Buttercream and its differences

Fluffy and creamy - that's the formula for the perfect buttercream. In this article you will learn more about this cream and its small subtle differences.

German buttercream

Recipes from Germany attach great importance to an airy consistency. The combination of milk and butter forms the basis. By varying the respective proportions, the cream can also be prepared with a higher firmness as a substitute for fondant. It is also not uncommon to add vanilla sugar or fresh vanilla seeds. A current trend is the preparation with pudding powder or sweetened condensed milk. This is prepared in no time, can be colored as you like and is perfect for decorating cakes, cupcakes and co.

American buttercream

American buttercream, is a type of buttercream made from softened butter and powdered sugar that has a creamy, white texture that resembles fondant. It is particularly suitable for decorating cakes and tarts with fondant. Due to its high degree of sweetness, however, it is too sweet for many people. You can determine the consistency of the American buttercream yourself. Just add more or less butter to it. The buttercream will set in the fridge but can melt again if the heat is too high.

French buttercream

For the French buttercream you can completely do without the milk. All you need is butter, sugar, eggs and salt and voilà you have a fine buttercream with a firm texture. For this, egg, sugar and salt are first beaten warm and then cold and then this mass is added to the stirred butter mass.

Italian buttercream

In other countries, it is also often referred to as the Swiss meringue buttercream. The list of ingredients is the same, but the preparation is a little different. With the Italian buttercream you need a candy thermometer to bring the sugar/water mixture to the correct temperature (117 degrees). Pour the resulting syrup into the beaten egg white mixture and then add the stirred butter mixture. If you want to make a simpler version without a candy thermometer, then you can use Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

Swiss meringue buttercream

The Swiss Meringue Buttercream is a buttercream made from egg whites, sugar and softened butter. Unlike French buttercream, Swiss meringue buttercream uses egg whites and sugar to create a firm, glossy foam called a meringue. Then add the softened butter in small pieces and mix thoroughly until you have a smooth, creamy buttercream.

What can you use the finished buttercream for?

You can use the delicious cream for covering cakes or the small topping, which is a must for cupcakes. Spreading cakes with a completely smooth surface in particular is a type of preparation that more and more amateur bakers are enjoying. Afterwards, decorating the cakes on this smooth buttercream canvas is even more fun and stimulates your creativity. You can achieve such a smooth surface with our cake smoother.

Failed to make the buttercream? Instead of doing without homemade cakes and cupcakes, you can simply use our buttercream ready mix. Here you only need to add butter and water and the anger about the previous failed attempts is gone.

Which pastries are your favourites? Are you a fan of cakes and cupcakes or have you developed your own recipes with buttercream? Feel free to write them in the comments.