I will never forget the first time I watched a chef split buttercream icing. I was working & apprenticing in a fantastic restaurant within pastry. During a large preparation for a brunch, the sous chef asked me if I had made buttercream icing. I said yes all the time. He sniffed that I had never made it properly and that he was going to show me how. Great I thought that's what I'm here for and quickly grabbed my book to take notes. The chef got the egg whites and sugar ready to make the Italian Meringue, set a pot of water on the stove and starting to whip them by hand over the bubbling water. (that part was impressive) I whipped the butter on the small standing mixer and when the meringue had met the proper temperature he started to seed it with the butter. I watched as he made a lumpy split mess. (not so impressive) The meringue was unfortunately still too warm!
I make loads of this now and with much success. I always tell our daughter you learn more from a mistake than by making it perfectly and watching Amadeus muck up real buttercream ranks up highly in the days of learning for me.
There are several important steps to awesome buttercream. Excellent ingredients, everything ready and temperature is key.
Lets talk Meringue. Copper bowl. It produces creamier foam. It's quicker and it's a key component to your kitchen. Buy one. Put your egg whites and sugar in the bowl and under you will have waterin a larger pot to cook whilst you whip (bain marie method). Hand mixer. There is no shame and I happily use one. I can think of alot better uses for my energy than standing and whipping.
Swiss Meringue
480 ml egg whites -680 g granulated suger (I use vanilla sugar)
- whip over simmering water until it reaches 140 degrees
- keep your egg yolks to make Lemon curd -an excellent addition to any buttercream!
Lets talk butter. Lots of butter
Whipped Butter
1kg plus 500 g of butter- whip the heck out of it and keep at room temperature
Once your meringue has reached 140 degrees, remove it from the stove and continue to whip it while it cools. Once it reaches room temp. you can start seeding your butter but don't rush! If the butter feels cooler than the meringue you might be okay if you are using a hand mixer. Continue to seed until its all in. You will end up with alot of buttercream and you needn't worry about using it all right away. You can freeze it. Just allow it to reach room temperature and then re whip it. It will split and look awful. I hold my hands on the mixing bowl while the standing mixer is whipping it and voila! Its back together no harm done!
You can add chocolate, lemon curd vanilla bean seeds or extract... to change it to whatever you wish. It's very versatile and yummy. Just remember that they need to be the same temperature!
