Classic Buttercream Icing Recipe

Although many professional chefs jealously guard their recipes for a perfect buttercream icing, the truth is that the exact ingredients are not as important as how they are mixed together. They needn't worry about divulging their secrets, as few people possess the skill to create a buttercream that possesses the three qualities a chef looks for: a) tastes good, b) lends itself to decorative overlays of various types, and c) holds up under a variety of temperatures for at least a day. It really is a matter of technique rather than ingredients and it takes both patience and practice.

There are two primary methods in the world of culinary pastry design to create a buttercream icing, the Swiss method and the Italian method. Both offer some advantages and both result in an icing of extraordinary quality and unforgettable taste. There is also a simpler American recipe, but it is softer and doesn't lend itself to elaborate decoration. Most people are familiar with the American recipe, which has the taste of too much sugar.

Swiss Buttercream: warm the sugar and egg whites until the sugar is dissolved. Transfer the liquid into a mixer and whip until cool. Only after the mixture is cool, add softened butter to the bowl, a little at a time. Whip the mixture until a you achieve a fluffy consistency. Here is a basic recipe for the Swiss buttercream:

• 1 cup egg whites
• 1 pound sugar
• 1 pound soft unsalted butter

Italian Buttercream: Start with a softball sugar syrup at 240 degrees. Pour this mixture into egg whites. Whip thoroughly, then add softened butter. Continue to whip while adding the butter until you achieve a fluffy consistency.

Please note: a true buttercream takes quite a bit of whipping in order to reach the right consistency. Don't give up and throw out the buttercream when it seems to be too soft or is lumpy. Re-heat the mixture until it flows together, or refrigerate it and re-whip it. You can work with this mixture quite a bit without ruining it. Here is a basic recipe for the Italian buttercream:

• 14 ounces sugar
• 1 tablespoon glucose
• 7 egg whites
• 1 ounce sugar
• 1 pound soft, unsalted butter

When the buttercream icing is finally complete, you may add extra flavors such as chocolate, fruit, or nut paste should. Less viscous, lighter ingredients such as lemon juice, vanilla, or even lemon peel, can be added during the whipping process, as they will not impede the formation of the icing.

Remember, if at first you don't succeed, many culinary school graduates have found that only practice yields the perfect buttercream! You can always cheat and add much less butter and much more vegetable shortening, as many bakeries do, but the taste and consistency will suffer. Remember that butter melts utterly at 82 degrees, and a hot summer day can turn your magnificent creation into cake soup!

Most Amercian bakeries use vegetable fat and sugar with a bit of butter flavoring. A small amount of milk or water and flavoring may be added to make it spread easier. It is easy to make, cheap, and tastes like pure sugar with a heavy consistency. Most people don't eat the icing (or the cake).

The best American bakeries make the European style icing, which is about one-third real butter. The icing is whipped for nearly an hour, which makes it triple in volume and become really light and fluffy. It can then be spread to an incredibly smooth finish, like the cake on the left. Many people think this is fondant (which tastes bad) but it is a true buttercream icing with a faux-fondant finish. There are only a handful of bakeries in the U.S. that are capable of producing a cake to these exacting standards. This photo came from Maribelle Cakery in Cincinnati Ohio. The decorators at Maribelle have achieved world-wide recognition for their cake designs, which have been featured in many magazines and websites.

An added benefit--the taste will knock your socks off!