I want to make the icing for my cupcakes, more like you see in the fancy shops, less like cake icing. Know what I mean?
How do they do that? Is it as simple as adding whipped cream to the icing?
Have you ever tried to make it?
What you are looking for is a recipe using solid vegetable shortening (such as Crisco), rather than butter. Other ingredients – mainly powdered sugar – are pretty much the same; mixing will take longer.
The longer mixing incorporates more air, and the heavier shortening body with the higher melting point holds the air bubbles better.
A search using “fluffy” rather than “whippy” will turn up standard recipes.
1/2 c. Crisco
1/2 c. softened butter
Beat together in stand mixer. Gradually add in 4 c. powdered sugar, 1/4 t. salt and 1 t. vanilla extract (use imitation if you want dead white frosting - it’s clear.) Slowly add in about 1/4 whipping cream until its creamy and then whip the hell out of it until it’s fluffy. You can tint it any color. I have a good one for chocolate frosting too, if you want it.
Anyway, this will taste just like a store, but much, much better. Sometimes I squirt some in the middle of the (dark chocolate) cupcake too…
If it’s at the fancy cupcake shops, they might be using Swiss Meringue buttercream instead of American-style buttercream (aka Crisco/butter and powdered sugar). Swiss Meringue buttercream (hereafter SMBC) is more buttery and also feels more whipped, but it’s a lot trickier to make!
Google it and you’ll find recipes and videos and all sorts of information about it. It’s lovely frosting, but it’s just enough of a pain (and/or I’m usually in enough of a hurry) that I usually go for American buttercream.
Yuk, Crisco? If you’re striving for grocery store cupcakes, maybe. For superior deliciousness, I’d agree that what you want is a swiss (or italian) meringue buttercream. This results in a shockingly light but decadent, not-too-sweet icing that can be easily customized (w/ chopped fruit, flavorings, melted choc or cocoa powder, etc)
It is definitely more involved then butter+sugar recipes, and is probably best attempted if you have a stand mixer, but it’s really not all that difficult.
I know it as seven minute frosting. Yummy.
I was just identifying the recipe, not recommending it. 
The Swiss meringue buttercream is pretty much the seven-minute frosting plus butter. If you are game for the latter, you could go the extra mile and make the former.
If you add whipping cream to the recipe, you should probably refrigerate the cake.
No, not really. I experimented last year to try and duplicate the frostings from the grocery store bakeries, and crisco is closer but still not really much like it. If I correctly recall from another thread, stores actually get a product from restaurant supply companies that comes in a fifty-pound vat and it’s concoction *sort of *like but not actually crisco.
Yeah, I think you’re right… some grocery stores use a product called Bettercreme, and it’s not quite Crisco.
Either way, that stuff has a waxy/greasy mouthfeel to me and I just don’t like it. Many people seem to be unable to tell the difference, though.
“Whippy” as an adjective makes my eyes cross. 
Either way, that stuff has a waxy/greasy mouthfeel to me and I just don’t like it. Many people seem to be unable to tell the difference, though.
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I second that. Frosting made with vegetable shortening tastes uncannily like…vegetable shortening. Shudder. It’s why I don’t eat the icing on a cake that comes from a grocery store.