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I’d always been afraid to make Italian Meringue buttercream because it required pouring hot sugar syrup into whipped egg whites…Something about having to do that technique was crazy intimating to me. Well, last year, all that fear was laid to rest after I made my first Italian buttercream and discovered how easy it was to make. All that anxiety was for nothing. What seemed complicated really was quite forgiving and easy to course correct when I thought I did something wrong. Basically the answer to anything that went wrong is just keep beating the frosting and it will come together. And honestly, it tastes SO much better than American buttercream. It’s light and smooth and super stable so it pipes beautifully and holds shape even at warmer temperatures. So naturally, it’s the perfect frosting to use with this NEW way cool Horror Movie Characters mold I got from Shaped Ice Molds. It molds, freezes and unmolds perfectly, so don’t be scared off…take a stab at making some Killer Frosting and wait for screams of delight! Enjoy!🔪🩸💀
Note: Make sure you plan ahead. Molding and freezing the serial killers will take time. I spent a day making them and stored them in the freezer. The next day, I baked an easy vanilla dump cake which I included below, but feel free to use your favorite cake recipe or even a boxed cake. Make another batch of buttercream and frost the cake, then pull the frozen killers out of the freezer and press them into a freshly frosted cake. Happy Halloween!
Killer Frosting
Equipment
- Horror Movie Characters Ice Molds (use coupon code: ghoulatheart10 and save10%)
- Candy Thermometer
- Stand mixer
Ingredients
Italian Meringue (yields ~5 cups)
- 1¼ cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup water
- pinch cream of tartar
- 5 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 pound butter, softened
Easy Vanilla Dump Cake
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup water
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
Italian Meringue Buttercream
- Separate eggs whites, taking care to ensure that none of the yolks get into the whites. Any amount of yolk will prevent the frosting from coming together properly. Place the eggs whites in a clean, dry stand mixer. Use the whisk attachment and whisk on low speed until the egg whites get foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat on high until stiff but glossy peaks form.
- Prepare the sugar syrup. Add sugar and water to a small saucepan and bring to boil until a candy thermometer reaches the soft ball stage, 238°F.
- With the mixer on high, pour the hot syrup in a stream into the egg whites. Continue to beat on high for 3 minutes to allow the egg/sugar mixture to cool a bit. Add softened butter 2 tablespoons at a time until all the butter is added. Beat on high for about 4-5 minutes until it's smooth and fluffy, beat in vanilla (and/or food coloring, if desired) Transfer buttercream to a pastry bag.
Molding the Villains (DAY 1: Make ahead)
- Pipe buttercream into the Serial Killer mold cavities, over filling it a little bit. Use a butter knife to stir the frosting down into the molds to ensure its worked down into the mold to show the details. Scrape off excess frosting and freeze for a minimum of an hour. Unmold the frozen killers and transfer them to a large container and keep frozen until ready decorate the cake. Repeat molding with frosting until you have 20-30 of each killer for a six inch, 3 layer cake. More of each will be needed for a larger diameter cake. (Note: Most, if not all of this batch of frosting will be used to make the villains so another batch of frosting will be needed to frost the cake layers.)
Easy Vanilla Dump Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 3, 6-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and line the bottom with 6-inch rounds of parchment paper. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and beat on low for about 1 min and scrape down sides of the bowl. Beat on high with a hand mixer for 2 minutes. Pour batter evenly into pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Cool for 10 minutes and turn out of pans and allow to cool completely.
- Prepare another batch of the Italian Meringue Buttercream and transfer to a piping bag. Pipe frosting between layers and frost the outside of the cake. Transfer to a serving plate. Pull frozen killers out of the freezer and decorate around the cake pressing them into the frosting. Top with raspberries and bloody jam and serve.
- For Killer effect, microwave ½ cup raspberry jam, 1 tbsp. of corn syrup, and red food coloring for 30 seconds and stir until smooth. Top with fresh raspberries , a knife and drizzle blood over cake.
