Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Not Too Sweet. Either an ermine frosting Italian or Swiss meringue buttercream or even a German buttercream might be more your style. If you want to make the consistency fluffier add a tablespoon of confectioners sugar and mix it up.
It stands to reason since most powdered sugars have cornstarch as an ingredient that some brands may have a higher ratio of cornstarch to sugar and therefore would not taste quite as sweet when buttercream is made. One of my favorite ways to tone down the sweet in American buttercream is to add a bit of lemon juice. This recipe makes simply the best buttercream frosting.
The lemon juice helps a bit here.
So if you make your vanilla buttercream frosting with butter that was softened at a warmer temperature youll end up with buttercream thats too soft. With the perfect tissue-paper thin crust as it sets and specks of pure vanilla and citrus bursts this is the best vanilla frosting. One of my favorite ways to tone down the sweet in American buttercream is to add a bit of lemon juice. Additions and substitutions you can make to American buttercream to make it less sweet 1.