Buttercream Buttercream Buttercream is a type of icing or filling used either inside cakes, as a coating, or as decoration. Simple buttercream is made by creaming together fats (butter, margarine, or vegetable oil shortening) and powdered sugar to the desired consistency and lightness. Typically twice as much sugar as butter by weight is used. Flavorings, in the form of extracts and oils, may also be added. Some recipes call for cream, non-fat milk solids, flour, or meringue powder. There are two types of meringue-based buttercream: Italian and Swiss. The meringues must be cooled to room temperature in order not to melt
Cooking In European cooking, a mixture of butter and flour called a roux is used to thicken liquids to make stews or sauces. In Asian cooking, a similar effect is obtained from a mixture of rice or corn starch and water. These techniques rely on the properties of starches to create simpler mucilaginous saccharides during cooking, which causes the familiar thickening of sauces. This thickening will break down, however, under additional heat. Types of fat include vegetable oils, animal products such as butter and lard, as well as fats from grains, including corn and flax oils. Fats are used in a