How to make German Buttercream

This German buttercream is silky smooth and buttery with the taste of vanilla pastry cream. Use this frosting to frost cakes, pipe on cupcakes, or fill it in macarons and other desserts.

Table of Content

• Why make this buttercream?
• Ingredients and substitutes
• Easy German buttercream frosting
• Storage
• Tips for success
• How to flavor German buttercream?
• Troubleshooting
• How much buttercream do I need?
• More buttercream recipes
• Frequently asked questions
• You may also like
• Printable Recipe
• Join the conversation

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I believe that German buttercream is one of the easiest to make, other than American buttercream. I mean when you compare it to other similar buttercreams like Italian meringue, Swiss meringue, or French buttercream. Often referred to as pudding buttercream because it is made using a custard base this is one of the most delicious frostings you can make.

Why make this buttercream?

• There is no boiling syrup and no cooking eggs over a double boiler.
• Also, this is a pretty straightforward recipe and you don't need any special types of equipment.
• Making pastry cream can be intimidating for some, but, not to worry, as I am using a simple one-pot method that does not involve any tempering of eggs. This is why I call this my fool-proof method.
• The buttercream holds well on its own and has the perfect consistency for spreading onto cakes or piping onto cupcakes. I personally love them on cupcakes.
• And the process and timeline are also fairly simple:
  • Prepare vanilla pastry cream (custard).
  • Cool the pastry cream.
  • Whip the butter with the pastry cream
  • Add flavoring.

Ingredients and substitutes

• Eggs - This buttercream is made with all egg yolks. Use large fresh eggs to prevent any eggy taste in the vanilla pastry cream. The yellow color of the frosting comes from the egg yolk mixture.
• Sugar - I highly recommend using fine grain sugar, so it dissolves quicker. And yet, if regular thick sugar is all you have, use it.
• Butter - I like using unsalted butter. Since butter is a key ingredient it is highly recommended that you use good quality butter. And if salted butter is all you have, go ahead and use it but omit any additional salt in the recipe.
• Starch - This helps thicken the vanilla pastry cream. Usually, we use only cornstarch.. But using just a little flour makes a thicker custard, and eventually, a more stable buttercream. And if you don't have cornstarch a good substitute would be pudding mix, arrowroot powder, or tapioca powder.
• Flavoring - Vanilla is always my first flavor of choice. It's highly recommended the scrapings of a vanilla bean. But you can also add vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract, or vanilla sugar instead.

Easy German buttercream frosting

Pastry cream

• In a heavy bottom saucepan, combine egg yolks, sugar, salt, and cornstarch with a whisk. Scrape the vanilla bean and add it in (or add vanilla bean paste).
  Pro tip - The egg mixture will appear dry at first but it will cream as you continue to combine.
• Next, gently pour the whipping cream over, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, followed by the milk.
  Pro tip - Make sure to scrape the sides of the pan to get any dry cornstarch pockets.

• Then, place the saucepan over medium-low heat and simmer, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil. The custard is done when it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Once the custard (pastry cream) is ready, remove it from heat.
  Pro tip - It is important not to rush this process as we want the cornstarch to be cooked. Otherwise, the mixture will thicken but taste starchy.

• Strain the custard into a clean bowl. And cover with plastic wrap making sure the plastic touches the top surface to prevent skin. Then, chill on the counter until room temperature.
  Pro tip - Straining will remove any curdled egg giving a smooth velvety texture to the cream.

Buttercream

• In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the pastry cream (custard) until it's light and fluffy with no lumps. Remove it from the bowl and set it aside.
  Pro tip - Making sure the pastry cream has no lumps now will ensure a smooth buttercream later. And if you find the pastry cream is too stiff, add a tablespoon of milk and continue to whip
• Using the same bowl of the stand mixer and the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light and fluffy (there is no need to clean the mixer bowl).
  Pro tip - Make sure the butter is well creamed and becomes light and fluffy. This will ensure we have no lumps and that we have a light and airy buttercream.
• Next, gradually add the cooled custard (pastry cream) and combine well. Followed by the vanilla extract or any other flavorings.
• Finally, whip for 3 minutes until you have a soft, creamy, buttery yet light, and fluffy buttercream.
  Pro tip - It is important that you whip the buttercream so it becomes light and fluffy. Otherwise, it will be too soft to pipe or frost on cakes.

