Butter and a rich simple custard create a frosting perfect for sheetcakes and cupcakes.
German buttercream is a custard and butter-based frosting that’s mildly sweetened.
What is German Buttercream?
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Shirley O. Corriher, James Beard Award-winning writer and author of Bake Wise, calls it Creme Anglaise Buttercream.
Regardless of who calls it what, German Buttercream is a combination of pastry cream plus butter.
Use it to frost the outside of a cake or fill the inside of an eclair.
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How To Make German Buttercream
German buttercream does make you work for the pleasure of its company.
This mixture is briefly heated to further thicken it before flavoring it to your liking.
you’re free to infuse the milk before combining it with sugar and cornstarch.
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Remove the peel/nuts/beans/spices and use the milk as instructed.
Here are some ideas:
On the flip side, you could add in any extract youd like.
To re-whip from frozen: Thaw the frozen buttercream in the fridge before mixing to fluff it up again.
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It requires you to understand its nuances, whereas other frostings just go from A to B.
This German Buttercream requires multiple steps each with its own special requirements.
Here are some things to watch for, tips to keep you going, and useful bits of information.
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It can also frost a 9x13-inch, 1-layer sheet cake with enough left over to frost a border.
Add about 1/4 cup of milk to the sugar mixture, whisking to form a thick paste.
This will keep the mixture from forming clumps when you add the remaining milk.
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Add the rest of the milk to the pot, whisking to incorporate it.
Tiny bubbles will rise to the surface and calmly break.
The surface of the liquid should barely move.
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Remove the pot from the heat.
Use a fork to lightly beat the egg yolks until they are runny.
You now have the base for custard.
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The mixture will thicken considerably in 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir in the vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth and combined.
Cover and chill the custard until cool (or until it reaches room temperature).
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If you chill it, it needs to be brought to room temperature before proceeding.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment add the butter.
Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl once or twice during this whipping process.
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While the butter is whipping, give the chilled custard a thorough stir to make it smooth.
Allow the custard to be fully incorporated before adding the next tablespoonful.
Scrape down the bowl often while adding the custard to double-check it’s properly incorporated.
Marta Rivera
