Swiss meringue buttercream
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Ciao everyone! It took me a bit of time to get this post together, but here it is at last. You’d think with all the extra time on our hands during our staying at home (11 weeks and counting), I’d have knocked this baby out in a few days. I decided to take some extra time to add some recipes for some base components that are great ones to have in your baking armamentarium, and you’ll find links for those throughout the post.
Remember - you can also go directly to my recipe page for a list of base recipes with links to their PDFs and in some cases to blog posts on that particular topic.
Let’s go for it.
Never a big sweet frosting lover, I usually turn to a simple lightly sweetened Chantilly cream, a flavored whipped mascarpone or a basic ganache to give my petite cakes a swirl of panache. Buuuuuuuuut . . . . . . in recent years I’ve become a huge fan of SMBC. So light, airy, buttery and not cloyingly sweet, it’s rife with flavor possibilities. Let’s take a look at just a few and see what you can create to tickle your taste buds.
The beauty of this process is that the base remains the same - egg white, sugar, butter - with flavor added once all the butter is incorporated. Depending on what I plan to use the buttercream for, I’ll do a full batch as a single flavor or divide it in two and create two different flavors. The half batches work well for my small portion cake projects in which a nice swirl or dollop per un petit gâteau is all that’s needed. How efficient is that?
It’s the perfect make-ahead component too since it holds well in the fridge for several days and in the freezer for months. Just remember to thaw and bring it completely to room temperature before rewhipping and using for its intended purpose. It’s most commonly used for filling and decorating layer cakes, garnishing petite cakes or for sandwiching French macarons. A squiggle on an èclair or choux puff might not be bad either!
I reviewed a number of recipes from different sources and found many variants in terms of sugar to egg white ratio (anywhere from 1:1 up to 2:1) as well as differences in the amount of butter added e.g. when using 6 large whites, the butter quantity can range from 340 g / 12 ounces up to a full 456 g / one pound or even more!
Here’s my full batch base recipe (includes flavor variations!) which makes about 4.5 cups of buttercream - generally plenty for a 2-layer eight or nine inch round cake with leftovers for decorating, or just the ticket for some dozens of small treats. And remember - you can freeze the leftovers!
Getting ready to go!
On the day you want to make your SMBC, plan ahead and weigh out 370 g unsalted butter and cut it into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes. The butter needs to be at room temperature before adding it to the meringue!
Have your flavor ingredients ready to go too - from a pinch up to 1/4 teaspoon of salt to taste, 2 teaspoons vanilla (or other extracts) plus your chosen additions like caramel, fruit purée, melted/cooled yet liquid chocolate or lemon curd.
For the meringue place 6 large egg whites and 300 g sugar in a bowl over a steaming bain marie whisking constantly until the mixture reaches a temperature of anywhere from 145-155ºF. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk and beat on high until completely cool and marshmallow-y. I plan on a good 10 minutes for that.
Realize that the bottom of the mixing bowl may still feel a tad warm to the touch due to the heat of mixing. I test the meringue by putting a dab on my wrist - if it feels cool, I start adding the butter. You want to avoid adding it too early or you’ll end up with a soupy mess.
Add the butter several pieces at a time, blending completely after each addition. The mixture should thicken and become smooth and creamy by the time all the butter has been added. If it’s too loose, pop it into the fridge or freezer to firm it up and then rewhip.
Butter added - just waiting for flavor additions
When incorporating flavor components, they should be at room temperature, added slowly and blended on medium low with the whisk attachment to keep the buttercream from separating. Then scrape down and give it a final high speed whisking for a couple of minutes. Some folks switch to the paddle to give it a final fluffing up.
For a full batch of apple cider caramel blend in 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 cup caramel sauce with 2 tablespoons boiled cider (available from King Arthur Flour) and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
Apple cider caramel
For white chocolate mocha have ready 170 g white chocolate, melted and cooled yet still liquid, plus 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder dissolved in 2 tablespoon hot water and cooled. Blend it in. Yum.
White chocolate mocha
Oh man - yes I know this isn’t gelato but these images remind me of those mounds of creamy, cold goodness on display in all the gelaterias in Italy!
In addition to the two above (let’s call them richer flavors), I also went for the lighter, springier choices of lemon, mixed berry and honey orange. You can find details on the flavor additions here.
Now what exactly might I do with all this buttercream?? Small cakes of course!
First a quick word on piping tips. Just three tip shapes - round, star and French star - can create a bevy of designs for you. For years I’ve relied on my round and basic star tips (closed or more open like the one in the rear) to pipe the simple designs I prefer, but the French star - oh my. It has finer spacing which creates more of a seashell or tighter spiral look. I LOVE it. The only one I have is the one you see below, but I think a couple more sizes would do me just fine. Yup.
BTW just so you have a sense of size, the round tips range from 6 mm at the bottom of the image up to 12 mm (~1/2 inch) at the top.
I chose pecan cakes for the apple cider caramel SMBC, baking them in petite tinned steel brioche tins. NOTE: it’s very important to butter the tins thoroughly and pop the cakes out within a few minutes of coming out of the oven to avoid sticking. One could also use mini muffin tins like I did in a previous post where you’ll find the pecan cake recipe. Silicone molds would also work well although I think the cakes brown and crisp better in metal molds.
My small round tip served nicely to pipe a daisy like design to compliment the fluted ridges of the cakes. Pretty simple stuff.
Apple cider caramel on pecan pie cake
For the white chocolate mocha SMBC a classic moelleux chocolat seemed just right, baked in one of my favorite square savarin silicone molds. The French star tip yields a lovely scallop like swirl. Those are some Valrhona dark chocolate crunchy pearls on top. Delicious.
White chocolate mocha on moelleux chocolat
The lemon cake is essentially financier batter to which lemon zest has been added. I baked these in mini-muffin silicone molds. So simple and nice.
Lemon on citrus financier
Since I made a batch of lemon curd to add to the lemon buttercream, I also used it to create a center flavor burst in the cake before topping with the final flourish. Using a round tip I cut out a core piece (for snacking of course), filled it with the curd and finished it off with a star tip swirl.
For the mixed berry use your favorite base muffin recipe and fold in an assortment of berries like blue, red and black. I generally avoid adding fresh strawberries to cakes or muffins due to their water content and mushiness after baking. Once again a star tip provides the luscious ridges. Create different looks as you swirl, twist and lift your tip.
Mixed berry on triple berry muffins
For the honey orange SMBC I again used my base financier batter, replacing 1/2 the almond flour with finely ground pistachios and adding orange zest for a lovely citrus touch. Similar to the lemon cakes above, I used my favorite mini-muffin silicone mold for the cakes and the star tip swirl for the top flourish with a few pistachios tucked in the center for a tasty treat.
Honey orange on orange pistachio financier
For a different look I used another favorite ingot rectangular silicone mold which gives me a linear canvas for the buttercream using the French star tip. Same financier, more orange zest in the buttercream for a deeper orange color and a ridge of scallops or stars on top. Remember it’s all about how you twist, swirl and lift! Candied pistachios add just the right crunch. So deeeelicous!
Have fun creating your own treats with luscious buttercream the Swiss way!
As spring moves into summer do your best to keep a positive outlook, stay safe and healthy. That’s what counts.
Giant allium
White lacecap Viburnum
Fragrant lilac -oh the aroma!
