Buttercream Recipe

Buttercream came into being in the 1950s. It is mainly used to layer cakes and is even swirled onto cookies. People tend to confuse buttercream with frosting, but they are different. Frostings, which were first discovered in 1655, use shortening instead of butter and often need artificial flavouring to amp up the taste. Buttercream, on the other hand, uses butter and is more flavourful. Steve Konopelski, a pastry arts chef instructor at Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, believes that Germany pioneered buttercream. The topping is usually a mixture of butter, milk, sugar and vanilla extract. There are many varieties of buttercream, including American buttercream (uses only butter, sugar and vanilla extract), French buttercream (uses egg yolks and is less sweet than the American version), Swiss meringue buttercream (uses egg whites and is lighter and fluffier than other varieties), German buttercream (is softer than other buttercreams) and Korean buttercream (uses cold butter).