French-style buttercream with the Thermomix®: 1 vanilla pod, 300 g milk, 2 egg yolks, 30 g cornflour and 200 g butter. First make the vanilla custard, leave it to cool, then fold it into the whipped butter. 15 minutes, makes 20 servings, smooth and stable enough for layer cakes.
Buttercream with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 7 ✓
- 1 vanilla pod
- 40 g sugar
- 300 g milk
- 2 egg yolks
- 30 g cornflour
- 1 pinch salt
- 200 g butter
Instructions 0 / 5
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1
Make vanilla sugar.
Place the vanilla pod and sugar in the mixing bowl and pulverise for 10 seconds / speed 10.
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2
Mix the ingredients.
Add the milk, egg yolks, sugar, cornflour and salt to the mixing bowl, heat for 7 minutes / 90°C / speed 3, transfer to a bowl, cover airtight and leave to cool.
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3
Whip the butter.
Cut the butter into pieces, add to the mixing bowl and whip for 5 minutes / speed 4.
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4
Whip the butter further.
Continue whipping the butter for a further 5 minutes / speed 2, gradually adding the vanilla custard through the lid opening throughout.
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5
Whip with the butterfly whisk.
Insert the butterfly whisk and whip for 2 minutes / speed 2.
Tip: For a chocolate buttercream, add cocoa powder to the mixing bowl in the second step. You can also colour your buttercream. Simply mix in a little food colouring in the final step.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Why we choose the French method, not the German one
Dazu passt: Cleaning spray made in the Thermomix®.
The German buttercream uses 500 g milk, 100 g sugar, 1 whole egg and vanilla sugar. The result is a soft, very sweet cream with an artificial flavour. We make the French version with 300 g milk, 40 g sugar, 2 egg yolks and a whole vanilla pod ground directly in the mixing bowl. The result: noticeably less sweetness, a more intense real vanilla flavour and a firmer, more stable cream that will not collapse under fondant or on multi-tier cakes. Egg yolks rather than whole eggs bind the butter more cleanly, so the cream is less likely to split at the correct temperature than the German pudding version made with whole eggs.
Pulverise the vanilla pod with 40 g sugar: the base
Place 1 vanilla pod and 40 g sugar in the mixing bowl and pulverise for 10 seconds at speed 10. The Thermomix® grinds the entire pod, which gives a more intense flavour than scraping out the seeds alone. Then add 300 g milk, 2 egg yolks, 30 g cornflour and 1 pinch of salt and heat for 8 minutes at 90°C at speed 4. This produces a firm vanilla custard.
Leave the custard to cool completely. This is the most important step: warm custard would melt the butter and the cream will be runny rather than spreadable. It is best to cover the custard with cling film pressed directly onto the surface so that a skin does not form. Then refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Whip 200 g butter for 5 minutes at speed 4
Place 200 g soft butter (at room temperature) in the clean mixing bowl and whip for 5 minutes at speed 4. The butter really must be soft, otherwise lumps will remain in the cream. Then add the cooled vanilla custard spoonful by spoonful through the lid opening and mix in for a further 5 minutes at speed 2. Finally, insert the butterfly whisk and whip for 2 minutes at speed 2. This makes the cream light and airy.
The result: a smooth, spreadable buttercream without lumps. A silicone spatula lets you scrape every last bit out of the mixing bowl.
Why the butter must be at room temperature
Cold butter cannot be whipped to a foam and will not combine evenly with the custard. Butter that is too warm (above 22°C) turns greasy and the cream will split. The ideal temperature is 20 to 22°C. A good rule of thumb: the butter should give slightly when you press it but should not look shiny. We take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before whipping.
Chocolate, mocha, strawberry: 3 variations
- Chocolate buttercream: Stir in 100 g melted dark chocolate after the final whipping. Do not add it earlier or the cream will become too heavy.
- Mocha: Dissolve 2 tsp instant coffee powder in the warm milk before cooking the custard.
- Strawberry: Fold in 3 tbsp strawberry jam after whipping. Fresh strawberries work too but bring more moisture into the cream.
If you want to replace the sugar: xylitol, honey or maple syrup work as alternatives. With honey and maple syrup, reduce the amount of liquid in the custard slightly.
On cakes, cupcakes and under fondant: what the cream works for
French buttercream is more stable than a plain butter and icing sugar frosting and is therefore suitable for multi-tier cakes and as a base under fondant. A cake decorating set lets you pipe clean edges and decorations. The cream works well on lemon cake, cupcakes, strawberry cake or doughnuts.
1 week in the fridge, 3 months in the freezer
Stored covered in the fridge, the buttercream keeps for up to 1 week. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months. To use, thaw overnight in the fridge and then whip again for 2 minutes at speed 2 with the butterfly whisk. The cream will be spreadable again. If the cream is too firm after chilling: add 1 tbsp hot water and whip once more.
More on this topic: Usage tips and basics for every mixing bowl are in the Thermomix® guides section.
