Vanilla Bean Buttercream Dream {aka Nanny Burke's Buttercream}
Tuesday, April 5, 2011 at 8:38AM 
I finally did it.
After four failed attempts, I finally made the buttercream I've been dreaming of. And it's all thanks to Nanny Burke.
You may remember my first attempt. Sure they looked good (and the cupcake itself was pretty good) but the frosting had as much flavour as a of a jar of Vaseline and the texture to match.
Then last week, I made Bacon and Baileys cupcakes. I used what I thought was a decent buttercream recipe but really, all you could taste was icing sugar. In an attempt to rescue it, I glugged in a bunch of Baileys. As you can see in the photos, it was somewhat of a droopy, oozy mess.
On Thursday, a really cute girl I know, A, said 'Oh - you need Nanny Burke's recipe!!' She e-mailed Nanny Burke in Cape Breton and asked for the recipe on my behalf. Nanny told A that over the last 50 years, she's tried a TON of buttercream recipes and this one was by far the best (and the easiest). On Friday I got a text from A with the recipe and a few notes from Nanny Burke.
So why, oh why didn't I follow my gut and trust the wisdom and experience of Nanny Burke? {sigh}
You see, I woke up Saturday morning, inspired by a recipe I had seen online for Swiss Buttercream. Ooooooh - a beautiful meringue-based buttercream that even a beginner could make without screwing up? Or so the recipe implies. Well guess what? I wasted 8 eggs and 4 sticks of butter on a nasty curdled bowl of grossness that I hurled into my green bin in a fit of frustration.
And then I turned to Nanny Burke.
Oh Nanny Burke, I know we've never met, but after making your buttercream, I consider us kin.
Nanny Burke's Buttercream is the stuff dreams are made of. As I was piping this perfect marriage of buttery sweetness atop my vanilla cupcakes, I constantly stopped to pipe some onto my fingertip. Some for the cupcakes, some for me, some for the cupcakes, some for me...
Ok, so are you ready for the recipe? It's ridiculously easy and by far the BEST frosting I have EVER had!!
Nanny Burke's Buttercream
2 Cups Unsalted Butter, room-temp/soft (I used 1.5 Cups Salted Butter and 1/2 Cup Crisco for firmness)
1 lb icing sugar, sifted (I used 4 Cups, unsifted - I'm lazy sometimes)
1 tsp Vanilla (I used Vanilla Bean Paste)
1/8 tsp salt (I omitted the Salt because I used Salted Butter)
Notes from Nanny Burke
~ Don't mix for more than 2-3 minutes
~ Sub in shortening for butter if you want to decorate with flowers or want a firmer texture
~ Make it once and then play with it
On a side note, here's something interesting that happened when I was baking these cupcakes. I used Ina Garten's recipe for Coconut Cupcakes without the coconut. I baked the first dozen at 350 degrees until golden on top, about 22 minutes. Then I had another look at the recipe and realized that I was supposed to bake them at 325. So I reduced the temperature on the oven for the second batch. Here's what happened:
I've discovered that it is MUCH easier to decorate a cupcake when the top of the cupcake is puffed up into a little dome. Anyway, it doesn't really matter because both batches were absolutely delicious (next time though, I think I'll omit the almond extract in the cupcakes and double up on the vanilla). Today is Tuesday, I baked these on Sunday and they are still tender and moist. I'd recommend making them for sure.
Whew - I did it!! I finally did it!!
Reader Comments (34)
I liked this post so much I pinned it twice (without knowing) on my Pinterest boards. LOL Can't wait to try it, thanks for sharing!!
On the pictures that compare how high the cupcakes bake, the one on the left with the higher peaks- do they start off baking at 350 and then the temp is dropped down to 325? If so, after how long? Or preheat to 350 and once the cupcakes go in, drop it down to 325 right away? Thanks for any information :)
@Christina - I baked two pans of cupcakes - the first one at 350 degrees. While they were in the oven, I was re-reading the recipe and realized I was supposed to bake them at 325 degrees. I left the first batch in at 350 because I didn't want to disturb them. When they were golden on top I took them out and turned down the temp to 325. Then I popped the second pan into the oven - the side by side pic is the result.
I have to say you have made me laugh! This is a great recipe for a quick buttercream! Now, with the Swiss buttercream there is a chemical reactions that happens midway finishing the buttercream It will curdle and it looks like a separated mess like you described. I guess that whomever gave you the recipe did not tell you to continue the whipping process it takes a few seconds to all homogenize into a silky and the most delicious buttercream anyone can taste! i am a pastry chef and i am sorry that you wasted good ingredients! Swiss buttercream is my basic filling cream in my shop. Ad chocolate ganache for a delicious chocolate filling, lemon curd for a citrus one, and the list goes on and on... :-)
do you preheat the oven at 350 and after you put them in reduce it to 325. or do you automatically preheat it to 325 and bake????? please help