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| Vanilla Sponge Cake with Russian Buttercream Garnished with Macerated Strawberries & Strawberry Sauce |
Russian Buttercream
One day I was looking through some recipes for Russian desserts. In the past I've made savory Russian dishes, but never dabbled enough in Russian desserts. It was time to remedy that situation. While I was looking, I stumbled across Russian Buttercream.
What? Russian Buttercream? How did I not know about this? Three ingredients? Are you kidding me?
Nope. Three Ingredients: Butter, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla. That's it!
That's all you need, and the recipe comes in handy when you are in a hurry and need a frosting ASAP!
As luck would have it, I already had some 4-inch cakes on hand, because I had planned to make Strawberry Shortcakes. Well, that would still happen, but with Russian Buttercream instead of whipped cream. Yeah, I know, I wasn't making "traditional" strawberry shortcakes using a sweet biscuit base, but sometimes we like to switch things up.
So I go to the food safe to find a can of sweetened condensed milk. We always have that stuff on hand. I rummage. I grab the flashlight so I can look in every corner on every shelf. What? How do we not have any? We always have it!
Classic case of: "We always have that ingredient on hand when we don't need it, but when we need it we don't have it." It happens sometimes. No rush. Testing delayed for a few days.
The Recipe
Easy as pie! (Actually easier than pie, since making a pie requires more of a time commitment.) Grab 2 sticks of butter from the fridge and set them out until they soften. They should be a little firm, not to the point where they are the consistency of Pond's Cold Cream. (Do they even make that anymore? That might be a bad example.) Not to the consistency of mayo. They should be firm, but not mushy.
Take out one can of sweetened condensed milk and have your vanilla on hand.
When the butter is ready, beat it with a mixer on medium speed for 5 minutes. It should look considerably lighter. If you're using a stand mixer, use a spoon and coax the condensed milk into the bowl a little at a time while the mixer is still running. Alternatively, just add in small increments, stopping the mixer between each addition. You can do it 3 to 4 ounces at a time. Add vanilla in at any of those points.
If your butter seems too soft or the mixture looks like it might be separating, just pop it in the fridge for a few minutes, then take it out and whip it some more. (I had to do that a couple of times because it was pretty warm in the kitchen when I made it.)
So easy. It has a good flavor and is not too sweet, and it has a silky mouth feel. You can pipe it and it will hold its shape, as seen in the photo above. If your hands are hot, work quickly or take breaks and pop the piping bag in the fridge for a few minutes.
How Does It Hold Up?
If your sweet creation is going to be consumed pretty quickly, using this frosting is not a problem. It will be okay for a few hours if the temperature where it's being held isn't too warm. I frosted a cupcake to test out what would happen to the frosting overnight and the frosting started to lose cohesion and get oily. The cake in the above photo was in the refrigerator overnight and looked just as good the next day. If you go that route, just take the cake out 30 minutes to an hour before serving so it can soften up a bit. If you have stored cakes in the refrigerator before, you know what I mean.
For Chocolate Russian Buttercream, just add 1/2 to 1 cup of cocoa and whip it with a mixer until well combined.
Yes, this recipe is a winner. It's a good idea to keep some sweetened condensed milk in your pantry so you can make this recipe instead of relying on one that is commercially made. The flavor is miles above the canned stuff!
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| Vanilla Sponge Cake with Russian Buttercream, Macerated Strawberries, and Lemon Curd |
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