French Buttercream

I thought... French Buttercream will taste heavy. Maybe heavier than Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

Not really. I actually enjoyed this more than SMBC. But too bad it's far less stable in our tropical room temperature. Light and smooth.....almost like ice cream. Melts quickly like ice cream too.. if the room is too warm.

The major difference of French Buttercream with Meringue Buttercreams is that the French method uses egg yolks and the meringue method uses egg whites. Hmm.... maybe that's why. Ice cream is made with egg yolks as well :-)

creamy creamy..... yummy!

To get a nice yellow hue, use beautifully golden yolks. Some butter are also more yellow than others. So, what colour it turns out to be, depends on what you used.

This recipe isn't as sweet as some other recipes, and I don't recommend you reduce the sugar any further.
And again... yellow is the colour I hate shooting.

French Buttercream

Reference: LtDan

100gm sugar
75ml water
4 large egg yolks (100gm), room temp
250gm unsalted butter, cold (Use SCS butter for a more yellow result)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

1. Cook water and sugar in a heavy based saucepan on medium heat. Gently stir the sugar until it melts and stop stirring. Lower the heat to medium low.
2. While the sugar syrup is simmering, cube the unsalted butter into about +/-10 pieces.
3. Place egg yolks into a heatproof bowl (not plastic) and wait until the syrup reaches around 108C. Beat the egg yolks with a handmixer at high speed
4. Cook the syrup until it reaches soft ball stage at 118C/235F. (I turn off the heat at 115C-116C and it will still rise)
5. Immediately pour the hot syrup into the egg yolks, beating it as you pour. (Use both hands efficiently)
6. Whisk the egg yolks until it is thick and pale, and forms ribbons as you lift up the beaters. If eggs are still warm, let it sit in a cool water bath.
7. Add in the butter (it should be 'dentable' and yet 'liftable' by now), gradually, beating well after each piece. Beat the buttercream until it is light and fluffy in texture. Add in vanilla extract if preferred.

Help:
*If the buttercream turns soupy after the first few cubes of butter, stop adding butter and stop beating. Let the yolk sit in a cool water bath (water with a few ice cubes, not cold, but cool), scrape the base with a silicon spatula once every 10 seconds.. Check the yolks and feel with your fingers and see if it's still warm. Continue adding butter and beat.

yolks beaten to the ribbon stage

it's more yellow in real life

I used the french buttercream to fill up my Sans Rival.