How to make Italian Meringue Buttercream (IMBC)

Italian Meringue Buttercream (or IMBC as it's known in the industry) is easier to make than you think. It's infinitely better tasting than the overly sweet, crusty, gritty frostings made with shortening and powdered sugar that are so often mistakenly called buttercream. This is the real deal - the texture of IMBC is silky smooth, and the flavor is utterly out of this world.  I promise, once you try it, you'll never go back.  

There are many recipes for IMBC online.  Pick one and go for it. Let me show you how easy it is to make.

*this post contains affiliate links

Start by combining the correct amount of water and sugar in a heavy bottomed pan.  I make IMBC frequently, so I invested in this nifty copper sugar pot by Mauviel.  The pot has a nice pour spout and it heats the syrup very quickly. Copper also helps to reduce the risk of the melted sugar crystallizing.  

Stir the water and sugar together, just until the sugar dissolves, then STOP stirring and let the mixture come to a boil like this.

Now add a candy thermometer. The sugar syrup isn't very deep, so I find putting the thermometer in the pan upside down gives a better reading (it allows the tip of the thermometer to sit down in the sugar syrup).  You can also tilt the pan, from time to time, to get a good reading, but be careful... the syrup is EXTREMELY HOT!

Cook until the temperature reaches 248 - 250F. As you can see, we're not quite there yet, but it won't be much longer. The temperature rises quickly once you get to this point.

In the meantime, beat cream of tartar and room temperature egg whites (real egg whites, not out of a carton) in the bowl of a stand mixer using the whip attachment on med speed. When the sugar syrup is almost at the target temperature, raise the mixer speed to high and beat whites until stiff peaks are reached.

IMPORTANT - be very sure your mixer bowl and whip are free of all or grease/oil, and make sure there are absolutely no traces of egg yolk in your whites. Greasy residue or the tiniest amount of egg yolk will keep your white from whipping. As an added insurance policy, wipe the bowl and wire whip down with a paper towel that has been dampened with a little white vinegar (no need to rinse).

When the egg whites reach soft peaks, add the correct amount of sugar called for in the recipe and continue to beat until stiff peaks are reached. Truth be known, I usually add the sugar all at once before I start beating the egg whites. It’s easier that way and they seem to whip up just as nicely.

Stiff peaks are achieved! If your sugar syrup hasn't reached 248-250F yet, just turn the mixer speed down to low while you wait... you shouldn't have to wait long.

The moment the sugar syrup reaches 248-250F, with the mixer on med-high, start pouring it slowly into the egg whites so the stream of sugar syrup goes between the wire whip and the edge of the bowl.  If you pour it onto the wire whip, you'll end up with strings of hardened sugar syrup all over the place. When all the sugar syrup has been added, increase speed to high and beat until the mixture cools to room temperature (monitor the temp by feeling the outside bottom of the bowl). Depending on the size of the batch you're making, this can take anywhere from 10- 25 minutes.  

Once the meringue has cooled completely, keep the mixer on and start adding room temperature butter, a little at a time, until it's all combined. The meringue will immediately start to lose volume when you start adding the butter, but that's normal. Also, don't panic if your mixture starts to look curdled... just keep beating on high, it will magically come together soon.  If your recipe calls for adding optional flavorings, go ahead and do so.  My go to flavor choice is vanilla.  I also like mocha and amaretto.

Here it is almost done... I'm making this batch vanilla, so I'll add either pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste to taste.

Enjoy!

There are many recipes online, but this one will make 4-5 cups.  One batch will frost a layer cake, but you may want to make more if you plan to pipe decorations.  Leftover buttercream will keep at room temp for 3 days, can be refrigerated for 10 days, or can be frozen for long-term storage. Bring to room temp before using. Beat for a few seconds with a whisk to restore creamy consistency.

Vanilla Italian Meringue Buttercream

makes 4-5 cups (enough for an 8-inch cake or 24 cupcakes)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 5 large egg whites (150g)

• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (250g)

• 1/4 cup water

• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (definitely use the good stuff here)

• 1 pound unsalted butter, room temperature (454g)

Directions

1. In a small, heavy bottomed sauce pan, make the sugar syrup by heating the water and sugar to 248-250F (this will take 5-10 minutes).

2. While the sugar syrup is heating, whip the egg whites on medium speed in the bowl of a stand mixer until soft peaks form. Be sure the bowl has no traces of fat (oil, butter, egg yolks, etc).

3. Shortly before the sugar syrup reaches the target temperature, increase the mixer to high and whip whites to stiff peaks (turn off mixer if the sugar syrup hasn't reached 248-250F yet).

4. When the sugar syrup is ready, lower the mixer speed to low and carefully pour the hot syrup into the whipped egg whites - pour just between the sides of the bowl and the whisk, being careful not to allow the syrup to hit the spinning whisk.

5. Increase the mixer speed to high and whip until the meringue has cooled completely (check by feeling the bottom of the bowl).

6. Once the meringue has cooled completely, slowly add the butter, 1 tablespoon or so at a time, until all the butter is fully incorporated. If the mixture starts to look curdled or "broken", see notes below.

7. Beat in the pure vanilla extract and prepare to indulge!!

Notes

• A thermometer is essential - use either a candy thermometer or a digital instant read thermometer.

