American and Italian Buttercreams

Using the cupcakes from the previous post, I tested the different types of frosting. Again, the request was for raspberry buttercream. The three main types of buttercream are: American, Italian, and Swiss. This weekend I was able to make both the American and Italian variations. The Swiss version will be saved for a later date.

American Buttercream: 

Probably the easiest recipe you can think of! It can be made quite literally by mixing together butter and sugar. Most recipes are slightly more complicated, but this is the general idea. The recipe I used was as follows: 

1/2 lb (1 stick) Butter

1 tsp Vanilla

16 oz Powdered Sugar

1/2 cup Raspberries

Bad Frosting!

So, like I said, it is literally butter and sugar. However, you can still mess this recipe up! Haha. I know because I did. The first time I made this I made a nice tasting buttercream frosting and it tasted good, but when I added the raspberries something happened and it all separated out and looked pretty gross. Since I hadn't ever made it before, I didn't know if this was normal, but it sure didn't look like good frosting. Definitely not something I want to put on a cupcake, not to mention a wedding cake! 

Good Frosting

So I decided to give it another try. I wasn't sure if this was because my raspberries were not dry enough or if they were not added at the proper time. In my second attempt I added well dried raspberries (had to pat them dry after washing them, not dehydrated dry) to the butter prior to adding the sugar. Once well incorporated, I started slowly adding powdered sugar a little at a time, completely mixing it in after each addition. Once the powdered sugar was all added, I added vanilla and the results were far superior to the previous attempt! As you can probably see :)

I placed the frosting into a piping bag, and piped it onto one batch of cupcakes. They turned out pretty good! Over time, the frosting hardened while left at room temperature, while remaining creamy when eaten. When I first tried a cupcake the raspberry flavor was very subtle, however, the raspberry flavor seemed to be enhanced over time. So give it some time before eating for the extra raspberry taste.

 Next, I decided to try the Italian buttercream frosting. This was much more involved than simply mixing together butter and sugar. The recipe is as follows:

1/4 cup Water

1 1/4 cups Sugar

5 egg whites

1 lb butter

1/2 cup raspberries

1 tsp Vanilla

Sooo... as you can see this calls for a TON of butter! So much butter I didn't have enough to make the Swiss buttercream frosting haha. So just be sure you have all the butter you need! Place the 1/4 cup water and sugar in a small pot on the stove on medium heat. While this is warming up, place the egg whites in a metal or glass bowl, and whip them into a meringue. Note that plastic bowls do not work well for whipping egg whites into stiff peaks! Copper bowls work the best, but they are expensive, so I don't have one. So I just used my medium sized stainless steel bowl. Don't forget about your sugar on the stove! I took breaks from whipping to stir my sugar solution because my hand got tired (I don't have an electric mixer of any sort, only my whisk and some elbow grease). Once whipped sufficiently into stiff peaks, I returned to the sugar solution and stirred it until it reached 245 F (as read on an electric thermometer). I took the syrup and slowly poured it into the whipped eggs while continuously stirring. No easy task when you are stirring and pouring at the same time! Just a heads up for fellow bakers with no electric utensils. I held the pot and the bowl with one hand, and stirred with the other, that seemed to work okay. Once the sugar is added stir everything in well, letting it cool down to near room temperature. Once cooled sufficiently, it is time to add the butter. It is very useful to have soft butter. Do not melt the butter, but ensure it is softened. Add the butter about 1 tablespoon at a time, waiting until it is completely incorporated before adding the next chunk. After about 3 sticks were added, the solution started getting little clumps forming in it, looking almost as if it is curdling. But this was actually just due to the fact that the solution was becoming more and more solid due to the addition of so much butter. So keep stirring! You are getting close at this point! Keep adding the butter, and stirring it in until all the butter is added. I then took a silicone spatula and stirred even more (because it was so thick). Finally I added the raspberries and vanilla. Decorate the cupcakes as you please, and a short trip to the refrigerator will solidify the frosting quite nicely. Make sure you do not add the frosting to warm cupcakes, this will cause the frosting to melt and lose its consistency. To change things up, I took half of my frosting and added another 1/2 cup of raspberries to see how much raspberry flavor I could get. As you can see, this made the frosting a brighter pink, and an enhanced raspberry flavor. I was sure to add the dried raspberries again for this frosting after the fiasco with the american buttercream. 

 The Verdict: So these two frostings were quite different from one another! The American buttercream tasted like your typical frosting you would expect on a cake, while the Italian buttercream was not as sweet, and was much lighter, smoother, and airier leading to a more delicate taste. It could use a bit more sugar in my opinion, so it may be worth trying again with a little more sugar. The current version I would compare to a less sweet version of the piped frosting around the edge of the Dairy Queen ice cream cakes (similar consistency). Perhaps these two frostings could be used in tandem to complement each other. Now, I still need to test out the Swiss buttercream, but I will have to wait until I can go get some more butter!

Well, to all the moms out there, I hope you had a great Mother's Day! I know I am thankful for having such an amazing mom. She has definitely helped me develop my interest in baking and cooking :) Thanks Mom!

Enjoy what remains of the weekend!

Jake