Italian Meringue Boiled Icing (7 Minute Frosting) | Baked Bree (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between plain boiled icing and Italian meringue? ›

-Plain boiled icing is essentially Italian meringue. It can only be used on the day you're serving the cake, but makes a pillowy white cake covering. Great for: red velvet cake, wedding cakes and cupcakes.

If you notice that your icing isn't as thick and fluffy as you would like it to be, you may have over beaten the egg whites. You can attempt to stabilize and thicken the boiled frosting by mixing in 1/4 teaspoon of meringue powder on medium-high speed for 1 to 2 minutes.

Storing Boiled Frosting

When storing the frosting, be sure to cover it tightly; and then refrigerate. If it is not stored airtight it will begin to set. Once the boiled frosting has been spread on the cake, it can be stored at room temperature, but refrigerating it will help keep the frosting soft and fluffy longer.

Because of the high butter content, Italian Meringue Buttercream becomes quite firm when chilled. If you make it ahead of time, which I often do, I've included instructions for reconstituting it to its proper creamy, spreadable state at the end of the recipe.

Swiss meringue buttercream is probably the most standard buttercream for pastry professionals. It is incredibly smooth, making it an extremely popular choice for icing cakes. Compared to American buttercream, it has a much stronger butter flavor, but is considerably less sweet.

It will stay firm for a long period of time, which is why royal icing is the most popular choice for destination weddings, or for long periods of travel. Royal icing is also pure white in colour, making it perfect for the all-white wedding cake, or a great blank canvas to colour!

After seasoning and flavoring, use the frosting right away and serve the cake as soon as you can. Seven-minute frosting's advantage is that it's fast, not long-lasting. It doesn't hold for much longer than 24 hours at cool room temperature. And no, refrigeration won't help.

Boiled frosting

Pros: This icing comes together very quickly, hence one of its names. It's the brightest white of all the cake frostings and typically retains a glossy finish. It's relatively stable in warmer weather, but humidity will soften it. Cons: Boiled frosting needs to be used immediately and can't be stored.

Should you refrigerate a cake with 7-Minute Frosting? - It is always best to refrigerate cakes with a frosting that contains eggs, egg whites, whipped cream, or milk. Since 7-Minute Frosting contains egg whites, yes, a cake frosted with it should be stored in the refrigerator.

Using a pastry brush, wipe the side of the top of the double boiler with water to prevent crystals from forming and the icing from becoming grainy.

Why is my 7 minute frosting runny? ›

If the mixture has not been sufficiently heated, the network isn't as stable and will eventually break down, turning the icing runny. To ensure that your icing lasts as long as the cake, make sure to stick your thermometer deep into the center of the egg white mixture.

Adding the cornstarch

If your finished frosting is too runny, per LeafTV, you can combine cornstarch with one or two tablespoons of milk before adding it to the frosting to thicken the whole thing up.

Italian Meringue Buttercream can be made in advance and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you don't plan on using the buttercream or have leftovers, it refrigerates and freezes very well. If you do chill the buttercream, give it time to return to room temperature and re-whip it before you use it.

Beating the Egg Whites for Too Long

One of the most common mistakes is not beating the eggs long enough, or on too slow a speed, which means the egg whites won't reach stiff peak stage and instead only reach a soggy droopy stage.

Both the Italian and Swiss buttercream follow a similar process. These buttercreams are the most reliable to withstand warm temperatures; that said, you should do your best to keep your frosted baked good in a relatively cool place for as long as possible before serving.

People love Italian meringue buttercream because it is the most stable of all the buttercreams and it is also the least sweet. So if you live in warm environments like Florida, California or Texas, Italian meringue is going to work very well for you.

After: Swiss Buttercream (left); Italian Buttercream (right). The full force of a hot hairdryer doesn't do either frosting any favors, but the Italian holds up better than its counterpart. The meringue in Italian Buttercream is cooked to a higher temperature, which gives the frosting a sturdier structure.

Fondant is often the most costly of wedding cake frosting options, so if you're trying to find ways to save, a fondant cake might not be your best bet.

Ganache. Ganache is a favorite of chocolate lovers, since it's simply melted chocolate mixed with heavy cream. Topping your baked goods with this frosting creates a shiny coating that is loved by bakers worldwide.

