Cooked or uncooked Buttercream icing....?

So I'm wanting to make gourmet type cupcakes but I'm very new to the baking and making of the ingredients part of it all. I was being trained at a very high end Bakery to be a cake decorator so I can handle that part of it but the only icings I actually have made are chocolate ganache and whipped cream icings. I'm trying to come up with a good buttercream recipe but I'm noticing that there are 2 different types of butter cream recipes out there. Cooked and uncooked. I made an uncooked buttercream but it was so sweet it ended up tasting like a store bought buttercream icing. Just kind of gross. So the question is which recipe would head me in the right direction?



Also I used the McCormick mint extract when trying to make some mint buttercream and it gave the flavor of spearmint gum rather then yummy mint flavored butterceam. Any recommendations?Cooked or uncooked Buttercream icing....?
1:2:2 recipe. 1 lb egg whites, 2 lbs sugar, 2 lbs butter. Mix the sugar and whites, place over a pot of hot water on the stove. Stir every once and a while, you are cooking the mixture, when the sugar has melted and the liquid is clear and smooth, pour it into a mixing bowl. Whisk until cool. Cut the butter in to small pieces and slowly add to the meringue mixture. ( the mix will look like it is going to crack - split - but it is ok keep mixing it and you will get a nice white butter cream.



Flavour wise just add a drop or two of pepermint flavour (if that is what you want.) If need be add another drop but it is easier to add some more that to try and take some out. Good Luck



Mark

Piece of Cake Inc

Black Truffle Chocolates Inc.
Here is a recipe for the cooked Buttercream frosting. In my younger days I used it to make a Bassinet cake for a baby shower that served 48 people. The cake turned out perfect and the frosting tasted like custard - not sweet at all. In fact, it was so good, a woman at the shower was eating the frosting off the styrofoam bassinet hood with a spoon!! To decorate with it, be sure to put the cooked portion through a sieve to remove any lumps. This is from my cookbook called "Decorating Cakes and Party Foods Baking Too! by Louise Spencer:



BUTTERCREAM FROSTING



1 c milk

1/4 c unsifted, all-purpose flour

1 c butter at room temperature

1 c granulated sugar (yes granulated)

2 tsp vanilla



Combine milk and flour in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Cream butter and sugar until very fluffy. Add vanilla and cooled flour mixture. Continue to beat at medium speed until frosting is very fluffy and sugar is completely dissolved.



CAUTION: IF buttercream is to be used for tube work, (borders, etc.), flour and milk mixture should be rubbed through a wire strainer before it is added to creamed butter and sugar. Yield: 3 cups; enough to frost, fill and border a 9" cake.



NOTE: This is the best tasting buttercream I have every used, a favorie of my family and students alike. I hope you will try it.Cooked or uncooked Buttercream icing....?
Butter Cream Frosting



2 sticks of butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3-4 tablespoons milk



With an electric mixed whip butter until creamy; add powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. Combine until well mixed. Add milk by the tablespoonful until desired constancy is reached.



For chocolate:



Melt 2 squares of semi-sweet baking chocolate and add to the sugar butter mixture before adding milk. Then add milk by the tablespoonful until desired constancy is reached.





By using lemon juice you eliminate the need for salt and it also cuts down on the sweetness of the frosting - I have been doing it this way for years and everybody loves my frosting.
ccoked buttercream tastes better but its impossible to decorate with...to decrease the sweatness use half butter half crisco and increase the vanilla extract just a little...have fun
Buttercream Icing



2 cups butter or margarine

2 cups sifted confectioners sugar

2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

2 large egg whites

1/2 cup sifted confectioners sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup confectioners sugar



Place butter in mixing bowl, add 2 cups confectioners sugar, mix at low speed to obtain smooth paste. Whip at medium speed, adding the sweetened condensed milk slowly and gradually until light and fluffy.



Using a very clean bowl and beater, whip the egg whites until stiff while adding the 1/2 cup confectioners sugar slowly. Mix this meringue slowly into the above butter mixture. Add vanilla extract and remaining 1/2 cup confectioners sugar. This last amount of sugar can be doubled if stiffer icing is desired.



NOTE: Best results are obtained when butter and sugar are at room temperature and egg whites and milk are cold out of the refrigerator.
Go to the wilton web site. It is an uncooked buttercream and I enjoy the taste of it.ps lucky you I wish I knew how to decorate a cake the way the pros do.You probably should have used the peppermint extract instead of the mint.