Italian Meringue Buttercream

Normally when I make cakes and need to decorate them, I almost ALWAYS make buttercream icing. I like buttercream icing for it's versatility - easy to spread, pipe, and color. It is really easy to make, you can whip up as much or as little as you need, and it always turns out. It keeps well refrigerated or frozen, works well as a filling, and can be flavored as desired. I also love the taste of buttercream - fresh pure butter and sweet, soft icing sugar - need I say more?

Other frosting types I have tried include fudge, ganache, flat, royal, and whipped cream. Of course fudge frosting and ganache are awesome as well, but you cannot use chocolate frosting for everything. For this puzzle cake, I decided to try a new type of frosting - Italian meringue buttercream. Now I have made meringues before (though never Italian) and I have made buttercream before, so I had the basics down.

Italian meringue is a meringue (mixture of egg whites and sugar) that is fully cooked by beating hot sugar syrup into the whipped egg whites until the mixture cools and stiff peaks are formed. To make Italian buttercream, small pieces of softened butter is then beaten into the Italian meringue. Italian meringue is not difficult to make, but does take some time to do. First, the sugar syrup must be prepared to just the right temperature without crystallizing. Next, the whites need to be beaten to soft peaks. Then, the sugar syrup must be beaten into the whites, ensuring the hot syrup touches neither the bowl nor the beaters. It is then beaten until cool, at least ten minutes for a good batch. So this icing requires a lot of beating, and a standmixer certainly would help!

I really liked the Italian meringue, as it was glossy and smooth, but too thin to use as a frosting. Once I added the butter, it was the proper consistency but I didn't like the flavor as much. Italian buttercream is light, fluffy, white, and smooth, and has a delicate texture yet a rich flavor. It isn't great for piping but ideal for delicate cakes that cannot be spread with a heavy frosting.