Italian meringue buttercream help!

prettie

Hi can anyone help I'm looking for a nice recipe for Italian meringue butter cream,I made two lots today from two different sites and all I'm tasting is butter even tho I flavoured with vanilla extracts I did notice there was a large amount of butter in the recipes does anyone have a nice Italian meringue buttercream recipe they'd like to share.......thanks in advance:D

phormium

I make all different quantities of if but the butter and sugar weights always match, other than that good volume in the meringue is necessary to lighten the butter flavour, if it deflates it can become more concentrated.

What recipes were you using?

prettie

Phormium,I got the recipe from the "cake journal" Site and "Martha steward" page
120 ml water
430g caster sugar
6 egg whites
680g butter(which I taugh was a lot)
1tsp vanilla extracts
Cud u suggest where I'd find a nice recipes as I'm ment to b doing cupcakes for my nieces birthday at the weekend it would b a great help and save a lot of trouble she loves Italian meringue buttercream...thank you.

phormium

I would suggest reducing the butter to similar quantity to sugar and trying that.

I usually make swiss meringue buttercream, don't like messing around with the syrup of the the italian version, I don't think there is any difference in taste.

prettie

Great Tanx a mill will give it a go tomorrow have wasted enough time today on it

Sigma Force

What do others think of the taste of that buttercream, I made it once and didn't like the taste.

phormium

I don't think any buttercream tastes great really unless it is well flavoured, all are too sweet which is a bit hard to avoid with sugar the main ingredient. Where I think the meringue buttercream wins over ordinary stuff is in the consistency, it is lovely and smooth compared to the slight grittiness of buttercream made with icing sugar. Left plain it is uninteresting but add some chocolate or strong flavour like coffee or Baileys and it is a nice contrast to cake. I don't like to get a giant blob of it though on a bun, there should be a good balance of cake to topping.

huskerdu

Sigma Force wrote: »

What do others think of the taste of that buttercream, I made it once and didn't like the taste.

I could eat buttercream until I was sick, especially if it is flavoured with grated lemon or orange rind.

phormium

Fair play to you

toadfly

Sigma Force wrote: »

What do others think of the taste of that buttercream, I made it once and didn't like the taste.

I've never made it but tasted it once on a cupcake from a cake woman in galway and didn't like it. Awful bland. Must try and make it sometime though might be nicer.

Stench Blossoms

TillyGirl wrote: »

I've never made it but tasted it once on a cupcake from a cake woman in galway and didn't like it. Awful bland. Must try and make it sometime though might be nicer.

Maybe it was bland because most people are used to that sugary gritty horrible icing that people usually use? I really like it, but then I'm not too picky with icing once it's not that overly sweet butter icing.

toadfly

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

Maybe it was bland because most people are used to that sugary gritty horrible icing that people usually use? I really like it, but then I'm not too picky with icing once it's not that overly sweet butter icing.

Not really, butter icing doesn't have to be gritty and overly sweet. You just have to get your recipe right.

Stench Blossoms

TillyGirl wrote: »

Not really, butter icing doesn't have to be gritty and overly sweet. You just have to get your recipe right.

I never said mine tasted like that.

toadfly

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

I never said mine tasted like that.

I didnt say you did. I meant "you" in general, not you personally.