Vanilla French Buttercream

116 Ratings
  • 5 28
  • 4 27
  • 3 31
  • 2 22
  • 1 7

This wonderful vanilla French buttercream should be paired with Butter Lane's Chocolate Cupcakes.

The Martha Stewart Show, January Winter 2009, The Martha Stewart Show, January Winter 2009

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Recipe Summary

Yield:
Makes about 1 quart
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Ingredients

Directions

  • In a large heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water, whisk together egg whites and sugar until sugar is melted and mixture reaches 140 degrees on a candy thermometer, 7 to 10 minutes.

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  • Transfer mixture to the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on high until stiff peaks form, 12 to 15 minutes. Add cream of tartar and beat for one minute more.

  • Reduce speed to medium and add butter, a few pieces at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and scrape vanilla bean seeds into mixture; beat until well combined, about 2 minutes. Transfer to refrigerator; chill for 15 minutes before using.

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Reviews (15)

116 Ratings
  • 5 28
  • 4 27
  • 3 31
  • 2 22
  • 1 7
Martha Stewart Member
11/02/2014
Between step 2 and 3 this should have been included: That the egg whites should be whipped to room temperature. If it's a bit warm, the added butter will melt and the cream will become a soupy mess.
Martha Stewart Member
08/25/2014
... this is actually a swiss meringue buttercream recipe. french buttercream uses egg yolks, not whites. the two types of buttercream that use whites are swiss and italian. swiss is cooked over a double boiler, italian is when hot syrup is added to whipped egg whites to stabilize them. so, this is swiss.
Martha Stewart Member
10/29/2013
@MademoiselleDomi: Make sure you whisk the egg white at high speed immediately to rich a glossy effect (that was my mistake). The first time I made it, it was perfect, except a little runny which I add more butter but the 2nd and 3rd time it was disaster.
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Martha Stewart Member
10/22/2013
I don't know what I did wrong, but every time I add butter, the egg whites are melting in to something that reminds buttermilk. I tried that recipe 8-10 times and it's always like that. I give up..
Martha Stewart Member
07/13/2012
love the recipe..delicious... but beware.. falls flat if it is humid outside
Martha Stewart Member
07/07/2012
Seriously? This recipe is very easy and taste really sweet.I didn add the vanilla beans becouse where I live is hard to find.Put the eggs and all the suggar in a bowl and leave it until the suggar is completely dissolved.Forget about the minutes.Keep beating it só it wont cook the egg whites very much...
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Martha Stewart Member
07/06/2012
I wish I could give this ZERO STARS it was that horrible...don't even bother...to the site editors...you should take this recipe down or at least put an asterisk next to the title so people check the reviews first!!!
Martha Stewart Member
12/08/2011
Don't cook this recipe, it is a waste of time and money, I tried to do it twice following each step carefully and it didn't work. The sugar didn't melt enough, and you can feel it after, so wrong texture. Very sadly I had to put it in the trash.
Martha Stewart Member
12/05/2011
Complete waste of time and ingredients. This is not French buttercream. I wish I had read the reviews before trying. The icing is way too runny to do anything with it except TOSS IT.
Martha Stewart Member
09/20/2011
This is not French buttercream. For an authentic recipe: http://deepdelights.com/2011/09/19/french-buttercream/
Martha Stewart Member
09/18/2011
I'd agree with the earlier opinion that this recipe needs about twice the butter called for. Even at that, the tang from the cream of tartar is somewhat objectionable. It's also not a French Buttercream (which has egg yolks), but a Swiss.
Martha Stewart Member
04/07/2011
This tastes more like marshmallow cream and by the time you add the butter, the consistency is too runny to actually frost a cake or cupcakes.
Martha Stewart Member
03/14/2010
I don't think this has enough butter in it. If you want a typical swiss meringue buttercream that you can pipe, you need 4 sticks of butter.
Martha Stewart Member
02/26/2010
Oops! it's actually neither french, nor italian. This is a swiss meringue buttercream. An italian buttercream involves adding a sugar syrup to whipped egg whites.
Martha Stewart Member
04/20/2009
This isn't a French buttercream recipe, it's an Italian Meringue buttercream. A French buttercream is made with whole eggs
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