Hi there!
We don't use a lot of buttercream here in Oz and im having trouble finding a good french buttercream recipe to do swirls on cupcakes which is for my daughters 3rd bday in August.
I've tried 2 recipes so far which included shortening, butter, icing sugar and milk and it was very buttery and not fluffy at all so it wasn't a success
So is there a good recipe that any of you have tried and happy with that you would recommend?
Cheers

I wish I had a good French Buttercream recipe. No such luck though.

i am not sure what consider french buttercream.. i have seen several recipes that call it that. the one i have came from our newspaper.. it is using the egg yolks.. and is made like you make the italian meringue butter cream.. the one i have is chocolate. and it is wonderful tasting. my family loves it.. i think the one on foodnetwork . that duff has on there is called french buttercream.. and he does not cook the meringue.. but that is using egg whites. so let me know sorta what you are looking for.. and i have seen one that is cooking the milk and flower to a thick paste . let cool. and then beat your butter and sugar,etc. and then add the thick paste. i make that too. but my recipe calls it mock buttercream icing.. hope i can help you.

OK, here's the one I use all the time, it's just like a SMBC, has a much lighter texture however, and is not a very good one to use in very hot weather.

Makes enough for 50 regular size cupcakes, or one 4 layer 10" cake- frost and fill- generously.
This recipe fits in a 6qt KitchenAid.

4 large eggs- cracked into a measuring cup+
enough egg-whites to make 2&1/2 cups liquid in total.
3 cups sugar
3 lbs butter- cut into small pieces
a pinch of salt
1&1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1. Combine the eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl and place over simmering water in a pan and whisk constantly until all the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture gets very hot. About 5 minutes.
2. Using a whisk attachment, whisk the mixture on high until very thick and pale in color, about 10-15 minutes depending on the mixer.
3. Add the butter a little at a time on low speed, the butter does not have to be at room temperature, in fact it's better if it's a little cold. Once all the butter has been added, turn the speed to high and whisk for 3-4 minutes. Add the salt and vanilla and mix well.

HTH

Cakebelle -

That sounds like an awesome recipe. Thanks for sharing it.

Theresa

Thanks for the recipe Cakebelle!

You're so welcome!

thanks so much for the recipe cakebelle

thanks so much for the recipe cakebelle

OOPS!!!!!!
I'm sorry! I made an error in the recipe.....
Please add 4 cups of sugar not 3!

OOPS!!!!!!
I'm sorry! I made an error in the recipe.....
Please add 4 cups of sugar not 3!

4 cups of sugar?????? Holy cow. I use about a cup and 1/3 sugar : 5 egg whites with SMBC. That has got to be some crazy sweet frosting. Sounds like it would be super stiff though....might have to try it.

Ohhhhh, that uses the whole egg...ok, got it! Yeah, sounds kind of interesting.

i've got another question OF COURSE
which one is better for piping swirls on cupcake swiss buttercream or french buttercream ? i mean which one holds its shape better? thanks

I am so partial to SMBC, so of course, I'm gonna promote it. You can't let it get hot though, and I would make sure it is pretty stiff to begin with. When you are whipping, put a bag of frozen veggies around the mixing bowl, and use semi cold butter, not room temp.