German Buttercream

UnderBaked

@under_baked
German Buttercream Recipe. I’m not a big fan of making and consuming buttercream, but sometimes it just goes so well with certain desserts. My all time favorite buttercream to make is German Buttercream which is a mix of a cooked custard and softened butter in a 1:1 ratio. It gets its sweetness from the custard which makes it nicely balanced. It is very versatile and a dream to pipe with! Here’s how to make it: Recipe yields about 680g of buttercream. 50g Eggs 242g Milk (split into 180g and 62g) 18g Cornstarch 50-80g White Granulated Sugar (depending on your sweet tooth) 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract 15g Unsalted Butter For the buttercream: 350g Softened Unsalted Butter (cubed) Preparation: 1. Into a small bowl, add the eggs and cornstarch and mix very well to combine and ensure there are no lumps. 2. Add the 62g of Milk and mix well to combine. 3. Into a small saucepan, and the 180g of Milk with sugar, and cook on medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and the milk simmers. 4. Gradually temper the eggs mixture with the hot milk by constantly whisking it to avoid cooking the eggs. 5. Pour the eggs mixture back into the saucepan through a fine strainer to get rid of any unwanted cooked egg bits. 6. Cook on medium heat whisking constantly making sure to scrape the sides of your pan, until you see large and thick bubbles rising to the surface. This should take 2-3 minutes. As soon as you see the bubbles, cook for some 1-2 more minutes. 7. Remove from heat and add in the butter and vanilla. Whisk them well to combine. 8. Transfer the batter to a clean bowl and cover it with plastic wrap that touches the surface of the custard to prevent a skin forming. Cool down to room temperature. 9. Using an electric mixer, beat the unsalted butter on high speed until it is light and fluffy. 10. Add the cooled custard gradually by the tablespoon and mix very well to combine. There is no risk of separation here, but we need to ensure the cream is uniform. 11. Store for up to 1 week refrigerated but recommended to use immediately. . . #bakingaesthetics #baketok #cozybaking #fypbaking #cottagecoreaesthetic #aestheticbaking #cottagecorebaking #buttercreamrecipe #germanbuttercream #recipevideo
♬ Echos in My Mind (Lofi) – Muspace Lofi

German Buttercream is one of the many different types of buttercreams out there. First, I have a confession to make- I love butter. However, I prefer dairy whipped cream over buttercream, no matter how many times people would try and shove it in my face. The unbelievable amounts of butter that goes into a buttercream, generally speaking, is making even myself, despite my deep love for butter, to feel a little bit disgusted.

Germany Buttercream is composed of a slightly more reasonable ratio of butter to other ingredients. A 1:1 ration between softened butter to pastry cream. The result is cream that is soft, smooth, not too cloyingly sweet and does not incorporate heaps and heaps of butter.

I am using buttercream as a filling for butter-based pound cake, and it is less compatible with more airy sponge cakes such as genoise. Either way, buttercream should be used occasionally in certain recipes, and I am sharing my recipe for the German Buttercream. I recommend watching the accompanying video for a visual demonstration of the process.

First published:

Last modified:

28 September 2023

2 March 2024

German Buttercream:

Recipe: About 680g of German Buttercream

For the pastry cream:

Ingredient	Amount (g / units)
Eggs	50g
Milk	242g
Cornstarch	18g
White Granulated Sugar (adjust sweetness level to your taste)	50-80g
Vanilla Extract	1 tbsp
Unsalted Butter	15g

For the buttercream:

Ingredient	Amount (g / units)
Pastry Cream	330g
Softened Unsalted Butter (Room Temperature)	350g

Preparation:

In a small bowl, whisk together 62g of the milk and cornstarch, until smooth and without any lumps. Add the eggs and whisk thoroughly to combine.
Into a small saucepan, and the 180g of Milk with sugar, and cook on medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and the milk simmers.
Gradually temper the eggs mixture with the hot milk by constantly whisking it to avoid cooking the eggs.
Pour the eggs mixture back into the saucepan through a fine strainer to get rid of any unwanted cooked egg bits.
Cook on medium heat whisking constantly making sure to scrape the sides of your pan, until you see large and thick bubbles rising to the surface. This should take 2-3 minutes. As soon as you see the bubbles, cook for some 1-2 more minutes.
Remove from heat and add in the butter and vanilla. Whisk them well to combine.
Transfer the batter to a clean bowl and cover it with plastic wrap that touches the surface of the custard to prevent a skin forming. Cool down to room temperature.
Using an electric mixer, or using a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the unsalted butter on medium-high speed until it is light and fluffy.
Add the cooled custard gradually by the tablespoon and mix very well to combine. There is no risk of separation here, but we need to ensure the cream is uniform.
Store for up to 1 week refrigerated in an airtight container, but recommended to use immediately.