European Butter Cream

With Fortunato Conte

According to Italian Pastry Chef Fortunato Conte, this is the Italian or European way to make butter cream frosting or icing. It starts with a Swiss Meringue made by heating egg whites and sugar in a double boiler until the temperature reaches 140 degrees F. Then you pour this mixture into the bowl of your mixer and beat until it whips up into a meringue. Once it becomes a meringue, you add butter and flavorings and beat until the icing is smooth.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream is easier to make than some other European versions and is off-white in color due to the large amounts of butter. When chilled, it becomes rock hard so if you store in refrigeration you must bring it to room temperature before trying to re-beat the icing. And a cake refrigerated with either of these icings is best brought to room temp as well, prior to serving to the guests.

Ingredients

¾ cup egg whites
3/4 cup granulated sugar
15 ounces butter, softened
Flavoring to taste (i.e. vanilla, espresso, etc.)

Instructions

1. Make a Swiss Meringue by heating the egg whites and sugar in a double boiler and heating to 105 degrees F. before whipping with a mixer until meringue gets cold.
2. Add softened butter and whip on full speed for about 10 minutes.
3. Add desired flavoring and fold into the finished icing.

For flavorings you can add such flavors as vanilla, espresso, praline paste, pistachio paste or caramel sauce as is done in this video.

Recipe courtesy of Fortunato Conte, Pastry Chef, Restaurant Dante and Il Casale, 2011.

Fortunato was born in Salerno Italy, just 30 minutes south of Naples. He began working as a baker In1992 for the Pasticceria Pantaleone, one of the oldest Pastry Shoppes in Italy. (A pasticceria is a cake shop, where they have small tables, espresso coffee, tea and freshly baked pastry.) After one year he decided to move on and work for several other pasticcerie in his home town, mastering all of the traditional and regional desserts, including savory items such as filled canastas, focaccia breads, and canapés.

Fortunato went to work for three months in the town of Courmayeur, Northern Italy, as an assistant pastry chef for the Grand Hotel Royal and Golf. It was here, working with master baker Paul Castriscer from Switzerland, where Fortunato realized that there was much more to know about desserts than just regional and classic pastries.

In 1999 he came to Boston and began his adventure working at Il Panino at Franklin Street for Frank De Pasquale. He then managed Biscotti bakery in the North End of Boston for about nine months. In 2001 he went to work for Modern Pastry Shoppe, also in the North End, and remained there until 2008. Fortunato continued his study of pastry baking as a student of the World Pastry Forum in Nashville, TN. He also took several classes with world pastry champions. He continued studying with the New England French master baker at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts.

Fortunato now makes desserts for two well regarded Italian restaurants in the Boston area, Il Casale in Belmont and Dante’s in Cambridge. Working with a Chef/Owner like Dante De Magistris forces him to improve in order to meet the demand for high-quality Italian desserts.