Varieties of buttercreams

Hello dear readers. So I've been thinking about buttercreams lately, and how there are so many different labels for buttercream, yet they all taste so different. Supermarkets will label buttercreams as frosting with a high content of butter and shortening, but my personal favorite kind of buttercream is the classic meringue, which is made from frothy egg whites and pounds of butter. Here are a few recipes to help you choose your favorite:

Decorator's Buttercream Icing
The Well-Decorated Cake by Toba Garrett

Ingredients:

2 cups (1 pound or 454 gram) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup (230 gram) vegetable shortening or hi-ratio shortening

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice or 1 1/2 tsp lemon extract, pure vanilla extract, or almond extract

3 lbs (1.36 kilograms) 10X confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp (4 1/2 fl ounces or 135 mililiter) water, milk, or clear liqueur

3 Tbsp meringue powder (see, Epicurious Editors' Notes)

1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Cream shortening and butter with an electric, handheld, or paddle-whip mixer. Add flavoring and salt. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time. Add meringue powder. (The mixture will appear dry.)

2. Add liquid of choice and beat until light and fluffy (approximately 5 to 8 minutes). Keep the bowl covered with a damp cloth or plastic wrap.

Storage: Store the icing in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.

Yield: 2 1/2 quarts (2.37 L)

MASTER CHEF'S HINT
Add extra liquid to soften the buttercream or extra 10X confectioners' sugar to stiffen it.

Epicurious Editors' Notes:• This recipe yields more than enough for two cakes—if icing only one cake, make a half recipe or freeze the extra.
• If using the icing to write on a cake, soften it with extra liquid. If using it to pipe roses, add extra confectioners' sugar.
• Meringue powder is available at wilton.com.

Vanilla Buttercream
Gourmet, January 2004

Ingredients:

4 large egg whites at room temperature for 30 minutes

Rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup water

1 1/3 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar

4 sticks (2 cups) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces and softened

2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

1. Combine whites and salt in a very large bowl. Stir together water and 1 1/3 cups sugar in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan until sugar is dissolved, then bring to a boil over moderate heat, without stirring, brushing any sugar crystals down side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in water.

2. When syrup reaches a boil, start beating egg whites with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until frothy, then gradually add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and beat at medium speed until whites just hold soft peaks. (Do not beat again until sugar syrup is ready.)

3. Meanwhile, put thermometer into sugar syrup and continue boiling until syrup registers 238 to 242°F. Immediately remove from heat and, with mixer at high speed, slowly pour hot syrup in a thin stream down side of bowl into whites, beating constantly. Beat, scraping down side of bowl with a rubber spatula, until meringue is cool to the touch, about 10 minutes in a standing mixer or 15 with a handheld. (It is important that meringue is properly cooled before proceeding.)

4. With mixer at medium speed, gradually add butter 1 piece at a time, beating well after each addition until incorporated. (Buttercream will look soupy after some butter is added if meringue is still warm. If so, briefly chill bottom of bowl in a large bowl filled with ice water for a few seconds before continuing to beat in remaining butter.) Continue beating until buttercream is smooth. (Mixture may look curdled before all of butter is added but will come back together by the time beating is finished.) Add vanilla and beat 1 minute more.

Cooks' notes: ·Buttercream can be made 1 week ahead and chilled, covered, or frozen 1 month. Bring to room temperature (this may take up to 3 hours; do not use a microwave) and beat with an electric mixer before using.
·The egg whites in this recipe are not cooked. If salmonella is a problem in your area, you can use reconstituted powdered egg whites such as Just Whites.


Swiss Meringue Buttercream
The Well-Decorated Cake by Toba Garrett

Ingredients:

12 oz (336 g) egg whites (10 large egg whites or about 1 1/2 cups)

3 cups (680 g) granulated sugar

3 lbs (1.36 kg) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 Tbsp lemon extract, almond extract, orange extract, or pure vanilla extract or up to 3 fl oz (90 ml) light rum, framboise, pear William, or kirsch

Directions:

1. Lightly whisk egg whites and sugar together over simmering water until egg-white mixture is hot to touch or a candy thermometer reads 140°F (60°C).

2. Pour hot whites into a room-temperature bowl and whip with a wire whip until double in volume on MEDIUM-HIGH speed. When the mixer stops, the meringue should not move around in the bowl. Meanwhile cut up butter into 2-inch pieces. (The butter should be slightly moist on the outside but cold inside.)

3. On your mixer, remove the whip and attach the paddle. Add half the butter (1 1/2 lbs or 680 g) into the bowl immediately and pulsate the mixer several times until the meringue has covered the butter completely. To pulsate the mixer, turn it on and off in a jerky motion. This forces the butter on the top to the bottom of the bowl. Add the balance of the butter (1 1/2 lbs or 680 g) and pulsate mixer several times. Slowly increase the mixer's speed, starting with the lowest speed and increase the speed every 10 seconds until you reach a MEDIUM-HIGH speed.

4. Continue beating until the mixture begins to look light and fluffy. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl. Reduce speed to LOW. Add flavoring and continue to beat on LOW speed for 45 seconds. Then beat on MEDIUM-HIGH speed for an additional 45 to 60 seconds.

5. Leftover buttercream can be placed in plastic containers with lids and kept in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost completely (several hours) and rewhip before using.

Note: In hot weather, use 2 lbs 10 ounces (1.19 kg) of butter and 6 ounces (710 g) of hi-ratio shortening. Hi-ratio shortening is emulsified and contains water.

Storage: Store the icing in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.

Yield: 2 1/2 quarts (2.37 L)

Good luck with your test and happy baking! Be sure to send your questions to liz@lizzybeesbakery.com, leave a message here, post on my Facebook wall (www.facebook.com/lizzybeesbakery) or check out my website at www.lizzybeesbakery.com.