

About Stephanie Manley

I recreate your favorite restaurant recipes, so you can prepare these dishes at home. I help you cook dinner, and serve up dishes you know your family will love. You can find most of the ingredients for all of the recipes in your local grocery store.

Stephanie is the author of CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home, and CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home 2.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Krystal

    5 stars
    This recipe is perfect. I also worked at publix and since I’ve quit, finding the right texture icing recipe at home has been a struggle. One where I can actually decorate a cake seemed impossible. This is it! I just added a bit of simple syrup at the end. Thanks.

      • Mary

        I added 3-4 teaspoons of glucose syrup (split the frosting in half to add coloring and added about 2 teaspoons of the glucose syrup to each batch as I colored and aerated the frosting). I assume it would be similar with simple syrup. Worked beautifully, mine came out creamier than Publix but it was soooo good! And NO crusting at all!!

  2. Jeannine

    3 stars
    As a former Publix employee, I came here because I could never remember the full recipe since it’s been 6 years, but I have to say that this is missing something. Simple syrup! Was always added at the last step prior to frosting any cakes or cupcakes, and aerated. The consistency after making this isn’t quite the same without it, but a good effort!!

    • Kaththee1

      5 stars
      Are you sure it was simple syrup and not Glucose-Fructose syrup? Most professional frostings are made with some Glucose-Fructose syrup to inhibit the growth of crystals, and it is very helpful to add right before aerating to knock out any crystal formation that might have occurred in storage. Most craft stores sell the Glucose-Fructose syrup but corn syrup is a good substitute for Glucose and helps inhibit crystal growth as well and make the frosting much less gritty.

      Also I would bet money it is made with Sweetex shortening instead Crisco because since Crisco changed their formula it just doesn’t make the same delicious frosting we remember as children. For a recipe like this Crisco is a better choice as more people can find it easily but Sweetex is what most bakeries use or a proprietary shortening that is pretty much the same thing as Sweetex. I found mine online in a 32 ounce tub but it usually sells in a 50 lb tub for about 150 dollars. I am trying to find someone who will go in on a bucket with me. I have heard that Walmart All Vegetable Shortening is almost as good as Sweetex but not quite a smooth. There is a YouTuber who made buttercream out of all three and compared them. Anyway, I am going to add both the Glucose syrup and replace the Crisco with Sweetex. I am dying to try the recipe because I love Publix buttercream. It is in a class of its own.

  3. Christine Boswell

    I plan on making the cake mix cookies I saw on the site. Do need the full recipe of the buttercream frosting. Can it be frozen?

    • Stephanie

      I think the full recipe of this would be too much for that recipe of cookies. You can freeze buttercream for up to 3 months in the freezer. You will need to defrost it in the refrigerator, and then it come to room temperature before you use it.

  4. Michele Powell

    5 stars
    I love this buttercream frosting. It’s so good but I do have a question. Does it have to be refrigerated at all?

  5. Kristina

    Hi, I made this in Germany because I was missing home. It was good, but the mouthfeel is a bit oily. Do you think it’s because I used generic vegetable shortening? Could that make a difference? I also halved the recipe.

  6. Dylan

    5 stars
    Hi Stephanie,

    How much strawberry extract should I add to make this recipe strawberry and should I remove any of the other extracts when doing this? I’ve made the original recipe once before and it was fantastic! It’s definitely my go to frosting now!

    Thank you!

    • Stephanie

      So I haven’t tried this before, I would start with about a teaspoon of extract and a little food coloring and see how that goes. So glad you enjoy the icing.

  7. Nora

    5 stars
    This was very good. Tastes very much like Publix, however, there is a slight salty after taste. I used table salt. Should I have used sea salt or Kosher?
    Thank you, Nora

  8. Kay waller

    I am trying to find a whipped cream frosting like a local bakery uses. I called to ask about it and they would only say it’s whipped cream but it’s sturdier than regular whipped cream and it’s also used to fill the cake. I want to make a 3 layer coconut cake for Xmas and I don’t want cream cheese, 7 minute or too sweet buttercream. Brill, a commercial icing, was recommended to me but then I heard it tasted like a chemical. I’m beginning to feel like a cat chasing its tail! Do you have any suggestions for me? Thank you

    • Michelle

      I haven’t tried the recipe yet but it sounds like the whipped cream the bakery is using is “stabilized whip cream” you can stabilize whipped cream using powdered gelatin. It’s easy to do, google will show you.

  9. Chris

    5 stars
    I have made this several times and it is great!! I would like to make chocolate buttercream, do you have any suggestions on making chocolate following the Publix copycat recipe?

      • chrysis

        I tried to google “bucket fudge” and I didn’t come up with anything that looks like an appropriate ingredient to add to this frosting recipe. Can you give some more info?

    • Angel

      It’s true, used to work in the bakery and decorated cakes, for chocolate buttercream just add some fudge chocolate icing like the ones off the shelves Duncan or pillsbury or whatever brand you want. And voila chocolate buttercream! You can add a little as you go to get it to the sweetness of chocolate you like.

    • Kelani

      It depends on how you want your buttercream to be. If you want it really sturdy then I suggest keeping it cold and just popping it in the mixer as is, but if you want it softer then you can let the butter soften. If you soften the butter you have to let it sit for hours (3-4) in room temperature. A sturdier buttercream is easier to use when frosting because it has a less chance of it toppling over or looking ragedy.

  10. Diane Tompkins

    I love your copykat recipes. Do you have one for the Publix Danish Strip? I love this cake, and would love the recipe. Thank You so much.

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