This German buttercream is silky smooth and buttery with the taste of vanilla pastry cream. My no-fail recipe with step-by-step picture tutorial is all you are ever going to need to make this perfect custard buttercream every single time. Frost it on cakes, pipe it over cupcakes, or fill it in macarons and other desserts. And with tips, tricks, and troubleshooting this buttercream is one of the easiest to make.
Have you ever been in a mood for a good buttercream other than sweet American buttercream? And yet you don't want to go thru the fuss of boiling sugar syrup with a thermometer or using a double boiler to cook eggs and egg whites? So what buttercream can you still make? A German buttercream!
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 an Italian meringue, Swiss meringue or French buttercream. Because there is no boiling syrup, no cooking eggs and sugar over a double boiler. This is pretty straight forward. You prepare vanilla pastry cream and then whip it into butter to make this wonderful silky smooth, rich and glorious buttercream.
Now, I must warn you though. This is highly addictive and you can eat it by the spoonfuls. As a rule of thumb in my kitchen, we make more. I once had to make a second batch for my cake order because the kids could not get enough.
What is the difference between French (FBC) and German buttercream (GBC)?
Well, both FBC and GBC are egg-yolk based buttercreams or custard based buttercream. The difference between the two is in the method we use. In French buttercream, we use the method of boiling sugar syrup to 240 F then pour it over whipping eggs. While in a German buttercream, we first make the vanilla pastry cream using egg yolks and then combine it with butter whipping it until we have a luscious buttercream.
So if you don't have a candy thermometer I highly recommend you make this German Buttercream, not a French Buttercream. Again it's similar buttercream just a different process.
How do you make perfect German buttercream?
While this may look complicated it’s actually quite simple. And I explain it in detail below with progress pictures for you to follow. In addition, here is the process at a glance.
- Prepare vanilla pastry cream (custard).
- Cool the pastry cream completely in the fridge.
- Cream the butter.
- Add cooled pastry cream.
- Whip some more.
- Add flavoring.
Can I make an eggless German buttercream?
A request for eggless French or German buttercream is often surprising because both FBC and GBC are made with egg yolks. Both are custard based buttercreams. So how?
Well, you can't make a French buttercream eggless, and yet you can still have eggless custard-based buttercream. All you do is make this German Buttercream using eggless vanilla pastry cream instead of classic vanilla pastry cream. Voila! Now you have an eggless French or German aka custard-based buttercream.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Eggs - A German buttercream is ideally made with all egg yolks. Use large fresh eggs to prevent any eggy taste in the vanilla pastry cream.
- Sugar - I highly recommend using a fine grain sugar, so it dissolves quicker in the egg whites. And yet, if regular thick sugar is all you have, mix it on the double boiler a litter longer.
- Butter - I like using unsalted butter. Since butter is a key ingredient it is highly recommended that you use good quality butter. If salted butter is all you have, go ahead and use it but omit any additional salt in the recipe.
- Cornstarch - This helps thicken the vanilla pastry cream. It is not optional. And if you don't have cornstarch a good substitute would be arrowroot powder or tapioca powder.
- Flavoring - Vanilla is always my first flavor of choice. It's highly recommended to use the scrapings of a vanilla bean for the best flavor but you can also add vanilla bean paste instead. You can also add any other flavoring in combination with the vanilla.
Step by step instructions (pin)
Vanilla pastry cream
- In a heavy-bottom saucepan, combine egg yolks and sugar.
- Add the cornstarch – combine well with a whisk.
- Then add the salt and vanilla.
- Followed by the milk.
- Place it on medium heat and stir continuously until thick and creamy.
- Strain in a bowl through a sieve and cover with plastic wrap making sure the plastic touches the top surface of the cream.
- Let cool completely. Then, place in the fridge to chill.
Buttercream
- Cream the pastry cream with a whisk to ensure no lumps - set aside.
- Cream the butter in a mixer bowl with the paddle attachment.
- This is an important process of making this buttercream so it is important that you cream this butter until light and fluffy (3 to 4 minutes).
- Then gradually add the cooled pastry cream and combine well.
- Add any other flavoring or additions (see flavor options below).
- Again whip for 3 to 5 minutes until you have a soft, creamy, buttery yet light and fluffy buttercream.
Storage
- German buttercream is highly perishable and needs to be refrigerated because it contains eggs and milk.
- You can keep a cake frosted with GBC for a few hours (3 or 4 hrs) in good weather.
- It should be treated just like butter. If left out in high temperature or humidity it will melt like butter.
- It can be kept refrigerated for up to 3 to 4 days or frozen for up to 15 days
- When frozen it is best thawed in the fridge overnight.
- Whip with a paddle attachment for about five minutes to restore consistency.
Frequently asked questions
German buttercream is highly perishable and needs to be refrigerated because it contains eggs and milk. You can keep a cake frosted with GBC for a few hours (3 or 4 hrs) in good weather. It should be treated just like butter. If left out in high temperature or humidity it will melt like butter. It can be kept refrigerated for up to 3 to 4 days or frozen for up to 15 days. When frozen it is best thawed in the fridge overnight. Whip with a paddle attachment for about five minutes to restore consistency.
