The ultimate buttercream comparison (I tested 8 kinds)

*RECIPES 👇🏼*
My guide, with these graphs and explanations, along with recipes, is here:

*⏰ TIMESTAMPS:*
00:00 Introduction
01:38 The Buttercream Quiz - how it works
02:39 Begin the Buttercream Quiz!
02:40 American Dreamy Buttercream - method + results
04:06 Condensed Milk (Russian) Buttercream - method + results
04:59 French Buttercream - method + results
06:38 German Buttercream - method + results
08:24 Ermine (Cooked Flour) Buttercream - method + results
10:07 Cream Cheese Buttercream - method + results
11:32 Swiss meringue Buttercream - method + results
13:00 Italian meringue Buttercream - method + results
14:52 Heat and Humidity - how does it affect the buttercreams?
16:50 Final heat ratings for all buttercreams
17:15 What are the smoothest and most stable frostings?

*📝 RECIPES*

1. American Dreamy Buttercream

2. Condensed Milk (Russian) Buttercream

3. French Buttercream

4. German Buttercream

5. Ermine (cooked flour) Buttercream

6. Cream Cheese Buttercream (Butter Cream Cheese Frosting)

7. Swiss meringue Buttercream

8. Italian meringue Buttercream

✌🏼 SOCIALS
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Happy baking, friends ♥️
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[levynguyen]

For german buttercream I use instant pudding mix, learned this working in a german bakery. It's really quick and easy because you don't need eggs, no cooking nor waiting for the custard to cool and it still tastes great! Tip: use less milk than what's stated in the instructions to get a more stable buttercream. I usually reduce a quarter, sometimes by half when it has to stay out for a long time or in hot weather

Recipe if your pudding mix calls for 500ml milk:
2 packages of instant vanilla pudding about 90 - 120g (already sweetened), 1L milk, 300g - 500g butter (the amount is really up to you how buttery you like it)

[ap]

Only ppl who truly love baking would understand & appreciate the GENIUS creation that is your buttercream chart. So brilliant and helpful 🤗

[vittoriabakes]

I do my ermine a bit differently than how you did it, and it's my go-to! Super stable, fluffy and light. (And smooths on cakes great!)
Mix the milk (120g), flour (20g), and sugar (75g — can be adjusted for sweetness) in the saucepan, heat on med-hi, stirring constantly until it starts to thicken. Turn the heat to med-low and cook, stirring constantly, for another minute. Mix in vanilla or flavoring. Cover with plastic wrap and cool completely.

Whip 2 sticks (226g) butter until light and fluffy, then add in paste a spoonful at a time. Whip to heart's content. If you get any big air bubbles (I usually get minimal), take a spatula and run it through to mix, pressing the spatula down to get out any bubbles.

[mirinewcome]

Would you consider doing a similar study with margarine or other non-dairy fats? I'm guessing margarines vary in water content which could be a real challenge. I especially enjoyed the stability/cake sauna test. That seems to be the cake-iest season for me.

[jessicac.]

Oh how i love you. This is way more info than I picked up in food science college classes. I have been contemplating doing a weeks worth of frosting testing that you just did for me, and more. THANK YOU.

I am providing 200 cupcakes & a cake for a friend’s wedding next year. The problem is, i’ve only ever made American BC & a “mock” SMBC (whip up a box of pasteurized egg whites — see Bake My Day Mimo). I have used the Italian meringue method for macarons before & loved it, so I’ve been wanting to try that method for frosting.

Speaking of which, have you ever tried Italian vs French macarons? Do you have a preference? 😊

[thunderdragon]

FYI you absolutely can do a cream cheese ermine. I did it for a 10in tall wedding cake and it was incredibly stable and survived a summer wedding (at least 1-2hrs in the sun). It does have the issue of smoothing due to the gel like texture like you mentioned in your video but if you do a rustic cake you can get away with the texture not being perfectly smooth. Because of the stability, I was able to add more lemon juice and cream cheese to the recipe than your Cream Cheese Buttercream recipe and it had a much more satisfying cream cheese flavor (similar to American Cream Cheese frosting) while maintaining stability.

[ClarkRahman]

Gotta say it, this YouTuber has their $h*t together. Very clear explanations, to the point, thoughtful, enough personality and human touch to keep it relatable. Keep at it!

[papeya]

This is the comparison I've been looking for everywhere thank you so much!!!
As a side note from a German gal: We usually make our Buttercreme with vanilla pudding mix that we cook with half the amount of milk as stated on the package :) Makes the process a whole lot easier, though I admit it could be tastier to do it from scratch

[Imamotherfreakingavocado]

Man, and here I've been all this time just mixing icing sugar and butter together and calling it a day 💀

[kriSSyja]

I live in Jamaica, so the heat and humidity test was incredibly helpful, thanks to you I''l be using an Ermine frosting on my next cake!!

[erikharrison]

That the starch based emulsion resisted temp and humidity longer makes sense - even if the butter begins to break, the starch holds the separating fat and water in emulsion, and the ermine's low sugar makes it the least hydroscopic. Wonderful video!

[jessie]

Italian meringue buttercream is my go to for cakes when I’m in Florida. That southern humidity and heat hasn’t melted a cake yet!

[aritin]

You are the first person on YT I’ve seen who uses whole eggs for French! I learned this from a pastry chef local to my area, but every time I suggest doing this to others, I always get “that’s not French buttercream” lol.

My question is: how much can you push the lower boundary for sugar in these buttercreams? Would love a video on this, since you seem to also prefer not-so-sweet ones :)

[Soph]

As a casual home baker and prior to this video, I was not aware of all these different buttercreams! This was so informative and fun to watch, thank you!

[Maharetsamarasuke]

In my country (in Latin America tropical climate) lots of cakes are frosted in Italian meringue as a standard, I believe the resistance to humidity and heat are a factor.

[leopfleger]

Thanks for the video. It’s always helpful to have an overview over all possible options. :)
One amazing thing I want to mention about German buttercream is that you can make ones with amaaaazing punchy flavours by just swapping the pastry cream for a pudding of any flavour you like. I once made a raspberry pudding using raspberry purée instead of milk and used that instead and it was incredible. So full of real fruit flavour. Since it’s cooked/stabilised it doesn’t change the texture whatsoever and you can also adjust the amount of sugar you use because it’s structural integrity doesn’t rely on it. ☺️

[katzekarlo]

Here in Germany we don't make custard cream, because in our supermarkets their are instant "Pudding by dr. Oetker" - packets. So it's really ezy :)

[hayleyp]

Please do a comparison of cake fillings: custard, mouse, pastry cream, cremeaux, etc. comparing taste and when to use each in layer cakes.
Thanks for the informative videos

[CopenhagenDreaming]

I love the lateral thinking of "I could use a terrarium as a controlled test environment!"...

Also: informative and accessible video that's quite helpful. Thank you.

[nathanong]

I've never needed to make a buttercream but I'm definitely vibing this person's methodical approach to figuring all of this out