- Merrill
Over the past several weeks -- thanks to a hyper-organized and highly efficient mother who believes in getting as much planning done as early as possible -- I've been immersed in all things wedding-related. With the caterer, dress and band taken care of, the most recent decision had to do with the cake. I didn't expect it to be a tough one, as it simply required finding someone who would agree to make the wedding cake I have always wanted: a plain butter cake, studded with wild Maine blueberries, and topped with swirls of cream cheese icing.
Thanks again to my mother, who always seems to know whom to call for these sorts of things, I got in touch with Diane at Maine Cakes and Cookies, whose specialty just happens to be -- you guessed it -- Wild Maine Blueberry Butter Cake. (Her custom-decorated butter cookies are pretty great too.) When I told Diane about my cream cheese icing idea, she explained that there are certain health issues that arise when cream cheese sits out for an extended period of time -- say, during a wedding. I adore cream cheese icing, but not enough to send my friends and family home with food poisoning as a wedding favor. So instead we're going with a Swiss meringue buttercream lightly flavored with almond, which I think sounds very promising.
All this talk of buttercream and weddings reminded me of the first (and only) wedding I ever catered -- for the brother of a good friend. The bride and groom-to-be wanted cupcakes instead of a majestic four-tiered affair, which took some of the heat off. But although I had a couple of excellent cake recipes under my belt, at the time I didn't have a go-to buttercream. So I paged through several of my cookbooks and finally stumbled across one of Julia Child's recipes that looked promising. I have never looked back.
This buttercream is as easy as pie to make, not too sweet, and it can be flavored in all sorts of ways. The egg yolks add a silkiness that's unbeatable, but if you're at all concerned about salmonella, you can opt to leave them out.
Butter Cream Icing
Adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Makes about 1 1/2 cups (enough to ice a single-layered 8" cake)
- 6 oz (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 egg yolks (from good quality eggs that have been refrigerated)
- 2/3 cup sifted confectioner's sugar
- 2 tablespoons kirsch, rum, orange liqueur, strong coffee or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract OR 2 ounces melted semisweet chocolate
Beat all of the ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer or with a hand beater for about 5 minutes at medium speed, until creamy and light. Chill until cold, but still spreadable, before using. Make sure to keep the cake refrigerated after you've iced it, and serve soon after removing from the fridge.
A New Way to Dinner, co-authored by Food52's founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, is an indispensable playbook for stress-free meal-planning (hint: cook foundational dishes on the weekend and mix and match ‘em through the week).
Order now
Written by: Food52
Popular on Food52
30 Comments
Happy wedding!!!
Coffee butter cream
1 cup of sugar
6 egg yolks
3/4 cup of warm milk (2%)
350 g. of cold butter (that’s a little over 3 sticks of butter); cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon of instant coffee dissolved in a little bit of water
1 pinch of cornstarch
Beat the egg yolks & the sugar until pale and fluffy, 10 minutes, add the instant coffee & a pinch of cornstarch. Then add the warm milk little by little, so as not to curdle the mixture.
Transfer the mixture to a pan and over medium-low heat, keep stirring until the mixture thickens, never letting it come to a boil. Test it with a wooden spoon: if the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon it is ready.
Once thick enough, take off the heat and keep beating it until the mixture is less hot (slightly warmer than room temperature).
Put the cream back into the stand mixer and add the butter one little piece at a time, as you would for a mayonnaise. The cream will thicken little by little.
See what other Food52 readers are saying.