The crumb texture? The lightness of the sponge? The flavour? The topping?
For me, it’s gotta be the buttercream!
Buttercream can take a fairly average sponge and inject it with life, contrasting flavours, rich tastes and sumptuousness. You can get away with using margarine in a cake, which I think makes the texture lighter and the crumb better, but you should always use butter in the buttercream for the richness of taste.
Buttercream should sing to your tastebuds, it should melt in your mouth, and it should make you want more, which is why the way you make it is soooooooo important.
There’s nothing more satisfying than making a really amazing buttercream and whilst I do love Swiss Meringue, I find it an absolute faff to make so tend to go with American buttercream more often than not. But there are certain things I demand of my buttercream which I think are essential for the ultimate American buttercream.
Pale, almost white
Fluffy
Light in texture, not thick and gloopy
Easy to spread
Not too many air bubbles
Holds its shape well
So, here is the ultimate American buttercream recipe I prefer to use and the method I use to make it.
200g unsalted butter, softened
50g vegetable fat (I use Trex)
500g icing sugar, sifted
1 tbsp vanilla essence
1-2tsp titanium dioxide (optional)
If possible, use a standing mixer with paddle attachment or am electric hand mixer. You can do it by hand, but you’ll need plenty of elbow grease to get it light and fluffy.
Beat the butter and vegetable fat together until pale and fluffy.
Add the icing sugar in on a slow speed until incorporated.
Increase the speed and beat on a high speed until really pale and fluffy. It should look light and creamy to the touch, not dense and heavy like yellowy butter.
Reduce speed and add in vanilla, beat until well incorporated.
You can add in titanium dioxide at this point to make it really white – it depends on what you’re using it for. If you’re using it for sandwiching together cakes or your colouring it up brightly or with a colour like red, orange etc you don’t need to bother. If you want to cover the outside of the cake and want a really pale, almost white colour, then adding in the titanium dioxide is a good idea. It also helps with colour balance if you’re colouring up the icing quite pale or with a blue – the yellow of the butter can make it go a bit turquoise or even green. The titanium dioxide helps to counterbalance that.
Your buttercream is ready to use straight away. You may find it has air bubbles in it because you have whipped it for so long but if you take a spatula and paddle it gently back and forth for several minutes you should eliminate many of them but still have a light and airy buttercream.
If not using it straight away, keep in an airtight container in the fridge. You’ll need to let it come up to room temperature before you use it, and you may need to rewhip it before use.
If you want to flavour with other flavourings, these are what I use:
Lemon – The grated zest of one lemon
Orange – The grated zest of one orange plus 1tbsp of orange essence for a deeper flavour
Chocolate – either 2-3 tbsp cocoa powder or for a richer buttercream add 2-3 tbsp of dark chocolate ganache
Coffee – Add 1-2 tbsp of Camp coffee essence or add to taste if you want a stronger buttercream. You can also use espresso coffee instead.
Lavender – Add 1-2 tsp heaped, dried lavender heads or a couple of sprigs of fresh lavender
Raspberry/strawberry – Add several tbsp of puree to taste. Be careful not to add too much or it will make the buttercream to runny and may split. If you want a stronger taste, then try the essences from Uncle Roy’s – they taste natural but add a bit of oomph to your flavours.
Elderflower – Use Uncle Roy’s elderflower flavouring. Best one out there I have found. In a pinch use, elderflower cordial a decent one. But you will need more of it to achieve a good flavour and you run the risk of it splitting.
Ginger – Make a ginger syrup using fresh ginger for a more subtle taste, use 1-2tsp to taste of ground ginger for something more punchy.
Some of the wonderful cakes I have been lucky enough to make in the past with my ultimate American buttercream recipe
The Ultimate American Buttercream Recipe
What’s the most important part of your cake?
The crumb texture? The lightness of the sponge? The flavour? The topping?
For me, it’s gotta be the buttercream!
Buttercream can take a fairly average sponge and inject it with life, contrasting flavours, rich tastes and sumptuousness. You can get away with using margarine in a cake, which I think makes the texture lighter and the crumb better, but you should always use butter in the buttercream for the richness of taste.
Buttercream should sing to your tastebuds, it should melt in your mouth, and it should make you want more, which is why the way you make it is soooooooo important.
There’s nothing more satisfying than making a really amazing buttercream and whilst I do love Swiss Meringue, I find it an absolute faff to make so tend to go with American buttercream more often than not. But there are certain things I demand of my buttercream which I think are essential for the ultimate American buttercream.
So, here is the ultimate American buttercream recipe I prefer to use and the method I use to make it.
200g unsalted butter, softened
50g vegetable fat (I use Trex)
500g icing sugar, sifted
1 tbsp vanilla essence
1-2tsp titanium dioxide (optional)
If possible, use a standing mixer with paddle attachment or am electric hand mixer. You can do it by hand, but you’ll need plenty of elbow grease to get it light and fluffy.
Reduce speed and add in vanilla, beat until well incorporated.
Lemon – The grated zest of one lemon
Orange – The grated zest of one orange plus 1tbsp of orange essence for a deeper flavour
Chocolate – either 2-3 tbsp cocoa powder or for a richer buttercream add 2-3 tbsp of dark chocolate ganache
Coffee – Add 1-2 tbsp of Camp coffee essence or add to taste if you want a stronger buttercream. You can also use espresso coffee instead.
Lavender – Add 1-2 tsp heaped, dried lavender heads or a couple of sprigs of fresh lavender
Raspberry/strawberry – Add several tbsp of puree to taste. Be careful not to add too much or it will make the buttercream to runny and may split. If you want a stronger taste, then try the essences from Uncle Roy’s – they taste natural but add a bit of oomph to your flavours.
Elderflower – Use Uncle Roy’s elderflower flavouring. Best one out there I have found. In a pinch use, elderflower cordial a decent one. But you will need more of it to achieve a good flavour and you run the risk of it splitting.
Ginger – Make a ginger syrup using fresh ginger for a more subtle taste, use 1-2tsp to taste of ground ginger for something more punchy.