Chocolate Buttercream Cake

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This is a great frosting, I didn't have any problem with the sugar mixture. But Ina said she uses this for her wedding cakes. Can this be left out at room temp after the cake is frosted? Any ideas how long? This is good with a vanilla extract rather than the orange as well.

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I got raves on this cake!
Regarding the icing, that method with the sugar syrup and the egg whites is an Italian meringue, which is very difficult to manage. I have gotten hardened sugar clunking around in the mixer myself. Evidently the secret is also, don't let the sugar hit the beaters when you are pouring; let it hit the side of the bowl.
I used the Swiss meringue method, which is easier: mix the sugar with the egg whites with a whisk in a heat proof bowl. Place bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk occasionally until the whites and sugar reach 110 degrees F (the sugar will be dissolved. Beat the whites and sugar on high in stand mixer; when foamy add the cream of tartar. Beat until meringue is stiff and is room temperature. I had to refrigerate the bowl for 10 minutes as the meringue was staying warm after 20 minutes of beating.
Continue as per the rest of the instructions.

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The cake is so moist and flavorful because of the buttermilk and sour cream. The icing is a pain if you dont have a standing mixer and you have to follow directions perfectly to get there. I did find that the orange buttercream didnt taste so much like orange though. I added a bit more orange liqueur and it was fluffy and delectible!

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The chocolate cake is very good but the buttercream takes some time if you don't have a standing mixer.

Having this episode on Tivo definately helped to make the buttercream. For example, Ina quickly removes the sugar and water once it reaches a boil. Then VERY slowly pours this into the egg white mixture. Don't dump it in! She says pour it in like a thin stream.

Also used yellow/red food coloring. Couldn't find orange.
Good luck!

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Thought the cake recipe was simple enough, however, ran into difficulty with the icing. After removing the sugar syrup from the stove, after reaching 240 degrees, it almost immediately started to harden. I actually could not get it into the egg white mixture fast enough. Not sure what I did wrong, but I was wondering, why I couldn't just substitute corn syrup for the sugar mixture and skip the boiling process. Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

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I attempted this cake over the weekend, and it was very good. Two things--you would think in October you could find orange food coloring, but fortunately I remembered my basic science and used the combination of yellow and red to get me there instead. The second thing was that I had to beat the sugar syrup and the egg whites longer than 15 minutes--more like 20, because it was just not cooling down. Followed the tip here threw the mixing bowl in the fridge for 20 minutes, and was back in the game. Thanks once again, Ina.