Buttercream Frosting

My brother-in-law, Rick, turned 50 this week. So Melanie (my sister) came over and we spent the day making goodies for a surprise party tonight. (Rick thought she went to work this morning. But no, we were right here, playing in my kitchen.)

Well, it just wasn't enough that I built the birthday cake. NO, she had to go and tell everyone that the frosting recipe was here, on my blog. So, to make an honest woman of her, I will post it. ;-)

But first I have to tell any and all party-goers that I actually made it wrong. Which, in this case, I think was good, because it is a really buttery recipe. Well, anyway, I'll try to explain where the mistakes came in, and maybe you can duplicate the whole mess.

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
The mistake way:

2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 sticks of butter, each one cut into 4 pieces, and softened
* this was part of the mistake: about 2 cups powdered sugar *

In a large, heat-proof mixing bowl, combine the 2 large eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 tsp. vanilla. Put the mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water [I just put it right into the simmering water—just make sure it's simmering, not boiling]. Whisk the stuff until it's thin and frothy and reaches a temperature of 160 degrees.
[OK. Here was my first mistake: I only let it heat to 140 degrees; although, really, I don't know if that would cause a big problem.]
Remove from heat and beat at medium-high speed until it reaches room temperature, 5-8 minutes. [Here was my second mistake—I got impatient and didn't let it cool enough—it was still warm to touch.]
Add the butter, one piece at a time and beat at high speed until thick and fluffy.
[OK. Next mistake. Because the egg and sugar stuff was too warm, the butter just melted—also, I got impatient again—and it never did get thick and fluffy. So I added powdered sugar until it seemed to be the right consistency.]


So, that was the first batch of frosting, which wasn't enough for the great-big cake. And since I had to make another batch, I thought I'd try to do it right the second time.

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
The right way: (mostly):

2 large eggs
2 large egg whites [actually, the recipe calls for 3 whole eggs, but I opted to use 2 eggs, and 2 egg whites]
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 sticks butter, each one cut into 4 pieces, and softened

In a large, heat-proof mixing bowl, combine the 2 large eggs, 2 egg whites, 3/4 cup sugar, and 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla.
Put the mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water [I just put it right into the simmering water—just make sure it's simmering, not boiling]. Whisk the stuff until it's thin and frothy and reaches a temperature of 160 degrees. [I used the whisk attachment of my magic wand—it kept my shoulder and arm from wearing out during several minutes of steady whisking.]
Remove from heat and beat at medium-high speed until it reaches room temperature, 5-8 minutes.
Add the butter, one piece at a time and beat at high speed until thick and fluffy. [Just go away and let your stand-mixer do its thing. Or, if you have to use a hand-mixer—bummer for you! You'll have to babysit it until it's done.]
At the thick and fluffy point, the frosting can be covered and refrigerated for up to 5 days. But it will get hard, like a stick of butter, so you have to let it warm to room temperature before you can spread it on a cake. Mmmmm!

Now, here's what Melanie doesn't know:
She saw me put the first batch of frosting onto the cake. Then, after she left, I started on the second batch of frosting. Well, the second batch was smooth and silky and delightful; in comparison, the first batch was sugary—and pretty much like what you'd get in a can from the store. So I scraped most of the first batch of frosting off of the cake and mixed it in with the yummy second batch. Voila! Delicious buttercream frosting. And, it was just enough to spread the outside of a half-sheet cake.

So, after all of those convoluted instructions, do you think you can make a good batch of buttercream frosting?