Layer Cake From Scratch
Cakes by MK Ultimate Beginner's Guide
5 - B U T T E R CR E A M
Cakes by MK
CAKES BY MK @cakesbymk.nz
BUTTERCREAM - CONTENTS
Types of Buttercream 1
Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe 2
Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe 3
5 - BUTTERCREAM
LAYER CAKE FROM SCRATCH: CAKES BY MK ULTIMATE BEGINNER'S GUIDE
TYPES OF BUTTERCREAM
When it comes to choosing a buttercream for your cake, there are a few things
to keep in mind when deciding which is the best option for you.
Firstly, lets cover the two most common types of buttercream:
American Buttercream (ABC) - ABC is the most common
type of buttercream you will find in most household
kitchens. The base of ABC is a combination of butter and
icing sugar (also known as confectioners sugar). The
benefits of ABC is that it is easy to make, it is a crusting
1 buttercream (meaning that a hard exterior begins to
form as it is left to sit) which is great for certain cake
decorating techniques, and it tastes delicious!
The only downside to ABC is that it is not as smooth as
other buttercreams, and is a lot sweeter due to the icing
sugar - but if you have a big sweet tooth then this will not
be a problem for you!
Swiss Meringue Buttercream (SMBC) - SMBC has base
ingredients of egg whites, castor sugar and butter. The
2
benefits of SMBC is that it is extremely smooth in texture
which makes it great for cake decorating, and it is not as
sweet as ABC.
The downside of SMBC is that it is slightly more difficult
to make than ABC, but with a little practice it is not
difficult to master!
I myself am a massive fan of SMBC, so in this course I'll be demonstrating how
to make both a vanilla and chocolate SMBC for our cake. In this course, I will be
making 1.5x the vanilla SMBC recipe, and turning half of that into a chocolate
swiss meringue buttercream.
5 - BUTTERCREAM
LAYER CAKE FROM SCRATCH: CAKES BY MK ULTIMATE BEGINNER'S GUIDE 1
VANILLA SWISS MERINGUE
BUTTERCREAM RECIPE
Prep time: 20 minutes │ Cook time: 5 minutes │ Total time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 400g unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 4 large egg whites (or 5 small egg whites)
- 1.5 cups (340g) caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (or your flavouring of choice)
Method:
1) Whisk together the egg whites and caster sugar into a heat proof bowl, and
gently heat the mixture over a double boiler. Keep gently mixing the mixture so
it heats evenly. The goal is to get a smooth texture without over-cooking the egg
whites. After a few minutes, check the mixture by rubbing it in between your
fingers. If you can't feel any sugar granules then it is done.
2) Transfer the mixture into a bench mixer, and using the whisk attachment,
whisk the egg whites and sugar on medium-high speed for 10-15 minutes until
the mixture is cool and stiff peaks have formed.
3) Once stiff peaks have formed, then slowly add in the unsalted butter. It is
important to ensure that the butter is at room temperature (soft, but not
melted). If you've forgotten to take it out of the fridge beforehand, you can cut it
into cubes and put in the microwave for 10 second bursts until the butter is soft.
4) Continue to gradually add the butter. Towards the end it may seem like the
mixture is curdling, but not to worry! This is all part of the process and the
buttercream will form eventually.
5) Once the buttercream is nice and smooth, mix in your flavouring (in this case -
vanilla extract), and colour of choice (optional).
5 - BUTTERCREAM
LAYER CAKE FROM SCRATCH: CAKES BY MK ULTIMATE BEGINNER'S GUIDE 2
CHOCOLATE SWISS MERINGUE
BUTTERCREAM RECIPE
Prep time: 20 minutes │ Cook time: 5 minutes │ Total time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 batch of vanilla swiss meringue buttercream (previous recipe)
- 8oz (225g) chocolate (I prefer 50% dark chocolate, but any is fine)
- 1 tsp (4.7g) unsalted butter
Method:
1) Prepare 1 batch of vanilla swiss meringue buttercream.
2) Melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave in 30 second bursts
(mixing in between each burst).
3) Once the chocolate is melted, fold into the vanilla swiss meringue
buttercream.
4) Once combined, leave it in the fridge for half an hour before using.
5 - BUTTERCREAM
LAYER CAKE FROM SCRATCH: CAKES BY MK ULTIMATE BEGINNER'S GUIDE 3
