French Buttercream

3/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1/2 cup cold water
Combine ingredients in mixer until dissolved
Add - 2 cups Crisco (or) Sweetex shortening, *See Note following recipe

Combine and mix ingredients until fluffy, add;

1 teaspoon salt
1 heaping tablespoon Meringue powder *See Note
2 teaspoons butter/vanilla (or) flavor of choice
Mix until fluffy;

Add 2-1/2 pounds sifted powdered sugar. Mix 5 minutes
Add - 1/4 to 1/3 cup water at end of first mixing.

Continue to mix on low to medium speed, 8 to 10 minutes until fluffy. (If icing is too thin, add extra sifted powdered sugar)

*Note - Sweetex Shortening & Meringue Powder may be found at a bakery supply store.

Source: http://confectionarychalet.com/recipes02.shtml

Buttercream Icing I (Peggy Weaver)

(My favorite version for decorating)

Makes about 3 ½ pounds

2 sticks butter, room temperature
2 cups Crisco shortening
1 teaspoon butter flavoring (Wilton’s makes the best flavored version)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I use Wilton’s Clear Vanilla)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 pounds powdered (confectioners) cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon meringue powder (optional but the texture will be smoother)*
Water as necessary (I usually add about 2 tablespoons but you may need more or less depending on the humidity in your neighborhood)

* You can purchase meringue powder at your local grocery store under the brand name of Just Whites. This isn't exactly true--meringue powder has other things add to it, whereas Just Whites is only dried egg whites.

In the mixer, mix butter, Crisco shortening, and salt together to incorporate, about 5 minutes on low.

Add almond, butter and vanilla extracts. Mix together well. Add about 1 pound of powdered sugar and the meringue powder and mix.

Add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar at a time and mix until you get the consistency you want.

Add a little milk, a teaspoon at a time, if necessary to thin the frosting. Blend well on low for several minutes.

Use immediately or cover and refrigerate. NOTE: Buttercream Icing will last for weeks as long as it is well sealed.

This icing is used for icing cakes and cookies as well as for borders and art work on cakes. It also makes a good tasting filling between layers of the cake and under a Fondant Icing.

You can make roses, but the drying time is 3 or more days depending on the humidity.

Source: http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/ButtercreamIcing.htm

Anyfranko's Granulated Sugar Buttercream

I've rewritten this so that it's easier to read and use.

1 cp milk

3 T cornstarch

1 stick margarine

1/3 cp white Crisco

3/4 cp granulated sugar

1 tsp almond extract (or desired flavorings

Stir cornstarch into milk. Cook this mixture on medium heat till thick. Cover with saran wrap by pressing onto top so it does not form a skin and chill.

Cream margarine and Crisco, then add sugar and cold milk mixture. Beat about 10 minutes and then add flavorings.

http://www.wilton.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=7&threadid=115103&FTVAR_MSGDBTABLE=

Buttercream Icing For Cake Decorating from Rumela's Web

1 heaping c. nonfat dry powdered milk
1/2 c. cool tap water

2 c. solid Crisco shortening
2 tbsp. meringue powder
1/2 tsp. almond (must be clear
flavoring for really white
frosting)
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla (must be clear
flavoring for really white
frosting)

2 to 2 1/2 lbs. confectioners sugar
(sift if lumpy)

Beat for 5 minutes. Store airtight in the refrigerator. Keeps for months. If you want chocolate (or brown) frosting, add cocoa to taste.

http://rumela.com/recipe/cont_butt_ici_155133.htm

Buttercream Dream Icing

1 stick salted butter - room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter - room temperature
1 cup shortening
1 tablespoon Clear Vanilla extract
2 pounds confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar, 10x)
4-6 tablespoons very cold milk

Cream the butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add the clear vanilla extract and combine well. Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, begin adding the very cold milk... one tablespoon at a time, combining very well after each addition (mixer on medium-high to high speed) until you reach the desired consistency.

Source: http://www.therepressedpastrychef.com/home/2008/5/19/buttercream-icing.html

Site contains tutorial in words and pictures.

McCall's Buttercream

from The McCall’s School
shared by Claudia Butler

2 ¼ cups granulated sugar
5 ¾ fluid ounces water
5 ¾ fluid ounces egg whites (room temperature)
1 ¼ cups unsalted butter (room temperature)
3 cups shortening
2 tsp. Vanilla
YIELD: 12 cups

Place egg whites into large mixer bowl. Place sugar and water into a saucepan and bring to rolling boil. Boil until 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. While the syrup is boiling, wash down the side of the saucepan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming. Remove from heat. Whip egg whites until stiff. Adjust mixer to medium/slow speed and slowly add the hot sugar syrup. Continue to mix the meringue mixture at high/medium speed until the mixture is cool to the touch. (Approximately 15 minutes). Once the mixture has cooled down, add the butter a little at a time and continue to mix until the butter lumps are gone. Add in the vanilla and shortening and continue to mix until the buttercream comes together and is light and fluffy. (Approximately 10 more minutes).

