American buttercream originally contains 2:1 ratio sugar to butter by weight which is outrageous amount of sugar to any but especially daunting for those who'd like to live a happy life. Replace sugar with sweetener of choice and only add as much as absolutely necessary to cover the butter flavor.
Advanced - Swiss - Italian - French
5Egg whitesFrench buttercream uses egg yolks instead of egg whites
4sticksButter
1½cupSugar or sweetener of choice to taste
1 - 3tablespoonsHeavy cream or milkoptional
Overkill - German
2cupsMilk
2Egg yolks
6tablespoons Corn starch
1cup Butter
Sweetener of choice to taste
Instructions
Beginner - American
Beat room temperature butter until it gets a white ivory color.
Add the sweetener and beat it some more. If sugar like crystalized sweetener is used, beat it until the sugar is dissolved. Syrups like honey or agave need only a minute of thorough mixing. Add heavy cream or a bit of milk to thin out the cream if desired.
Add flavoring and coloring as desired.
Enjoy!
Advanced - Swiss - Italian-French
Whisk sweetener of choice into the egg whites. (French buttercream uses egg yolks instead of egg whites)
In a double boiler whisk the egg whites until it reaches 160°F / 71°C and the mixture is thinned out for about 5 minutes. It should be hot to the touch and if crystalized sweetener like sugar is used, it should be completely dissolved when the frothy foam is rubbed between two fingers.
Take the mixture off the heat and beat until it cools down to room temperature and hard peaks form for about 15 minutes. In Italian buttercream the egg white sweetening and double boiler part is skipped as the heat processing of the egg whites is done by 240°F / 115°C sugar syrup made with sugar and about 1/3 cup water gradually added to the beaten up egg whites.
Gradually add room temperature / soft butter.
Add flavoring and coloring as desired.
Enjoy!
Overkill - German
Warm the milk up in a pot on medium heat until it starts to bubble gently.
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks for about a minute until light yellow and increased in volume.
Whisk in the cornstarch, vanilla extract, sweetener and gradually about ½ cup of the hot milk.
Slowly pour all of the egg yolk mixture into the scalding milk while stirring vigorously until the mixture seems completely dissolved.
Keep warm and continuously stir until the custard thickens. Let the custard cool to room temperature.