June 11, 2010
Episode 4-4
Vanilla Italian Buttercream Icing
This episode has part of decorating a cake in it as a way of demonstrating that washing dishes isn’t the only thing you can do while you wait for things to bake or whip up. If you really make the effort to be productive while you bake you can really cut down on the time you spend on one dessert or cleaning up and you’ll want to bake more often!
Though this icing may seem complicated it all comes down to the timing. After making it a few times it’ll be second nature.
For those who are worried about salmonella poisoning you can definitely use egg whites that are frozen or in a container. Though they should be cleanly separated you can look for something in the ingredients labeled “whipping aid” which means that it has an added chemical designed to help make meringues.
Here is the recipe for Vanilla Italian Buttercream Icing.
Hello, I just viewed your tutorial on the Italian Meringue Buttercream. Thank you for the tutorial, but I’m a little confused as to what the difference is to the French Meringue buttercream. I made French meringue buttercream before from a recipe, and it was just like how you did your Italian Buttercream. And yes, it came out just like yours too. A little too soft for piping immediately. So, I had to put it in the refridge for awhile.
Oh by the way, I’m trying to read your blog, but it’s a little hard to read because of the background purple wall, and the font is in black. Maybe if the font is in white against the purple will work better?
Great recipes by the way. Thank you for sharing.
@Armi – French buttercream is supposed to be made from egg yolks not egg whites – which makes it the only difference between the two. Otherwise they are prepared the same way. I’ve since switched to Swiss buttercream because it’s easier to make at home. I’ve gotten into the habit of refrigerating my icing but it all depends on how cold your house is. At the center where I teach classes, the kitchen was so cold the icing was firming up while we were working with it!
I’ll double check my background. It should be a picture of my jacket but I try and tweak things so it’s not as difficult to read. It’s much easier to change the background color than the text color.