So many bakeries advertise buttercream frosting on their cakes. In actuality, 90% of the time it is a lard based sugar concoction that they whip into a frenzy and slather in hideous quantities on their pathetic cakes. Not a great combination and NOT a buttercream frosting!
Even in very good pastry shops-most of the time their buttercream frosting is made with confectioner's sugar and butter and lard, but is not a true buttercream.
In order for a frosting to be a true buttercream-it must be cooked. COOKED??? you think. Yes, cooked. And here is how.
First you decide what flavor you want. If you want chocolate you can proceed with step one. If you want Mocha, you must first mix instant coffee and water and then add the other ingredients.
The next step is to add sugar and water to a pan (with or without the coffee mixture-your preference) and set it on a medium high stove. You need a candy thermometer for this part. the liquid has to come to 238. that is soft ball stage. that is the point where a little of the syrup dropped in water will form a soft ball. Hard ball stage is when it forms a had ball-that is like a brittle. Soft ball allows the syrup to be pliable and pourable and mixable.
While that is coming to softball stage you need to put your eggs (warmed previously in warm water) in the mixer and beat then till they turn a nice lemon color. Once the syrup is at softball you remove it from the heat and begin incorporating it in to the eggs (mixer running). This is a very delicate process. The eggs cannot cook and the syrup is very hot. so in order not to get scrambled eggs you must add very slowly in the beginning. There will be syrup all over the bowl in side-don't worry- you can get this a little later. In the meantime, continue to add slowly to eggs-faster as the eggs become tempered (meaning they have accepted the hot liquid, are warm and now will not cook-they have taken in the syrup to form a completely different consistency).
Scrape down the bowl at this point and incorporate all the syrup that has accumulated on the inside of the bowl (you don't have to be too fussy about this-but try to get most of it).
Now comes the fun part (and you thought the other part was fun!).
You are going to add softened butter to this mixture. But since this is a very warm mixture-guess what happens to the butter if the frosting is not cooled correctly? that's right-it melts and your frosting is now oily and messy. But you can't wait or the syrup/egg mixture will not be the right consistency. SO what is a baker to do? well-you add ice of course. SO what you have to do is get a bowl of ice under the frosting bowl. I use the big mixing bowl for this as i am using the small mixing bowl for the frosting. You place the frosting bowl in the big bowl, add the ice and return everything to the beaters. now you SLOWLY start to add the butter-making sure it is incorporating -- not remaining in solid lumps, but not melting either. After all the butter is added you can now again decide on a flavor, you can add vanilla, or rum or chocolate or what ever suits your fancy (maybe even orange extract and orange rind or lemon extract and lemon rind). For Mocha, add unsweetened chocolate to the coffee frosting.
And THAT is a real buttercream frosting. Now you know why you rarely see it in a bake shop and certainly don't find it on any commercial cakes!
Even in very good pastry shops-most of the time their buttercream frosting is made with confectioner's sugar and butter and lard, but is not a true buttercream.
In order for a frosting to be a true buttercream-it must be cooked. COOKED??? you think. Yes, cooked. And here is how.
First you decide what flavor you want. If you want chocolate you can proceed with step one. If you want Mocha, you must first mix instant coffee and water and then add the other ingredients.
The next step is to add sugar and water to a pan (with or without the coffee mixture-your preference) and set it on a medium high stove. You need a candy thermometer for this part. the liquid has to come to 238. that is soft ball stage. that is the point where a little of the syrup dropped in water will form a soft ball. Hard ball stage is when it forms a had ball-that is like a brittle. Soft ball allows the syrup to be pliable and pourable and mixable.
While that is coming to softball stage you need to put your eggs (warmed previously in warm water) in the mixer and beat then till they turn a nice lemon color. Once the syrup is at softball you remove it from the heat and begin incorporating it in to the eggs (mixer running). This is a very delicate process. The eggs cannot cook and the syrup is very hot. so in order not to get scrambled eggs you must add very slowly in the beginning. There will be syrup all over the bowl in side-don't worry- you can get this a little later. In the meantime, continue to add slowly to eggs-faster as the eggs become tempered (meaning they have accepted the hot liquid, are warm and now will not cook-they have taken in the syrup to form a completely different consistency).
Scrape down the bowl at this point and incorporate all the syrup that has accumulated on the inside of the bowl (you don't have to be too fussy about this-but try to get most of it).
Now comes the fun part (and you thought the other part was fun!).
You are going to add softened butter to this mixture. But since this is a very warm mixture-guess what happens to the butter if the frosting is not cooled correctly? that's right-it melts and your frosting is now oily and messy. But you can't wait or the syrup/egg mixture will not be the right consistency. SO what is a baker to do? well-you add ice of course. SO what you have to do is get a bowl of ice under the frosting bowl. I use the big mixing bowl for this as i am using the small mixing bowl for the frosting. You place the frosting bowl in the big bowl, add the ice and return everything to the beaters. now you SLOWLY start to add the butter-making sure it is incorporating -- not remaining in solid lumps, but not melting either. After all the butter is added you can now again decide on a flavor, you can add vanilla, or rum or chocolate or what ever suits your fancy (maybe even orange extract and orange rind or lemon extract and lemon rind). For Mocha, add unsweetened chocolate to the coffee frosting.
And THAT is a real buttercream frosting. Now you know why you rarely see it in a bake shop and certainly don't find it on any commercial cakes!
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