For my sister’s birthday, something chocolate was required. A chocolate cake with Nutella Swiss Meringue Buttercream. My mother prepared her other favorite, a Tres Leches Cake, as well as a fried chicken dinner with all the trimmings. She is well loved and last Friday, very well fed.
To make the buttercream, I added 3 small jars of Nutella to a Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe I found online. (I have since tried it with the Jif hazelnut chocolate spread and its thicker texture works better in the frosting.) I have made meringue buttercreams before, but I now realize they were Italian style rather than Swiss. In this recipe the egg whites are heated before beating.
In the Italian version, a hot syrup is added to the fluffy whites. This method seems to yield a frosting that holds up better at room temperature. The Swiss was a little to soft to work with, hence the unusual piping pattern around the bottom of the cake.
Leave a Reply