Source:http://cakesdusoleil.blogspot.com/2008/05/non-crusting-buttercream-recipe.html

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Swiss Meringue Buttercream is great to get a really smooth-iced cake.

And it's easy to make.

However I find that it's not terribly heat stable. So you must ensure that the baked goods will have refrigeration or at least not be subjected to extremely hot and humid temps.

Italian Meringue Buttercream is more heat stable, but is a bit more involved to make.

With both types of buttercream (SMBC & IMBC) I find that over time, the flavor of the buttercream diminishes. So it's best to flavor the buttercream with the extract/liqueur/fruit puree, etc. just before you intend to use it.

Anyway, here's the recipe I use:


4 large egg whites (1/2 cup)
1 cup sugar (I add an extra 2 tbsp. sugar for extra sweetness)
pinch salt
12 ounces (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
flavoring

Place egg whites, sugar and salt in medium-sized heatproof mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk gently and constantly until egg whites are hot (about 140 degrees) and sugar is dissolved, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove from heat and whip by machine until thick and cooled, about 5 minutes. Beat in butter and continue beating until buttercream is smooth and spreadable. Use immediately or refrigerate, covered, for up to 5 days. Before using, bring buttercream to room temperature and beat smooth by machine.

Beat in flavoring, a little at a time, and continue beating until buttercream is smooth, about 2 minutes longer (always flavor buttercream immediately before using it).

Flavorings:
Liqueur: 2 to 3 tablespoons liqueur such as Grand Marnier or dark or light rum
Lemon: 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice
Coffee: 3 tablespoons instant coffee (espresso, if possible) dissolved in 2 tablespoons water, coffee or rum
Raspberry: 3/4 cup thick raspberry puree made by cooking down and straining a 10 ounce package of frozen raspberries plus several drops of red food coloring to retain pink color
Vanilla: 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Source: Alas1119\

http://www.wilton.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=8&threadid=89789&FTVAR_MSGDBTABLE=

Strawberry Buttercream (Peggy Weaver)

from Peggy Weaver

Notes:

· To make this recipe less sweet, you can add up to another 1/2 cup of Crisco. Please make the recipe one time before you make the change so that you can make a knowledgeable, taste decision.

· I don't strain the strawberry juice to take out the littlest strawberry "hairs" and seeds. I personally like to see the imperfections in the icing because that says "homemade and real". Please go ahead and strain the juice if you wish.

Ingredients:
Defrost a package of frozen strawberries. Use the juice only (about 1/2 cup)*
8 ounces of butter (2 cubes), room temperature
1 1/2 cups Crisco (10 ounces)
2 pounds of powdered sugar

*Optional - 1/2 teaspoon Strawberry Extract (McCormick or Watkins makes an imitation extract). For a richer flavor add up to a total of 1 teaspoon of the Strawberry extract. The strength of the flavor is up to you.

In a mixer, blend the butter and the Crisco together until soft and well combined.

Add the powdered sugar, strawberry juice, and the extract to make the soft buttercream.

found at http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/ButtercreamRecipes.htm

Swiss Meringue Buttercream (Nick Malgieri)

from Perfect Cakes

3/4 cup egg whites (from about 5 large eggs)
1 1/2 cups sugar
Pinch of salt
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
Flavoring (see note below)

One of the best-tasting buttercreams is also the easiest to prepare. See the end of the recipe for flavoring possibilities.
Place egg whites, sugar and salt in medium-sized heatproof mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk gently and constantly until egg whites are hot (about 140 degrees) and sugar is dissolved, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and whip by machine until thick and cooled, about 5 minutes. Beat in butter and continue beating until buttercream is smooth and spreadable. Use immediately or refrigerate, covered, for up to 5 days. Before using, bring buttercream to room temperature and beat smooth by machine. Beat in flavoring, a little at a time, and continue beating until buttercream is smooth, about 2 minutes longer (always flavor buttercream immediately before using it).

Flavorings: Liqueur: 2 to 3 tablespoons liqueur, such as Grand Marnier or dark or light rum. Lemon: 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice. Coffee: 3 tablespoons instant coffee (espresso, if possible) dissolved in 2 tablespoons water, coffee or rum. Raspberry: 3/4 cup thick raspberry puree made by cooking down and straining a 10-ounce package of frozen raspberries. Chocolate: 6 ounces chocolate melted with 4 tablespoons water, coffee or milk and cooled.

************************************************** *******

**The egg whites in this recipe are equivalent to 150 grams if you prefer to weigh ingredients
**I take the egg white mixture to 165 degrees and as long as I'm mixing the entire time have not had had it cook... but I know for sure any possible egg bacteria is killed that way.

found at http://www.wilton.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=7&threadid=109208&FTVAR_MSGDBTABLE=&STARTPAGE=2

Can a Recipe be Stolen? Wash Post article

Can a Recipe Be Stolen?