Storage

• German buttercream is highly perishable and needs to be refrigerated because it contains eggs and milk.
• And yet, you can keep a cake frosted with GBC for a few hours (3 or 4 hrs) in good weather.
• In fact, it should be treated just like butter. If left out in high temperature or humidity it will melt like butter.
• Also, it can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4  days or frozen for up to 15 days.
• When frozen, it is best thawed in the fridge overnight.
• Then, whip with a paddle attachment for about five minutes to restore consistency.

Tips for success

• Pastry cream or custard base must be cooked until it's thick and coats the back of a spoon. If in doubt cook a minute longer 
• If  the pastry cream is overcooked the eggs will curdle so cook on low heat
• A thin consistency of pastry cream will result in a soft buttercream that will not be smooth, spreadable, or pipable. 
• Pastry cream that is too thick will result in lumps. The best way to take the lumps out is to use a whisk or better yet, place it in a stand mixer and give it a good whip with the whisk attachment. 
• If you find the pastry cream is too stiff add a tablespoon of milk and continue to whip
• Cover the top of the pastry cream well with plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming. If a skin forms, it will result in lumpy pastry cream and eventually lumpy buttercream.
• Cream buttercream until light and airy. To do this correctly, it is important that the butter is at room temperature but not too soft. Soft butter will cream but not be able to fluffy. 
• Whip the buttercream until it's light and airy. However, if you live in a warm place do not overdo this whipping as the butter will melt and result in a greasy frosting.
• You can adjust sweetness by simply adding a few tablespoons of powdered sugar to make it sweeter.

How to flavor German buttercream?

• Dark, milk, or white chocolate - Add 200 grams melted and cooled chocolate to 4 cups of GBC, and combine well.
• Caramel or salted caramel -Add 1 cup caramel sauce to 4 (to 6) cups of GBC. And for salted add a tablespoon of rock salt, and combine well.
• Butterscotch - Add 1 cup of butterscotch sauce to 4 (to 6) cups of GBC.
• Lemon - Add ¼ teaspoon lemon juice to 4 (or 6) cups of buttercream. You can also add up to ½ if you want a very lemony buttercream. And, 1 teaspoon of zest can also be added if you don't mind the zest in the buttercream. Also, ¼ teaspoon of lemon extract will enhance the flavor even more.
• Orange - Add ½ cup orange juice, and ¼ teaspoon orange extract to 4 (or 6) cups buttercream. Also, 1 teaspoon orange zest can be added too.
• Fruit flavors - blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, strawberry - Add 1 cup fruit puree to 4 (or 6) cups buttercream. I love adding a fruit filling instead, which makes it slightly sweeter, and yet, more vibrant in color. 
• Dulce de leche - Add 1 cup dulce de leche to 4 (6 cups) buttercream.
• Coffee or espresso - Dissolve 1 tablespoon coffee in ¼ cup hot water, or use ¼ cup espresso. Cool completely then add to 4 (or 6) cups of buttercream.
• Mocha - Add 200 grams of melted and cooled chocolate to 4 (or 6) cups of coffee GBC.
• Peanut butter - Add up to 2 cups of peanut butter to 4 (or 6) cups of buttercream.
• For more buttercream flavors and recipes check out my post. One Buttercream Recipe - Many Different Flavors 

Troubleshooting

• Buttercream separating/curdling - Do not beat buttercream while it is very chilled. The cold fat in the butter separates from the liquid and the emulsion you just created breaks. Ideally, you can just let the buttercream rest outside the fridge for a while until it's not hard. Or you can use a hairdryer to gently warm the outside of the bowl until you see the edges of the buttercream soften a bit. Then whip it with a paddle attachment.
• Coloring buttercream - Always use gel or powdered food colors for any buttercream. The food colors available at the grocery store are liquid-based and not suitable for cake decorating purposes. Hence, they will alter the consistency of your buttercream giving you a runny icing or sometimes even break the buttercream when you add too much

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Frequently asked questions

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