Definition

A sweet mixture made from butter and sugar, often used to cover or fill cakes and pastries.

Example

She decorated the cake with a smooth layer of buttercream.

Conversation

I baked a cake yesterday, and it turned out great.

Nice! What kind of icing did you use?

I tried making buttercream for the first time.

That sounds delicious! I love buttercream on cakes.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Buttercream is formed from "butter" (from Old English "butter", meaning a dairy product made from churning cream) and "cream" (from Old French "creme", meaning the fatty part of milk). The word refers to a sweet frosting made primarily from butter and cream.

Memory Tip

Think of 'butter' as the dairy product and 'cream' as the fatty part of milk — together, they create a sweet frosting known as buttercream.

Visually Confused Words