I heart Italian Buttercream

You've heard me compare American Buttercream with Swiss Meringue Buttercream, two wonderful members of the cake-frosting family. Personally up till recently I was firmly team American due to the simplicity of making it and low cost of ingredients plus after now a handful of attempts at making Swiss Meringue Buttercream I have come to despise it, partly because it's turned into scrambled eggs twice and mostly because I don't enjoy the taste. I find it too buttery... don't get me wrong, the same can be said of Italian, however I believe it's the fact the sugar and egg whites are heated together over a bain marie (double boiler) which possibly negates the sweetness compared with the Italian method which involves the making of a sugar syrup which is then added to the meringue.

So Italian meringue buttercream. Yes it's more technical to make - you'll need to make a sugar syrup while your egg whites are whipping - but it's not as scary as it sounds. You'll just need to invest in a sugar thermometer or probe thermometer to keep a tab on your water and sugar mixture. At 110˚C you can start your stand mixer on med-high whipping your egg whites so that they are nice and frothy by the time your syrup reaches 118˚C at which point you want to take it off the heat, turn your mixer down low and carefully pour your syrup down the side of your mixing bowl where it will incorporate with your meringue to form shiny, smooth peaks. Keep mixing until the bowl is cool to the touch and your meringue gently flops over when you lift the whisk.

The addition of cream of tartar will help stabilise your meringue but you can absolutely omit it if you choose. I make Italian meringue for my macarons without the tartar so can attest that the meringue will whip up beautifully either way.

The perfect balance between the two aforementioned icing options, IMBC is equally heavy on butter like SMBC however the method of creating a sugar syrup to make the meringue, in my opinion, infuses the buttercream with a far sweeter taste. So a sweeter option to SMBC but why do I prefer it to American? Simple, the make up of IMBC is much smoother lending a beautiful finish to your cake. See below an IMBC crumb coating (left) and purple ombre (right).

Compared with American, the IMBC creates far less air bubbles in its application and whereas American calls for mostly icing sugar (confectioners sugar) which creates a relatively stiff end result - perfect for certain types of cake decorating which require more hold - it can be more difficult to create those sharp edges and corners that are easier to achieve with IMBC and SMBC.

You can make IMBC in advance, just make sure to take it out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature and then pop it back into your stand mixer to whip it back up to smooth. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Here's how to make it, recipe courtesy of Preppy Kitchen:

Italian Meringue Buttercream

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites large

• 267g Caster (granulated) sugar 

• Pinch kosher salt optional

• 454g unsalted butter, room temperature cut into 1-inch pieces (not overly soft and greasy but squidgy to the touch)

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract optional, (you can choose whichever flavouring you like)

• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar 

• 79ml (1/3 cup) water 

Method

1. Beat the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar, slowly add in 1/3 cup of sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form.

2. In a medium saucepan add the remaining sugar and 1/3 cup water then place on medium-low heat.

3. Stir until sugar melts and becomes clear.

4. Maintain at medium-high heat until temperature reads 118˚C.

5. Drizzle the sugar into the mixer immediately.

6. Run mixer until meringue is cool/tepid.

7. Switch to a paddle attachment. Add room temperature butter into running mixer one tablespoon piece at a time.

8. Add the salt and vanilla if using

9. Beat until butter is combined and mixture has reached a silky consistency.