German Buttercream
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German Buttercream (aka: creme mousseline): A silky blend of pastry cream & whipped butter. A rich, vanilla-y filling that's quite stable!
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I just made this fabulous German buttercream and it's so deliciously fragrant with vanilla! The texture is rich and thick and not overly sweet, and it has the most gorgeous silky mouthfeel. I think you're going to love it too! It's made with a combination of pastry cream and whipped butter, and it's perfectly firm and stable at room temperature. Use it as a filling between cake layers or as a frosting, or pipe it into your cream puffs or eclairs!
Here's Why You'll Love This
- Satiny smooth on the tongue, with no grittiness whatsoever.
- Less sweet than a lot of other frosting recipes.
- Rich with egg and butter, and generously perfumed with vanilla.
- Very firm and stable at room temperature.
- Versatile: this can be used in lots of different ways.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Milk: Use whatever kind you normally keep on hand. Even a plant-based product will work!
- Vanilla: I've used a whole vanilla bean but vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract will work in a pinch.
- Sugar: Granulated white sugar sweetens the mixture and helps keep it airy-light.
- Cornstarch: Thickens the pastry cream to help it stay firm at room temp.
- Salt: Carries and intensifies the flavors.
- Egg yolks: Add an unmistakable richness, as well as thickening the filling.
- Butter: Unsalted butter whipped with a little sugar gives an airy lightness to this German buttercream frosting.
In Photos: How To Make German Buttercream
Step 1: Slice the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds, then add them to the milk and heat gently.
Step 2: Combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt and add the egg yolks.
Step 3: Whisk the yolks into the dry ingredients until smooth.
Step 4: Whisk in the hot milk, a little at a time, to warm the mixture.
Step 5: When all the milk has been added, pour the mixture back into the pot and cook (whisking constantly) until thickened.
Step 6: Strain the pastry cream into a heat-safe bowl (using the back of a ladle to push it through).
Step 7: Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface and chill.
Step 8: Place softened butter and sugar in a large bowl.
Step 9: Cream together until very pale and fluffy.
Step 10: Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula and whip in the pastry cream a spoonful at a time.
Step 11: Whip until smooth and fluffy.
Helpful Tips & Tricks
- Don't boil the milk: You just want to heat it gently and infuse it with the vanilla. It should be steamy, with a few small bubbles around the edge of the pot, but you don't want it to come to a full boil.
- Temper the yolks: Add just a ladleful of hot milk at a time to the yolk mixture, whisking it in gently until combined. This will slowly bring up the temperature without scrambling the eggs.
- Whisk constantly: Pour the warmed mixture back into the pot and cook it over medium-low heat while whisking constantly, to avoid lumps. When it gets to around 180 to 190 degrees F, it should thicken up like a pudding.
- Strain: Pass the pastry cream through a fine-mesh strainer and into a heat-safe bowl, to catch any lumps.
- Whip: Cream the softened butter and sugar together until very pale and very fluffy, for the lightest, airiest result. This typically takes 5 full minutes on medium-high speed, using the whip attachment.
More Bread Recipes
German Buttercream
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups milk, (dairy, nut, soy, or coconut milk)
- 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
- ½ cup granulated sugar, plus 3 tablespoons
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 egg yolks, from large eggs
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
Instructions
- Place 1 ½ cups of milk in a small pot over low heat and add the vanilla bean and seeds.
- Place ½ cup of sugar, ¼ cup of cornstarch, and ½ teaspoon of salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Stir in the 6 egg yolks until smooth.
- When the milk is steamy, start whisking a ladleful at a time into the yolk mixture to slowly warm it without scrambling the eggs.
- Once all the milk has been added, transfer the mixture back into the pot and cook over medium-low heat (whisking constantly) until it reaches a temperature of approximately 185 degrees and becomes very thick.
- Remove from the heat and immediately pour through a fine mesh strainer into a heat-safe bowl (use the back of a ladle to push it through).
- Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface and chill until cold and firm (approx. 2 hours).
- Place 1 cup of softened butter in a large mixing bowl with 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar.
- Using the whip attachment, cream 1 cup of soft unsalted butter and 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar together until very pale and fluffy (approx. 5 minutes on medium-high speed).
- Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula and add the chilled pastry cream in a spoonful at a time, whipping after each addition.
