Tag: dairy free swiss meringue buttercream

Bee Hive Cake

I decorated this 3 layer lemon and honey cake (recipe here) with lemon Swiss meringue buttercream (recipe here) and fondant bees.

I started by covering the cake drum in green fondant. I lightly wet the drum using a pastry brush dipped in water, then draped the green fondant (which had been rolled out to around 2mm) over the top. I smoothed the fondant with a smoothing tool. Using a sharp knife, I trimmed the edges of the fondant so that it was in line with the edge of the cake drum. I then stuck the green ribbon around the edge using double sided tape. For a bit of extra fun, I stuck little bees around the edge.

Next I made the bees. I rolled small amounts of yellow fondant into cylinders. Then I rolled out black fondant to about 1mm thick and cut out strips. I used a small amount of water to stick the strips to the yellow fondant; a fine paintbrush is the easiest way to apply the water. I used a cocktail stick dipped in black food colouring to make the eyes, and an icing tool shaped as a D dipped in black food colouring to make the smile. I pushed in almond flakes for the wings, then pushed cocktail sticks in so it looks like the bees are flying.

Finally, I made the little hive door with black fondant by cutting an arch out of paper then using that as a stencil.

I completed the fondant parts in advance so that the fondant dried and hardened in time.

I made the lemon and honey cake recipe twice. The second batch I made as a 2 egg version and poured it into a 6″ (15cm) heatproof bowl which I had greased with margarine. I popped this in the oven for 20 minutes at 155C, then dropped it down to 140C and checked every 5 minutes until the top sprung back when touched.

I made a full batch of Swiss meringue buttercream, adding 3 tsp of lemon extract to get the lemon flavour I wanted.

Then I started assembling the cake. I cut the tops off the round layers to make them flat. I used a 6″ (15cm) cake board and put a blob of buttercream in the centre to keep the cake in place. Then I put the first layer on and covered the top in buttercream. I repeated this with all three layers, then gave the cake a crumb coat.

I popped this in the fridge for a few hours so that the buttercream firmed up. While the cake was firming up, I added yellow colouring to the remaining buttercream to give it a golden colour.

Once the cake had finished firming up in the fridge, I started getting things ready for decorating. I put a large round piping tip into a piping bag and transferred the golden lemon buttercream into it. Starting from the bottom, I piped rings around the cake. I used a smaller piping tip to fill in any holes I saw. Once finished, I popped the cake back in the fridge.

Once the buttercream had firmed up, I moved the cake carefully onto the covered cake drum. I then placed the little door and put the bees in position.

Enjoy!

Swiss Meringue ‘Buttercream’

This type of buttercream is very smooth because the sugar is melted before it’s incorporated with the fat. This also prevents the sugar recrystallising like it can in regular buttercream, ensuring your buttercream stays perfectly grain-free.

This recipe will crumb coat and cover a 4 layer 6″ (15cm) cake, or decorate 28 cupcakes.

Ingredients

  • 8 egg whites (approximately 330g)
    • These can be separated, but I prefer to use the egg whites you can buy in the carton in the fridge section of the supermarket because I don’t know what I’d do with so many egg yolks!
  • 330g caster sugar
  • 250g margarine/dairy-free spread
  • 250g vegetable shortening
  • 2-3 tsp of flavouring

Process

  1. Put the vegetable shortening and margarine in the bowls of a stand mixer with paddle attachment and beat for 5-8 minutes, until fully combined, soft, and pale. Put to one side
  2. Put the egg whites and caster sugar in a heatproof bowl over simmering water and whisk until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch, then remove from the heat. Don’t allow it to cook or you’ll end up with a sweet scrambled egg.
  3. In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or an electric hand whisk, whisk on high speed until stiff and glossy peaks form
    • This will take 10-15 minutes
  4. Add the margarine/vegetable shortening mixture to the egg white/sugar mixture in batches, whisking until incorporated after each addition
  5. Add the flavouring and whisk until fluffy

Enjoy!

Tips

If your buttercream doesn’t taste of the flavouring enough, add more 1 tsp at a time and beat for 2 minutes each time until desired flavour is reached.

If the buttercream looks wet, almost like it is sweating, just pop it in the fridge for a couple of hours then beat on full speed with the paddle attachment for a few minutes. The end result should be smooth, glossy looking buttercream.