I just made a startling discovery. Buttercream frosting as we know it today is not real buttercream frosting.
That’s not surprising.
But you know what is? That originally buttercream frosting had eggs in it.
What!? EGGS!?
Yes.
Let me tell you. What a difference that makes.
When I think of buttercream frosting, the most popular and sickly sweet of all of today’s common frostings, that’s exactly what I think of – something delicious but kind of boring and so sweet it usually has to be balanced out with other flavors.
Not if you take it back to buttercream OG.
The addition of egg yolks (and surprisingly way less amount of sugar) results in a frosting that is so silk-y smooth you just know it’s made to impress. And it doesn’t send you into a sugar coma – even if you eat the leftovers right off of the beaters. Not that I would know…
Making it does take a little more work and time than a quick modern buttercream but it is so worth it! And it’s not as hard as you would think.
Whisk up the eggs and sugar until they are blended, smooth, and creamy. (You can see where this is headed.)
Then add some scalded milk SLOWLY and gently stir. No whisking or electric mixing or it will be too foamy to see the consistency.
Warm it up to cook the egg and thicken. Then cool. (Man there’s a lot of temperature manipulation in old-school baking. You go you old bakers!)
Pop that bowl into some ice to speed up the process.
Add butter one tablespoon at a time. This is where it will start to look a bit dicey. It may look curdled and separated but that’s ok! Now you can pull out the modern electrical gadgets and made some magic happen.
Add just a touch more sugar to stiffen the frosting up a bit more. Then viola! Beautiful buttercream the way it was originally intended to be used for your frosting needs.
I threw mine on some macarons to help balance out the sweetness of that fluffy little cookie and it was perfection.
Cooked Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup milk scalded
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 cup powdered sugar divided
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter softened
Instructions
- Scald the milk in a heavy bottomed saucepan.
- Whisk together egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar until well blended and creamy.
- Slowly add scalded milk to egg mixture stirring constantly. Do not whisk or use electric mixers at this point so you can see the consistency.
- Add mixture back to saucepan and cook over medium heat until very warm and slightly thickened but do not boil.
- Pour mixture into a bowl (set over ice to speed up the cooling process). Add vanilla and stir until cool.
- Add butter one tablespoon at a time And beat until well blended. If mixture starts to separate or look curdled at this point it’s ok. Use electric mixer and keep adding butter.
- Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar (plus more if desired) and blend to stiffen frosting.
