Almond Sans Rival Part II - Buttercream

Here is now the second part of my sans rival series. I posted part I earlier, featuring how I made my meringue layers. This time, I will feature how I made the buttercream.

I used the recipe from foodnetwork, which was forwarded to me by retired pastry chef EQ (he commented in my supersoft ensaymada, and helped me look for sans rival recipes to follow, plus a secret pandesal recipe in exchange for the satisfaction he got from my ensaymada recipe).

I also used a candy thermometer and a bowl of cold water to test the softball stage. This is the first time I attempted making buttercream. I do remember that my sister Cris in Canada used to love this frosting. She would often ask my ex-MIL for a cake with that kind of frosting for her birthdays (kapal! Ako dapat nagre-request eh!)

In retrospect, after eating several of these deliciously rich dessert, I would have changed some things:
(1) make the wafers/meringue layers thicker
(2) use less butter (the recipe source says you may not have to use the whole pound of butter; depends on how much water you cook out when making the syrup)
(3) wait longer for the syrup+egg whites to cool down some more before starting to add the cut up butter (so that the frosting would have achieved the look that I was waiting for before I have added the whole pound of butter). Oh well, I was too impatient. I will try next time.
(4) apply thinner buttercream in between meringue layers (although maybe this would not be necessary if my meringue were thicker). The buttercream I had in the first few ones I made were too overwhelming, they were all I could taste, with barely a hint of the almond dacquoise/meringue taste.

Well, without further ado, here's the buttercream recipe. One thing for sure, it did taste so much like what my ex-MIL made.

UPDATE as of 5/5/09: I made this for the second time and used restraint with adding the butter. Patience is the key. I used less butter this time (3 sticks and 1/4) and I am more satisfied (hubby as well).

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
4 egg whites
3 sticks to 1 lb butter (1 box), cut up (when I made this the second time, I used 3-1/4 sticks and my husband liked it better)
1 to 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions:

In a small clean dry saucepan, place 2 cups sugar and then pour 1/2 cup water down the sides of the pan. Make an X in the sugar with 1 finger to encourage the water to seep into the middle of the pan of sugar. Bring to a boil on high heat and cook until softball stage (you can test with the bowl of cold water or 235 degrees F on a candy thermometer). This takes more than 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, while waiting for the syrup to boil, in a mixer with a whip attachment, whip the whites on moderate until they form soft peaks. When the syrup is up to temperature (235-240), drizzle it down the wall of the mixing bowl with the mixer running. Continue whipping (this time I used the fastest setting) until light, fluffy and almost cooled down (probably took me 5-7 minutes to wait).

Prepare the cut up butter by the mixer, placed atop bags of ice to keep them from melting. I also put another bag of ice on top of them. Later on, you will use these bags to cool down the mixing bowl.

Start adding the butter a few cubes at a time to cool the frosting and thicken it. The mixture will become RUNNY/SOUPY initially, the fluffiness gone for a while. Don't stop beating. Just place the bags of ice around the mixing bowl and continue beating, adding the butter gradually until you used up 3 sticks (took me about 5 minutes to do this). Soon it will look like runny cream that's smooth (almost like sundae). Taste it. If you already like the taste, stop adding butter. If you still think it is too sugary and want some more butter, then go ahead and add some more. Continue beating on high until it looks curdled (took me about 10 minutes to get to this stage after adding all butter) and add vanilla extract. Beat some more until it gets thick and of spreading consistency.

Keep the buttercream cold.

DISCLAIMER: Like I have said in the past, and I will say it again, I am not a culinary expert, and I am not an officially trained baker. All my tips above were based on my own experiences as I attempted to make this, also using several comments and tips from sites I have visited who had tried making this rich dessert. If you have tips to add, or if you see something wrong with what I did, feel free to comment on how I could have improved my recipe or method. Thanks.

UPDATE as of 3/29/09: Today I made the egg yolk version of buttercream (basically the same technique), and I can say it is not as creamy-tasting as the one made with egg whites. So I placed just a thin layer (1 tbsp) of this in between my meringue layers that I made last night (thicker this time). Later tonight I will make the egg white version of buttercream again (possibly half the recipe that I posted above) to coat the outside. My husband still prefers the plain (no frosting) meringue cookies.