By Joyce Gemperlein
Special to The Washington Post
Wednesday, January 4, 2006; F01

Like most teenagers, Dana Simms and 11 other members of the Tilden Woods Swim Team know more about iPods and Google than about pea pods and kugel. So when they began soliciting recipes for a cookbook to benefit cancer research last summer, they were startled that technology and cooking converged.

"We all know about plagiarism, copyright and intellectual property rights issues, but we hadn't given them a thought when it came to the cookbook," said Simms, a junior at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda. When a potential contributor fretted about handing over a recipe for Toll House cookies that appears online, in many cookbooks -- and on bags of semisweet chocolate chips -- "we did begin to worry a little," she said.

The girls knew the legal concepts from high school, and copyright and intellectual property issues were being drummed into them because of lawsuits on downloading music into MP3 players and iPods. But here were similar issues in the kitchen.

Some friends and relatives were hesitant to contribute favorite recipes that had been culled from cookbooks or online databases. Could they be accused of plagiarism or a violation of intellectual property rights? What if the recipes were tweaked? Is using a smidge more mayonnaise in a chicken salad and substituting mango chunks for peaches enough to call the recipe your own? It's one thing to hand down a family recipe from one generation to the next, but what about offering a not-entirely-original recipe for publication in a cookbook, even for a charitable cause?

"What this reflects is a rising awareness over the last 20 years of copyright issues . . . and the chilling effect of copyright enforcement . . . people being intimidated out of using basic common sense about things that would or should never generate a lawsuit," said Siva Vaidhyanathan, author of "Copyrights and Copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Property and How it Threatens Creativity."

It's highly unlikely, he said, that anyone would be sued for putting someone else's published recipe -- with or without attribution -- in a charity cookbook or posting it on the Internet where it can be disseminated to millions of cooks almost instantly. In fact, said Vaidhyanathan, an assistant professor of culture and communications at New York University, it would be unusual even to receive a nasty letter about it. "There isn't [big] money at stake."

U.S. copyright law addresses recipes, but what holds sway can be called either ethics or etiquette. Cooking is not considered inventing; rather, it evolves. Copyright law specifies that "substantial literary expression in the form of an explanation or directions," such as a cookbook, can be copyrighted but that a mere list of ingredients cannot receive that protection.

The ethics guidelines of the International Association of Culinary Professionals focus on giving proper attribution to recipes that are published or taught. The association advises using the words "adapted from," "based on" or "inspired by," depending on how much a recipe has been revised. ("Adapted from" is the phrasing favored by The Washington Post and many other newspaper food sections, which, along with culinary instructors, enjoy "fair use" of someone's creation for the purpose of teaching, news reporting, scholarship or research.) The only time a recipe should be printed without attribution, the association contends, is when it has been changed so substantially that it no longer resembles its source.

In cyberspace, however, there's some confusion about where to draw the line. Many Web sites carry warnings about posting "copyrighted" material, but most do not define what that means in cooking circles.

Rachel Rappaport, a Baltimore teacher, operates a blog called Coconut & Lime in which she shares recipes she has liked. She says her understanding -- a common one -- is that if she changes two or three ingredients in a recipe, it becomes her own and requires no attribution.

At the eGullet Society of Culinary Arts & Letters, an online site for epicures, copyright laws and courtesies are a constant topic of discussion, said founder Steven A. Shaw, a lawyer-turned-food writer. Shaw contends that posting a lengthy discussion of legal and ethical conduct, enforcing detailed membership requirements and constant monitoring of content -- including recipes -- keep his site from joining what he calls "the Wild West" of online copyright violations.

For amateur cooks who participate in the Pillsbury Bake-Off, the recipes they are passing off as their own had better be their own. Bake-Off officials perform "originality" searches on the 100 finalists, said Marlene Johnson, senior public relations manager. Contestants whose recipes do not have at least "several significant differences" from any found in a thorough search, she says, are disqualified.

Professional cooks who publish recipes that blatantly copy colleagues' work without attribution are often shunned or gossiped about, but even then, lawsuits are rare.

Washington chef and cookbook author Nora Pouillon said she would not sue if she saw her formula for, say, cherry clafoutis, on a Web site. She'd be the first to say that she based her recipe on versions of the French specialty featuring kirsch-soaked fruit that she had seen or eaten during her childhood in Austria.

Wonderful food, she points out, is more than a recipe. It also is the sum of a cook's experience, eye for detail and technique, plus the quality of the ingredients.

Pouillon said she's flattered if somebody passes along one of her recipes. "It's nice to get credit, but I really feel that a recipe is something to share," she said. On the other hand, if someone is a terrible cook, she said, she would rather that person not tell people that the formula for yam vichyssoise came from her.

All proceeds of "Cooking for the Cure" are donated to cancer research. For a copy, send a check for $15 plus $3 shipping to "Cooking for the Cure," 6900 Stonewood Court, Rockville, Md. 20852, or e-maildanabari89@yahoo.comfor more information.

Joyce Gemperlein, a former food editor, lives in North Bethesda.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/03/AR2006010300316.html