What is the most common icing used in special occasion cakes? ›

Buttercream is the most popular type of frosting largely because of its few ingredients and easy application. Classic buttercream requires beating butter into icing sugar until you reach a frosting consistency. It's not possible to over beat this type of frosting, so the longer you beat fluffier it gets.

It's always best to use seven-minute icing as soon as it's made and cooled, when it's at its smoothest and most malleable. Still, it can be refrigerated for a day or so if necessary.

How do you store 7 minute frosting? This frosting is safe to store at room temperature for one day. Anytime after that and you should refrigerate it.

Yes. Swiss meringue buttercream is great left covered at room temperature for 1-2 days, but after that, refrigerate it for up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months. If freezing, store in an airtight container, then thaw it at room temperature on the counter.

Frosting has split.

If your buttercream frosting has split that will be due to it being too hot or too cold. The same goes for your cream cheese frosting, except cream cheese frosting will split much quicker if overbeaten. If it is too hot or too cool you can help matters by cooling or warming the mixture gently.

Buttercream frosting is known to be super smooth and, well, creamy. And this texture is reliant on the smooth blending of confectioners' sugar — which is a fine powder — and the butter. If you replace it with granulated sugar, which as the name suggests, is grainy, you will end up with an unappetizing, gritty frosting.

First, boiled icings is a generic term for a group of cake icings (aka frostings) that are “boiled”; more accurately, made usually from a hot sugar syrup, and / or cooked over a double boiler.

After seasoning and flavoring, use the frosting right away and serve the cake as soon as you can. Seven-minute frosting's advantage is that it's fast, not long-lasting. It doesn't hold for much longer than 24 hours at cool room temperature. And no, refrigeration won't help.

Extract. 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract works with any flavor and will turn up the volume on any other addition. Other options include lemon, almond, orange, peppermint, or any extract that goes with the frosting or the cake.

"Prepare, bake, and cool the cake completely. Then, wrap each cake layer in cling film, nice and tight, and place in the fridge for at least two hours," he says. That's right, you won't be frosting your cake at room temperature; a chilled cake is essential before applying any frosting. "This step is the most important.

Is Italian or Swiss buttercream better? ›

Swiss meringue buttercream frosting is very similar to Italian meringue buttercream in that they both use egg whites. Swiss is preferred by many bakers because it doesn't use the hot sugar syrup and the egg whites are heated to 160 F in a double boiler to remove any salmonella risk.

Cream cheese and butter are beaten together, liquid (milk, liqueur) is added and beaten in, then confectioners' sugar is added, with flavoring at end, such as vanilla extract. Cream cheese frostings get really soft quickly after you take them out of the fridge.

Add powdered sugar

If the frosting has not reached your desired thickness after chilling, add a few tablespoons of sifted powdered sugar to help your buttercream stiffen.

Weather and humidity can have various effects on making Seven Minute Frosting. Your room should be cool and not overly warm or hot and, a dry day is better than a humid or rainy day. You can use Seven Minute Frosting between layers or, just as a frosting for the outside of your cake or cupcakes.

So, whether your buttercream is a veritable soup or just a touch runny, the answer is to cool it down. If the buttercream is thin enough to run off a spoon, refrigerate the whole bowl for 20 minutes, just until the frosting begins to harden around the edges.

To create a stiff consistency buttercream, add powdered sugar to your batch of buttercream, 2-3 Tablespoons at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. You can add as much powdered sugar as you'd like depending on how thick you want the buttercream.

The frosting will thicken significantly in the fridge and may become too difficult to work with. To soften, let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. This cream cheese frosting can be used with the following recipes: Vanilla Cake.

If your frosting appears chunky or curdled, it's over-whipped. To fix, stir 1 Tablespoon of heavy cream into the frosting by hand to smooth out again. Use more heavy cream if needed to smooth out. Use it: After you make the whipped frosting, it's ready to frost your cupcakes, cake, or other confections.

If the buttercream looks curdled or runny, the butter has melted because the meringue is too warm. Place the mixing bowl in the refrigerator for about 15 to 20 minutes, then return to beating until the buttercream is smooth.

Don't Overbeat!

If egg whites are whipped for too long they will eventually collapse because it has a curdling effect on the egg protein. To avoid over-whipping, keep your mixer at medium-high speed, rather than going full speed ahead.

