Ingredients
Makes about 5 cups (enough to frost one 8- or 9-inch layer cake)
Step 1
Using a hand whisk, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the clean bowl of a stand mixer. Place the bowl over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water. The egg white mixture will be gloppy and thick, but as the mixture begins to warm up, it will become more fluid. Continue to gently whisk the mixture until it is very hot to the touch (130°F on a candy thermometer).
Step 2
Move the bowl to the stand mixer and, using the whisk attachment, whip the whites on medium-high speed until they have tripled in volume and are thick and glossy and hold stiff peaks (like meringue), 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the mixer down to medium-low speed until the mixing bowl is just cool to the touch, 1 to 2 minutes. Kick the mixer back up to medium-high speed and add the butter one piece at a time, adding the next piece just as the previous one has been incorporated. Stop the mixer every so often to scrape down the escaping buttercream from the sides of the bowl. At some point, the buttercream will take on a curdled appearance; don't worry, this is normal. Just keep on mixing until it comes together. Once all the butter is incorporated and the frosting is fluffy and creamy, blend in the vanilla and salt until fully combined.
Step 3
覆盖着塑料包装,奶油乳酪会持续2days at room temperature or 7 days in the refrigerator. If refrigerated, the buttercream must be brought to room temperature before you use it. Either way, the buttercream must be rewhipped-either by hand if kept at room temperature or with a mixer if refrigerated-before you frost a cake with it.
Raspberry Buttercream:
Step 4
Mash and strain 4 cups (10 ounces) of raspberries, fresh or frozen, through a fine mesh sieve to catch the seeds. (If using frozen berries, measure them before thawing.) Discard the seeds and set aside the puree while you follow the method for making Basic Buttercream. Add the berry puree at the end of the recipe, with the vanilla and the salt.
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Reviews (12)
Back to TopFABULOUS. If you don't use the very best ingredients like high fat butter AT ROOM TEMPERATURE, and don't prep your mis en place in advance, and don't follow the recipe to the letter- you won't have a good result. Egg whites should be put in bowl BEFORE you put the bowl over hot water. For both cake and frosting it's best to use the ingredients they use at the bakery if you can - Callebaut chocolate callets which are high fat, high fat, organic butter for cake and frosting, Nielsen Massey vanilla, pasture-raised fresh farm eggs, and above all , soften your butter before you make frosting or it won't work. Consider giving it a slight or mash to smooth before adding it to frosting. Use cake rings for your cake pans and your cakes will bake evenly and flat, no cutting top- low and slow is better- 325 for longer period. Best cake I've ever had or made and pretty darn close to the bakery version of you pay attention and prep your mis en place before beginning. Organization and faithfulness to recipe and ingredients is key . Labor intensive but worth it
franniebeers8701
Sonoma
1/29/2021
This is a very easy, basic true buttercream, but it's not going to taste right to anyone accustomed to the bastardized version where you blend butter with powdered sugar. It's supposed to be fluffy, not heavy, and taste primarily of butter or like a very thick sweetened whipped cream, not like fudge. It will not work if you 1) overcook the meringue because you have some phobia about food poisoning (I've made gallons of buttercream with a heated, but not cooked, meringue and it has never made anyone sick) or 2) if your butter is not at ROOM TEMPERATURE. Neither of these points is negotiable.
rellimarual
Maine
7/28/2019
Just made this raspberry buttercream for my daughters first birthday party. I’ve cook a lot, but this was my first attempt at baking. This came out amazing! Everyone was blown away on the texture and flavor that this produced. I highly recommended giving this a mix!
Tcobbathon
Portland, ME
2/24/2019
what a disaster! The icing curdled and wouldn't reform except when I heated it. Then it was so incredibly runny that I had to add cornstarch. Even then it broke down again. I followed the recipe to the letter... ugh.
mccoyj25
nyc
5/29/2017
This was the worst buttercream I have ever made. I followed every instruction precisely as I knew from reviews it was finicky. I'm a baker and I wanted to try this buttercream for the cake that I found this icing from, as Baker & Spice is so renowned. The buttercream turned into something that resembled a thick soup, or cream before it is whipped. I added much more sugar for it to remotely resemble a taste, and barely got any raspberry puree, and so I just added some of the mash in. While that altered the texture, it did make the taste much more vibrant, as I found that it was incredibly bland and basically just tasted like pure butter. If you are reading this and planning to make this buttercream, I want to redirect you to my all time favorite, never failed me before buttercream. It is called Simple Buttercream and it is by the Culinary Institute of America. The texture of it is phenomenal and works amazingly both for decorating and just icing. The buttercream of this recipe is going to sit in my fridge overnight, so I can pray that perhaps it will have hardened by the morning, and I can frost the cake with it.
broom_people
4/29/2017
This passed as far as flavor and consistency, but it's also the worst buttercream I've made. It had a sort of watery/greasy mouth feel. I followed the directions exactly, used good equipment, and still had to fuss and fix it a lot for a mediocre frosting. The author of this recipe's book, Rustic Fruit Desserts, is one of my favorite cookbooks, though!
neongreenon
4/19/2017
I made the raspberry version of this buttercream. Yes, it's involved, but the flavor (and aroma) were excellent. My issue is that the buttercream was like thick soup after ages of beating - I assume it was because of all the liquid from the puree. In desperation ended up adding a cup of confectioner's sugar and finally got to a spreading consistency. It goes on beautifully but never set up - the frosting was still soft the next day. Would like to know why, because otherwise I was happy with flavor and appearance. With multi-colored sugars on top it made a beautifully festive birthday cake.
Stringcat3
Phoenix AZ
2/24/2015
Came out perfect. I followed the directions exactly as written and am very pleased. I am not a baker, just two special cakes per year for my daughters' birthdays, but this came out perfect. Ideal for decorating due to very light and smooth texture, if you have that skill. Next year I may add food color, but need to do a trial run of this before the actual birthday party cake.
kpfromChicago
Wilmette, IL
7/19/2014
This was an awesome recipe. I was grateful for the little note in the recipe that said not to be discouraged by the curdled appearance at some point. It takes a while to make, it is heavy and very rich but what a dream to decorate with!!
MadamelaChef
France
7/7/2014
The raspberry version is AMAZING. I made it as directed with no issues. It took a while to get the egg whites and sugar up to temp, but was otherwise a breeze. Delicious, light, easy to use, very well received, and beautiful!
nmikus
Edmonton, AB
7/6/2014
This was very disappointing! It took forever to make, and the consistency was not good...
aeadix
Richmond, VA
12/26/2013
This fresh raspberry buttercream frosting is out of this world. After trying on "Double Chocolate Layer Cake, Gourmet March 1999, I was in love. So very good. I was so impressed I purchased "Vintage Cakes".
Anonymous
Chicago Cook and Baker
8/8/2013
