German Buttercream

Hello there! Today's post is a step-by-step instruction for the classic German buttercream: with this recipe, buttercream succeeds – I guarantee!

Taste and Occasion

You definitely won't go wrong with this easy buttercream recipe! The cream is tremendously important for many cakes and cupcakes, whether as a filling, a frosting or a topping. It is versatile, creamy and lush.

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The problem of many amateur bakers: buttercream never turns out right. But it's not difficult to make a good buttercream yourself. How? I show you in this post!

Ingredients

Whether it's the classic version with vanilla, chocolatey or fruity: the basic buttercream recipe will succeed even if you are still a beginner. The main ingredients of the buttercream are butter, custard and sugar. Unlike the French and Italian versions, you make the German buttercream without eggs.

Now regarding the ingredients: we use cold butter straight out of the fridge. Then you prepare a pudding with pudding powder, milk and sugar. The most important trick: you have to use a bit less milk than indicated. I use only 400 ml instead of the 500 indicated on the package.

How to make German Buttercream with Pudding

Let's start: First of all, make a pudding with pudding powder, milk and sugar. Important, as mentioned before: you actually need only 400ml of milk and therefore less milk than the instructions say!

Now, pour the pudding into a bowl and let it cool to room temperature. While cooling, stir the pudding again and again or cover with cling film, in order that no skin develops. Then, place the softened butter in a bowl, and let it reach room temperature, too. Then, use a stand mixer or hand mixer and beat the butter and powdered sugar for a few minutes until the resulting mass becomes very light and fluffy.

Now it's time to slowly stir in the pudding, tablespoon by tablespoon until everything forms a homogeneous cream. Either decorate or fill the cake directly with a spatula or chill the buttercream briefly so that it becomes a little bit firmer.

Top Tip

To refine the cream, baking cocoa, spices such as cinnamon and tonka bean, liqueur, chopped nuts, melted and slightly cooled chocolate, and mocha are suitable ingredients among others.

Frequently Asked Questions about Buttercream

Recipe Card

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German Buttercream

Basic recipe for a German buttercream with pudding. The buttercream is suitable, for example, for cakes or cupcakes.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Waiting Time15 minutes mins

Servings: 1 cake (9,5 in/24 cm)

Calories: 146kcal

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• 1 small bag pudding powder, for cooking, e.g. chocolate, vanilla, etc.
• 400 milliliters (1 ¾ cups) milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 250 grams (1 cup) butter, soft and at room temperature
• 50 grams (6 tablespoons) powdered sugar

Instructions

• Make a pudding with pudding powder, milk and sugar (note: you actually need only 400ml of milk and therefore less milk than the instructions say!) Pour the pudding into a bowl and let it cool to room temperature. While cooling, stir again and again or cover with cling film, in order that no skin develops.
• Place the softened butter, which has to be at room temperature like the pudding, in a bowl. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer and whisk, beat the butter and powdered sugar for a few minutes until very light and fluffy. Slowly stir in the pudding, tablespoon by tablespoon until everything forms a homogeneous cream. Either decorate or fill the cake directly with a spatula or chill the buttercream briefly so that it becomes a little firmer.

Notes

• The buttercream recipe is absolutely sure to succeed - as long as the pudding and butter are really at (the same) room temperature. If the buttercream does curdle, just warm it slightly in a hot water bath, stir everything until smooth, and chill it again briefly.
• The amount is enough for a thin layer of filling as well as a thin frosting of a 24-26 cm cake. For more layers or if you want the coating to be thicker, use 1.5 of the amount.
• The pudding powder can be strawberry, caramel, or cream in addition to vanilla and chocolate. High-quality pudding powder with real bourbon vanilla or additional chocolate shavings tastes best.

Ingredient substitutions

Do you want to replace some ingredients? Here you find tips for baking ingredient substitutions!

Variations

I prefer using slightly more expensive pudding powder with grated chocolate for chocolate buttercream. But you can also make the cream with vanilla or strawberry pudding or flavor and color it. For example, with liqueur, mocha, light and dark chocolate coating, cherry brandy, brittle, ground or chopped nuts, cocoa or nougat.

Together with a sponge or sponge cake base and fruit, it quickly becomes a delicious cake. Or you can use the cream to decorate cupcakes with it. Typically, the mixture is used in classic baking recipes.