What can go wrong with Italian meringue? ›

Undercooked sugar will make an Italian meringue weep. If you're eyeballing it, it helps to have a glass of cold water nearby. Make sure that the sugar forms a soft ball when dropped into the water. However, using a candy thermometer is a much more reliable way to get consistently good results.

No Fail Italian Meringue can be made ahead of time and stored in a piping bag or covered bowl. In the refrigerator covered for up to five days. At room temperature covered for up to three days.

Because there is relatively low moisture in the buttercream, and high sugar content, Italian Meringue Buttercream can be held at cool room temperature for up to a day. After 1 day the buttercream should be refrigerated for 3-4 days or frozen for up to a month.

Marshmallow Creme--a.k.a. Italian meringue, sold commercially as MallowCream and Marshmallow Fluff--is a household favorite in fudge candy and Fluffernutter sandwiches.

Over whip the egg whites and you risk making them too firm and they will risk losing the moisture that they hold. This will affect your meringue's crispness, as well as making it more likely to collapse or weep beads of sugar. As my meringue guru Gary Mehigan advises: “If you over whip the egg whites you cannot fix it.

What you don't want is your syrup to overcook because your egg whites haven't reached stiff peaks yet. Instead, the egg whites can reach stiff peaks a bit early. Once they reach stiff peaks, just go ahead and turn down the mixer speed down to low so that they don't over-whip.

For smooth, stiff beaten egg whites that keep their shape, don't skip the cream of tartar. If you don't have cream of tartar, substituting 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar per egg white works almost as well. To avoid meringues that weep, don't skip the cream of tartar...

Meringues are made by whipping egg whites with sugar into a light and airy consistency. Royal icing uses the exact same ingredients and processes, so is in fact a meringue. So why does it behave so differently? That is mostly due to the very high sugar content.

Italian Meringue is the most stable of the three because it requires hot sugar syrup to be drizzled into whipped egg whites, so you get beautiful, fluffy peaks. It'll be satiny in texture and yield tall, proud peaks when you frost cakes or pipe it onto a tart or pie, or make it into a quick meringue buttercream.

The Italian meringue is the most stable type of meringue so it is sometimes favoured over using a French meringue, it is stable because the melted sugar cooks the egg whites, resulting in a soft, glossy finish. It is most often used for piping on top of pastries and desserts because it holds its shape so well.

What are the three rules for making a successful meringue? ›

Use eggs at room temperature. Cold egg whites tend to reduce meringue volume. Never let any yolk get into the whites. Don't overbeat egg whites.

The most elaborate of the meringues, La Cucina Italiana explains that Italian meringue is the most stable meringue thanks to its complex preparation that involves rapidly whisking together egg whites as warm sugar syrup is drizzled in.

While sugar helps stabilize those whipped egg whites as you beat more air into it, there's still a risk of collapse. Cream of tartar is an added safeguard; it gives more stability to that foam structure, therefore setting up your meringue for success.

Italian Meringue

Italian meringue is generally considered to be the most stable of the meringues (which makes it suitable for making frosting too), but also, the most difficult to make of the three meringue types.

The most stable type of meringue is the Italian style, which is made by beating egg whites to firm peaks, then slowly whisking in hot sugar syrup to produce a dense meringue with a satiny texture that can be used as-is to top cakes and pies, or as a base for buttercream frosting.

Italian meringue is the most stable type of meringue as the melted sugar cooks the egg whites, resulting in a soft, glossy finish that doesn't need to be baked in the oven.

What is this? Italian meringue buttercream frosting is sweeter than French or Swiss, but not as sweet as American. To prepare it, pour a hot sugar syrup over whipped egg whites and whip until the mixture cools off. Then, add in butter one tablespoon at a time, beating until you have an airy frosting.

What Does Italian Buttercream Taste Like? Because of its high butter content, Italian meringue frosting is rich and creamy in flavor. It's not nearly as sweet as traditional buttercream frosting, but has a smooth, buttery flavor – perfect for pairing with a rich chocolate cake!

It should be shiny and stiff. Allow to cool completely before using. Cover with clingfilm until ready to use. Italian meringue can be stored in the fridge for up to two days.