All Love for French Meringue Buttercream
about 1 year ago
You’ve probably already guessed I’m not a huge fan of crazy sweet frosting. I want to be able to taste all of the nuances in a dessert, and I definitely don’t need everything to taste like candy. To be honest, I love it when people tell me their dessert wasn't too sweet. 👌 👏
We top most of our cakes with a meringue buttercream or marshmallow dipped in chocolate. These frostings offer a sweet, but not overly, component — plus a whole lot of texture and flavor. But my current BFF is a French buttercream. Since it’s hard to make in a hot Summer kitchen — I’m taking advantage of these cool Spring days and topping anything I can with French meringue.
So what’s the big deal with French Meringue? It’s made with egg yolks instead of egg whites, and the best butter you can find. Compare it with pastry cream, or a custard like frosting. It’s rich, creamy, not too sweet, and carries the flavor notes of whatever you can dream up.
We are topping a few kinds of cakes with it in March — including a chocolate cake with French mocha buttercream and a blueberry cake with a French vanilla buttercream.
If you are a baker, give French buttercream a try. I’ve included my trusty recipe below, if you give it a spin I'd love to hear about it!
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar (200g)
1/4 cup water (60ml)
6 egg yolks (about 105g)
2 1/2 sticks of butter ( 280g)
2 tsp vanilla
Directions:
- Heat sugar and water to 238 degrees on a candy thermometer
- While sugar syrup is cooking: Add the yolks to the bowl of a stand mixer, mix with whisk attachment until yolks are light yellow and smooth.
- When sugar reaches 238 degrees, turn down mixer to low, and slowly pour sugar syrup into the bowl.
- Turn mixer to high and mix for 8-10 minutes, or until the outside of the bowl is room temperature.
- Stop the mixer and swap the whisk attachment for the paddle attachment.
- With the mixer on low, add the vanilla and slowly add the butter 1-2 tablespoons at a time.
- Turn the mixer up to medium speed and beat 1-2 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and creamy.