Yes, absolutely. One of my favorite buttercream to use under fondant is a meringue-based buttercream either Swiss or Italian as well as French or German. The trick to covering an IMBC, SMBC, FBC or GBC covered cake with fondant is to make sure you chill the cake really well, more than a few hours. I love to keep my cakes overnight so when it's ready for fondant its' chilled thru and thru given me a nice firm surface to work with.
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 hair dryer 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.
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
Can I make an eggless German buttercream?
A request for eggless French or German buttercream is often surprising because both FBC and GBC are made with egg yolks. Both are custard based buttercreams. So how?
Well, you can't make a French buttercream eggless, and yet you can still have eggless custard-based buttercream. All you do is make this German Buttercream using eggless vanilla pastry cream instead of classic vanilla pastry cream. Voila! Now you have an eggless French or German aka custard-based buttercream.
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German Buttercream Recipe No-Fail Recipe
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Ingredients
Makes enough for 2 x 8 inch round cakes or 24 cupcakes
- 6 large Egg yolks
- ¾ cup (150 g) White sugar
- 4 tbsp Cornstarch
- 2 cups (470 ml) Whole milk
- 1 med Vanilla bean vanilla bean paste
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 lb (1.00 lb) Unsalted butter (4 sticks) room temperature
Instructions
Vanilla pastry cream
- In a heavy-bottom saucepan, combine egg yolks and sugar.
- Add the cornstarch – combine well with a whisk.
- Then add the salt and vanilla.
- Followed by the milk.
- Place it on medium heat and stir continuously until thick and creamy.
- Strain in a bowl through a sieve and cover with plastic wrap making sure the plastic touches the top surface of the cream.
- Let cool completely. Then, place in the fridge to chill.
Buttercream
- Cream the pastry cream with a whisk to ensure no lumps - set aside.
- Cream the butter in a mixer bowl with the paddle attachment.
- This is an important process of making this buttercream so it is important that you cream this butter until light and fluffy (3 to 4 minutes).
- Then gradually add the cooled pastry cream and combine well.
- Add any other flavoring or additions (see flavor options below).
- Again whip for 3 to 5 minutes until you have a soft, creamy, buttery yet light and fluffy buttercream.
Recipe Notes
- Pastry cream must be cooked until its 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 pastry cream will result is 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 in a stand mixer and give it a good whip.
- 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 a skin. If a skin forms, it will result in grainy pastry cream and eventually a grainy buttercream.
- Cream buttercream until light and airy. To do this correctly, it is important that the butter is room temperature but not too soft. Soft butter will cream but not be able to fluffy. So keep it firm room temperature.
- Add pastry cream that is already smooth to the butter - so take a whisk and give it a good whip before you start adding it to the buttercream gradually.
- If you add a lumpy pastry cream to the butter you will get a grainy buttercream. The grains will become smaller but never go away.
- Whip the buttercream until it's light and airy. If you live in a warm place do not overdo this as the butter will melt and result in a greasy frosting.
Storage
- German buttercream is highly perishable and needs to be refrigerated because it contains eggs and milk.
- You can keep a cake frosted with GBC for a few hours (3 or 4 hrs) in good weather.
- It should be treated just like butter. If left out in high temperature or humidity it will melt like butter.
- It can be kept refrigerated for up to 3 to 4 days or frozen for up to 15 days
- When frozen it is best thawed in the fridge overnight.
- Whip with a paddle attachment for about five minutes to restore consistency.
More buttercream flavors you can create from this basic German buttercream (GBC) recipe
- 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 tbsp of rock salt, and combine well.
- Butterscotch - Add 1 cup butterscotch sauce to 4 (to 6) cups of GBC.
- Lemon - Add ¼ tsp lemon juice to 4 (or 6) cups buttercream. You can also add up to ½ if you want a very lemony buttercream. And, 1 tsp of zest can also be added if you don't mind the zest in the buttercream. Also, ¼ tsp lemon extract will enhance the flavor even more.
- Orange - Add ½ cup orange juice, ¼ tsp orange extract to 4 (or 6) cups buttercream. Also, 1 tsp orange zest can be added too.
- Fruit flavors - blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, strawberry - Add 1 cup fruit puree to 4 (or 6) cups buttercream. And, I love adding a fruit filling instead, which makes it slightly sweeter, and yet also more rich and vibrant in color.
- Dulce de leche - Add 1 cup dulce de leche to 4 (6 cups) buttercream.
- Coffee or espresso - Dissolve 1 tbsp coffee in ¼ cup hot water, or use ¼ cup espresso. Cool completely then add to 4 (or 6) cups buttercream.
- Mocha - Add 200 grams melted and cooled chocolate to 4 (or 6) cups coffee GBC.
- Peanut butter - Add up to 2 cups of peanut butter to 4 (or 6) cups buttercream.
- For more buttercream flavors and recipes check out my post. One Buttercream Recipe - Many Different Flavors
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Mercia
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