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
Reticulated foam Reticulated foam Reticulated foam is a very porous, low density solid foam. 'Reticulated' means like a net. Reticulated foams are extremely open foams i.e. there are few, if any, intact bubbles or cell windows. In contrast, the foam formed by soap bubbles is composed solely of intact (fully enclosed) bubbles. In a reticulated foam only the lineal boundaries where the bubbles meet (Plateau borders) remain. The solid component of a reticulated foam may be an organic polymer like polyurethane, a ceramic or a metal. These materials are used in a wide range of applications where the high porosity and large