Best Meringue Buttercream For Butter Cakes Recipes

SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM RECIPE

Steps:

• In a medium pot, add at least 1-inch of water and bring to simmer.
• Thoroughly wash and dry the stainless steel mixing bowl from your stand mixer (you don't want grease touching meringue). Add 7 egg whites and 2 cups sugar and whisk together. Place mixing bowl over a large saucepan of barely simmering water, creating a seal over the pot (bowl should be over the steam, not touching water). Whisk constantly until mixture reaches 160˚F (takes about 3 min). Sugar should be fully dissolved (you should not feel any sugar granules when rubbing mixture between finger tips). Mixture will feel hot to the touch.
• Wipe water from bottom of mixing bowl and transfer bowl to stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff glossy peaks form (about 15-20 min) and bottom of the bowl feels completely at room temp and not warm (important: warm meringue will melt the butter).
• Once bowl is at room temp, switch to paddle attachment, reduce to medium speed and add butter 1 Tbsp at a time, adding it just as fast as it is absorbed by meringue. Once all butter is in, scrape down the bowl and continue beating until it reaches a thick whipped consistency (3 min on med-high speed). If it looks lumpy or liquidy at all, keep beating until smooth, thick and whipped.
• Add 2 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp salt and mix on med-high until incorporated (about 1 min).

MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring sugar and water to a boil. Clip a candy thermometer onto the saucepan. Boil the syrup, brushing down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water to prevent crystallization, until the syrup registers 240 degrees (soft-ball stage).
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on low speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, and beat on medium high until stiff but not dry peaks form.
• With the mixer running, pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl (to prevent splattering) into the egg whites in a steady stream, and beat on high speed until the steam is no longer visible, about 3 minutes. Beat in butter, piece by piece. Add vanilla; beat until smooth and spreadable, 3 to 5 minutes. If it looks curdled at any point during the beating process, continue beating until smooth.

FRENCH MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Start whipping egg whites slowly in the mixer until foamy. Increase the speed of the mixer and slowly start adding the sugar until all the sugar is incorporated. Once all the sugar is in, increase the speed of the mixer even more and whip until the mixture is shiny and stiff. You now have a meringue. You know when your meringue is done when you pull out the whip, hold it horizontally, and if you have what looks a "sparrow's beak" on the end of the whip.
• Replace the whip, turn the mixer on medium and start adding the butter a bit at a time. Once all the butter is incorporated, turn the mixer on high and let mix; depending on the weather, the buttercream could take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes to form. You will know when it has formed when you hear the motor of the mixer start to slow down and whine a little bit; also, when you first add the butter, your meringue will break down and look weird and this is what you want. When the buttercream is done, the mixture will be homogeneous, consistent, and tasty.
• Remove the buttercream from the bowl and transfer to an airtight container. Buttercream can be kept at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for a 1 to 2 weeks, but always use warm buttercream when icing a cake. To warm up the buttercream, put it back in the mixer using the whip or the paddle, and apply direct heat with a propane torch you can find at any hardware store.

EASY MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• One of the best-tasting buttercreams is also the easiest to prepare. See the end of the recipe for flavoring possibilities.
• Place egg whites, sugar and salt in medium-sized heatproof mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk gently and constantly until egg whites are hot (about 140 degrees) and sugar is dissolved, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and whip by machine until thick and cooled, about 5 minutes. Beat in butter and continue beating until buttercream is smooth and spreadable. Use immediately or refrigerate, covered, for up to 5 days. Before using, bring buttercream to room temperature and beat smooth by machine. Beat in flavoring, a little at a time, and continue beating until buttercream is smooth, about 2 minutes longer (always flavor buttercream immediately before using it).
• Flavorings: Liqueur: 2 to 3 tablespoons liqueur, such as Grand Marnier or dark or light rum. Lemon: 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice. Coffee: 3 tablespoons instant coffee (espresso, if possible) dissolved in 2 tablespoons water, coffee or rum. Raspberry: 3/4 cup thick raspberry puree made by cooking down and straining a 10-ounce package of frozen raspberries. Chocolate: 6 ounces chocolate melted with 4 tablespoons water, coffee or milk and cooled.

EASIEST, MOST DELICIOUS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Place the egg whites and sugar into a metal bowl and set over a pan filled with about 2 inches of simmering water. Heat, stirring frequently, until the temperature of the egg whites reaches 140 degrees. They will feel very hot to the touch.
• Transfer the heated egg whites and sugar to a large mixing bowl or stand mixer. Mix at high speed (or as high as you can go without egg flying out of the bowl) until they have reached their maximum volume, 5 to 10 minutes. Mix on medium or medium-high speed while pinching off small pieces of butter and throwing them in. Mix in vanilla if using. The buttercream may look like it is breaking down, but keep on mixing and it will come back together.