• Do not place the thermometer in the sugar syrup until the sugar has completely dissolved (to prevent recrystallization). Also, while the sugar syrup is heating, you may wish to periodically wash the sides of the saucepan down with a silicone pastry brush dipped in water to prevent splashes from recrystalizing on the sides of the pan (which can make the entire batch of sugar syrup crystallize).

• Use egg whites from shelled eggs, not egg whites from a carton (they do not whip well).

• Be sure to use unsalted butter.

• Buttercream should be served at room temperature.

• Buttercream will develop tiny air bubbles upon standing so you may need to rewhip it occasionally to restore its smooth consistency.

• To tint, use gel or paste colors for best results.

• Butter is yellow so real buttercream will have a slightly yellow-ish cast, but the more air you whip into it, the whiter it will look.  You may choose to flavor your buttercream with clear vanilla extract. For very white buttercream, you may choose to add bright white food coloring (also recommended to keep some shades, like pink or blue, from looking orange or green).

• Be sure the egg white and sugar syrup mixture (aka meringue) has cooled completely before you start adding the butter. You can speed this process along by attaching a water jacket filled with ice to the stand mixer. If you don’t have a water jacket attachment, try placing bags of frozen vegetables around the outside of the bowl.

• When adding the butter, If the mixture looks curdled or "broken" at any time, don’t panic - continue beating until it smooths out before adding more butter (if the mixture or your kitchen is too warm, a short rest in the fridge may be necessary).

• Store Italian Meringue Buttercream in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, chill for up to 10 days, or freeze for up to a year. Frozen buttercream should be thawed in the refrigerator overnight. Chilled buttercream should be allowed to reach room temperature and rewhipped to restore consistency before using.

Dorie Greenspan's World Peace Cookies

Time to review Dorie Greenspan's World Peace Cookies from her book From My Home to Yours. Also called Korova Cookies found in her book Paris Sweets. These cookies are the brain child of French Pastry Chef extraordinaire Pierre Herme. They are a classic Sable' cookie. What sets them apart from average cookies is their sandy texture, and salty sweet flavor thanks to the inclusion of the French sea salt Fleur de sel.

First start by mixing together the flour, Dutch-processed cocoa powder, and baking soda. I love to measure my ingredients by gram weight when possible... very precise; each batch comes out exactly the same.

You'll need 175g all-purpose flour (1 1/4 cups).

30g Dutch-processed cocoa powder (1/3 cup).

I like to weight my cocoa powder right into a sieve.

This is why. Cocoa powder is notorious for clumping, so just use a spoon or your fingers to push the clumps through the sieve.

Next I measure 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. A measuring spoon works just fine when measuring such a small amount.

FYI - baking soda is really good at absorbing odors, right? Right. So to prevent it from picking up the flavor of other items stored in the cabinet (like spices or chocolate), I store it in a jar with a tight fitting lid. I also put a piece of tape across the mouth of the jar so I can level the spoon. I replace the tape once a year or so.

Now combine the dry ingredients together with a whisk; set aside. You can sift them together if you like. I don't own a sifter, but I have a lot of whisks.

In a separate bowl combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and Fleur de sel.

I like to keep my brown sugar in an airtight container which keeps it nice and soft. If you find your brown sugar has dried into a hard brick, just zap it in the microwave for a few seconds at a time and it will soften right up.

120g light brown sugar (2/3 cup, packed)

50g granulated sugar (1/4 cup)

1/2 teaspoon Fleur de sel (or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt)

(sorry I have no photo of my Fleur de sel... I accidentally knocked it off the counter and the little glass jar broke into a million pieces. Thankfully there was only a tiny bit left or I would have been much more upset.

Mix the sugars and salt together; set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream 150g room temperature, unsalted butter (11 tablespoons).

Add the sugar/salt mixture and 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract; beat on medium until creamy (you can do this by hand if you prefer).

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the flour/cocoa powder mixture.

This is a very dry dough so I like to cover my mixer with a kitchen towel to keep the dust down.

See how crumbly the mixture is? That's the way it's supposed to look.

Add 150g chocolate (5 ounces). I used mini chocolate chips.

Stir them in by hand.

I weighed the finished dough (still crumbly). I got 670 grams. I split the finished dough into two equal portions of 335g.

Smoosh each portion into a log that measures 1 1/2-inch wide by about 7 1/2-inches long. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour; you can make this dough up to 3 days in advance, or freeze it for a month. When you're ready to bake, just preheat your oven to 325F.

Use a sharp knife to cut the logs into 1/2-inch thick slices.

Place the cookie slices on parchment or silicone lined cookie sheets. The recipe states you should get 36 cookies, but I got exactly 30 (that might be because we sampled the dough a few times during the mixing process... it was really good).

Bake only one tray at a time in the center of the oven for exactly 12 minutes. Put the second tray in the refrigerator while the first tray bakes. When done, let the cookies cool completely on the tray before you enjoy them.

My kids prefer a sweeter, chewier cookie, but my husband and I really liked these. I'd say they are probably best served to people who appreciate the soft, delicate flavor of Fleur de sel. A great gift to share with friends!

Enjoy these cookies!