Swiss Buttercream Icing
For the quantities needed at home, I find this superior in the unseen areas: anxiety and frustration. It is so much easier to make and that is worth a lot. The finished product is almost exactly the same as a French buttercream without the angst.
This quantity should be sufficient for a three layer cake filled and iced all the way around. Depending on how generous you are with the icing, there may be little left for graham cracker sandwiches.
Ingredients
Swiss Buttercream Icing
- 250 g Egg whites
- 417 g Granulated Sugar
- 567 g Unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into cubes
- 17 ml Vanilla Use a child medicine cup
- 1/2 t Salt
- Colors Optional
Instructions
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Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer to combine them and ensure there are no dry patches of sugar.
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Place the bowl over a double boiler, making certain the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water and the bowl fits tightly on the pot. Whisk the egg whites/sugar mixture to the temperature of 161 degrees, F.
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Whisk egg whites mixture with the wire whisk at high speed. Whip at high until the temperature of the outside of the bowl feels cool to the touch. If you have a laser thermometer, 78 degrees or less is good.
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When egg whites are to the proper temperature to ensure the butter does not melt, add one chunk of butter at a time to the bowl. Mix on medium/high speed to maintain air and incorporate the butter. Allow each chunk of butter to be fully incorporated before the next addition.
When you have added half the butter, stop the mixer, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and continue mixing.
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As you add the butter, the egg whites will appear almost soupy and you'll have a knot in your throat that you've made an error.
All is well!
This is a normal development and by the time you get to the last bits of the butter, the icing will start to appear as it ought.
After the last piece of butter, add the vanilla and any color you wish if you are making only one color.
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Divide portions of the icing into bowls if you are coloring with two or more colors.