Wedding Cake Frosting

My best wedding cake frosting for icing a wedding cake. This wedding cake icing recipe, also known as Italian meringue, is light, creamy and not overly sweet!

This recipe is an Italian Meringue butter cream that I learned from the chef at one of the banquet hall kitchens I worked at for many years. Prior to this I always used the basic butter, powdered sugar vanilla mixture, which is good, but this meringue is one step better.

If you have a Kitchen Aid mixer you will have to cut this in half and do two batches. To save time cook the sugar at it's full amount and then split into two equal parts. Video Instructions

Ingredients

• 4 lbs. unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup water
• 2 1/4 cups sugar plus 6 Tablespoons
• 9 egg whites at room temperature
• vanilla to taste
• optional: pinch of salt

Whip the butter until it is light and fluffy as possible, or chop it up into small pieces. Add vanilla.

As the butter is whipping place the water and sugar into a pot and cook until the temperature reaches 238 degrees. *OPTIONAL: Using a pastry brush dipped in water occasionally sweep around the edges of the boiling sugar to make sure all of the sugar is incorporated and to keep it from forming crystals on the pot.

Start whipping the egg whites in a clean bowl with clean beaters. Whip until soft peaks form.

Slowly add the hot syrup to the whipped egg whites. Mix the egg whites and syrup until the egg whites are shiny and the peaks are firmer. It will be the consistency of marshmallow.

Now you will need to incorporate the butter into the egg white/sugar mixture.

Slowly add bits of room temperature butter (chunks or pre whipped) to the egg whites and sugar. It will seem to not mix very well at first (in fact it may look a little curdled for a bit) but it will come together and be very smooth and creamy in the end.

You can store this buttercream in the fridge for a couple of weeks well covered. When you are ready to use it again let it come to room temperature before re-whipping.

A Short Video Of The Process For Making The Wedding Cake Frosting / Italian Meringue Buttercream

In the video is the recipe above but split into a smaller batch for you.