French Buttercream

Recipe courtesy Duff Goldman, Charm City Cakes, Baltimore Maryland

Show: Food Network ChallengeEpisode: Challenge: Elvis Birthday Cakes

Rated: 3 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (36)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(36)

Prep Time:
20 min
Level:
Intermediate
Yield:
about 4 pounds of buttercream (enough to ice a 3-tier cake)

Times:

Prep: 20 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: --
Total:: 20 min

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Ingredients

10 egg whites
15 ounces sugar
2 1/2 pounds unsalted butter, at room temperature
Special Equipment: 5-quart mixer with bowl and whip attachment, rubber spatula

Directions

*Cook's Note: Make sure to have a completely clean and dry mixing bowl when you start your process. Any fat or liquid at all in the bowl will stunt the protein development of the albumen (egg white protein) and you will not have a proper meringue at the end. The results could be disastrous.

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.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe French Buttercream
Brian Florence, TX 11-01-2009
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Sorry to tell you
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

But this isnt a recipe for a french buttercream. French buttercream is made from egg yolks being whipped in a mixing bowl.... and in a pot you have equal parts water and sugar cooked to 240 F (softball stage) and you pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl when your egg yokes are pale yellow (pale ribbon stage). Pastry Chef BrianRead more
recipe French Buttercream
diana blacklick, OH 10-19-2009
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Not What I Expected?
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

It was very fluffy and airy and I lived that about it but it was not flavorful at all? tasted like a stick of butter? Is is... supposed to taste like that? Maybe I did something wrong? I won't make this again but I love the texture went on the cake really well... I am glad I did not make this to give to someone... I guess I need to fiddle with it? Just not what I expected it to be at all. Very dissapointed.Read more
recipe French Buttercream
J. Knoxville, TN 09-21-2009
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Egg white measurements
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

A standard measurement in any baking is for one LARGE egg. Not ex-large, not medium, not jumbo. Just large. That said,... one LARGE egg equals 1oz liquid measurement. So if you're using pasteurized egg whites from a carton, 8 oz liquid egg whites would equal 8 LARGE egg whites. Otherwise, most Americans call "buttercream" the faux candy paste they make from powdered sugar and crisco. This is NOT buttercream. It's a candy paste and is cloyingly sweet, most times. Euuugh! This is a true buttercream, although the semantics of which could be argued for days amongst those who want to give area types such as "French, Italian, yadadadada..." -----it is delicious and different from the candy paste most of us are used to on cakes. Try it---you may find a bit of something new out there. But yeah. One oz of whites.Read more
recipe French Buttercream
Carlos San Antonio, TX 09-18-2009
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Raw Eggs Unsafe?
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I have tried this recipe on several occasions and it has turned out amazing. I have also noticed that a lot of people have... posted up concerns about consuming raw eggs. There are several things that have to wrong with the handling of raw eggs in order to obtain salmonella. If you are still worried grocers sell Pasteurized Eggs which are safe for raw consumption. Trust me it is 99.9% safe to consume raw eggs. What do you think Orange Julius puts in their drinks to make them frothy?Read more
recipe French Buttercream
Jennifer Pikeville, KY 07-25-2009
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Very buttery
Rated: 3 stars out of 5

I really enjoyed the lightness and overall texture of this icing; it truly melted in your mouth, and didn't coat your tongue... like the icing on store bought cakes. While I enjoyed that it was not overly sweet, it was quite buttery. I will say though that it tasted better the next day, perhaps because it was balanced by the cake. Very nice consistency, which made piping a breeze. I am quite the amateur cake maker, but would maybe add some powdered sugar to the final product to balance the buttery taste, and to stiffen the icing so that it would set up better. Read more
recipe French Buttercream
Brian Sun Valley, CA 06-19-2009
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This is not French Buttercream
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

It's more like Swiss buttercream, but unpasteurized. French buttercream uses egg yolk. Swiss & Italian both use the whites.... But what concerns me is, FoodNetwork, don't you all know that it's unsafe to eat raw egg? It needs to be heated to at least 150 degrees fahrenheit (I think) to be safe. Otherwise you can get salmonella poisoning. I really think that you have a responsibility to know these things and inform your viewers. You should know better than to post this unsafe recipe! For a CORRECT and delicious recipe for Swiss buttercream, I recommend everyone to go to youtube.com and do a search of Swiss Buttercream. There you'll find a video by Dyannbakes.com that is superb.Read more