brown sugar buttercream
MAKES ABOUT 5 CUPS
- 5 egg whites
- 1 ¼ cups packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 pound (16 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- Place the egg whites in a large mixer bowl and set aside.
- In a heavy medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Then bring to a boil and cook without stirring until the syrup reaches the soft-ball stage, 238 degrees F on a candy thermometer.
- Begin beating the egg whites with the electric mixer set on medium-low speed. Gradually pour in the sugar syrup in a slow, steady stream, taking care not to hit the beaters. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat until the meringue cools to body temperature.
- With the mixer on medium-low, add the butter 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time. When all the butter has been added, raise the speed to medium and beat until the frosting almost appears to separate. Continue beating, and it will suddenly come together, looking like smooth whipped butter.
- • The reason Dutch process cocoa is not used in this recipe is that a devil’s food cake is traditionally redder than black, and alkalized cocoa yields a blacker color.
- • Keep in mind that a seven-minute frosting does not do well in high humidity. Meringue is extremely hard to make in summer. Also, it does not hold up as well as other frostings and is best eaten the day it is made.
- • Refrigerating a cake frosted with a meringue is not a good idea. The cake will firm up, making it harder to cut while the meringue will remain soft, so the layers will slide apart.
- • If you choose the buttercream frosting, the cake can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Just be sure to let the dessert return to room temperature before serving, 1 ½ to 2 hours; otherwise the frosting will be too heavy.