Saturday night I decided to use some of the fresh peaches I had acquired to make Peaches 'n' Cream Cupcakes. I also knew, without a doubt that the only frosting worthy of a Peaches 'n' Cream Cupcake would be the much dreaded Italian Meringue Buttercream.
I read at least a dozen articles of tips and tricks and watched three different videos about the process. Then sucked it up and WENT FOR IT!
The result? If heaven could be in a frosting, well, I found the recipe. The best part? Italian Meringue Buttercream is not nearly as hard as I had anticipated it would be! It could have possibly helped that I had my boyfriend watching the egg whites for me (I don't think he had the slightest clue what he was watching for) while I cooked the sugar which made me feel a lot more confident about what I was doing.
And now, the Italian Meringue Buttercream Frosting (next time I will take pictures, PROMISE)
Italian Meringue Buttercream
2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. water
8 large egg whites
4 c. unsalted butter, softened (i.e. 8 sticks!!!)
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
Place the 8 egg whites into your electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip egg whites on medium until they reach the soft-peak stage.
In a saucepan combine 1 1/2 c. sugar with 1/2 c. water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat stirring until sugar is dissolved. Once the sugar is dissolved stop stirring and monitor your candy thermometer until the temperature of the sugar/syrup reaches soft ball stage or 240 degrees.
When the sugar/syrup has reached approximately 230 degrees, empty the remaining 1/2 c. of sugar into the egg whites. Turn up your mixer so the egg whites come to medium peaks.
As soon as the sugar/syrup reaches 240 degrees pour it (careful, this stuff is HOT) into a heat proof measuring cup (allows better control!) and then stream it into the mixer. As soon as all of the syrup has been poured turn your mixer on high and leave it there until the mixing bowl has returned to a cool temperature.
Gradually add softened butter a few tablespoons at a time. If your Italian Meringue Buttercream looks kind of funny, don't worry, mine did too. Just keep your mixer on medium-high and whip for several more minutes and it will start to smooth out.
Once your concoction appears smooth add the vanilla and continue mixing until fully incorporated. If you wanted to use a flavor other than vanilla you would also add it at this time. I've heard lemon is exceptionally delicious!
Yield: 7 CUPS (I DID half this recipe and it was enough for 36 cupcakes...fair warning)
This may be stored in your refrigerator for up to a week. If you store it in the fridge and want to take it out later and use it you will need to let it come close to room temperature and then re-whip it.
Now...go try it! :-)
