Traditional Buttercream Frosting
Frosting and I used to be at odds. Cloyingly sweet and gritty, it usually got scraped off whatever cake I was eating and discarded promptly. To me there is nothing appealing about eating greasy, sweet sand. But then I was introduced to buttercream. My life was changed.
Buttercream is smooth, rich, and sweet but not overtly so. It’s everything frosting should be. Some folks feel that buttercream is too rich, and describe it as eating a stick of butter straight. I suppose this could just be the difference between peoples taste, or it may be the recipe they’re using, but I’ve never felt that way. At any rate, I think it’s important to note that buttercream should always be served at room temp for optimal taste and texture.
To make buttercream you will start by heating egg whites and sugar on the stovetop. Some people have what’s called a double boiler for this purpose. I don’t have room or funds for such gadgets, so I use a saucepan filled with one inch of water and a heatproof bowl atop it. The idea is to heat the contents of the bowl slowly. Do not put so much water in the saucepan that it will touch the bottom of the bowl. The picture above is my standard ‘double boiler’ set up.
Once you get the sugar and egg whites up to temperature, dump it into a mixing bowl and begin to whip on medium-low speed. It will become frothy, like the picture above. Once you get it really frothy, kick up the speed to medium-high.
You can see after whipping it at the higher speed the mixture will gain mass and become opaque. You are now creating a meringue, which is the goal. When the meringue develops a sheen put the mixer on high speed.
This picture is a good example of the meringue being almost ready, but it’s still a little too soft. Keep whipping on high speed.
When testing for peaks, pull the whisk straight up and out of the meringue to see if it stands.
This picture clearly shows a soft peak. Notice that it stands up, but the tip is curling over. At this point you are ready to add your butter, followed by flavoring extract and chocolate if using.
Be sure to scrape down the bowl and mix throughly before using. If you are refrigerating it, allow it to warm up and whip it once more before frosting your cake. Oh, and I did mention it’s freezable? Let it thaw in the fridge a day ahead of time and you’ll have delicious buttercream at your disposal.
Ingredients
- 4 oz egg whites, room temp
- 8 oz granulated sugar
- 14 oz unsalted butter, room temp and cut into cubes
- 1 tablespoon flavoring extract of your choosing
- 4 oz semi sweet chocolate, if making chocolate buttercream
Instructions
- Get your mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Set up your double boiler or bowl atop a saucepan. Stir together the egg whites and sugar into the top bowl or pan and turn on the heat to get the water to simmering. Do not let the water boil! Have your probe style thermometer ready and begin taking the temperature of the egg whites 10 minutes after you turn on the burner. Our goal is to let the whites reach 120F.
- Once your whites reach 120, take them off the heat and immediately pour them into the bowl of your mixer. If you do the bowl on top of a saucepan method, as I do, please use oven mitts and take precaution when removing it from the saucepan. Turn the mixer to medium-low speed and allow the hot whites to become frothy. Once this happens go ahead and kick up to medium-high speed and whip the whites into a meringue. Your goal is to create soft peaks, so watch how long it whips for. You'll know you've arrived when you pull the whisk straight out of the meringue and it creates a peak, then curls over.
- When you have soft peaks, remove the whisk and put on the paddle attachment. Mixing at a low speed, begin to add the butter a few cubes at a time allowing them to blend into the meringue. Continue until all the butter has been added. The mixture may appear to have become watery; this is normal. Add the extract of your choosing. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl. Mix another 30 seconds. Add chocolate if using and mix throughly, stopping to scrape down the bowl once more. Mix another 30 seconds.
- If you plan to use the frosting immediately, a quick chill of 5-10 minutes will help firm it up if it's too loose. If you are using it later on, remove it from the fridge 10-15 minutes beforehand so it's workable.
Tags: buttercream, frosting, swiss meringue buttercream
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