Title: Basic Buttercream Frosting
Categories: Frosting
Yield: 2 Cups

3	lg	Egg whites, at room temperature
1/2	c	Plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/3	c	(2 sticks plus 5 1/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
2	ts	Vanilla extract

1. In a large, grease-free bowl, combine the egg whites and sugar. Set the bowl over a pot of hot, not simmering, water. (The water should touch the bottom of the bowl.) Whisk the egg white mixture constantly until it is white and creamy and is hot to the touch.(110-186F). Rub a small amount of the mixture between your thumb and forefinger to make sure the sugar crystals are completely dissolved. Remove the bowl from the hot water.

2. Using a hand-held electric mixer set at medium speed, beat the egg white mixture for 5 to 6 minutes, until it is cool and it has formed a thick, shiny meringue.

3. In a second large bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer set at medium speed, beat the butter for 1 minute, until creamy. Gradually beat the meringue into the butter. Beat in the vanilla. Continue beating for 30 to 45 seconds, until the buttercream is thick and smooth.

Chocolate Variation: Beat 9 ounces of melted, tepid semisweet or bittersweet chocolate into the buttercream with the vanilla extract.

Reprinted from Godiva Chocolate website: http://www.godiva.com By fatfree-request@fatfree.com on Jun 16, 1997

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