Hello all. 

I’m new to this site, but have been baking with Rose’s Cake Bible since I made my engagement party cake in 1990—OK I’m dating myself

I’m doing 200 cupcakes for my son’s bar mitzvah party and he’s a vanilla addict.  It will be outdoor, so I thought that mousseline buttercream would hold up the best, and I’d use the recipe for a three tiered wedding cake to get enough frosting for all of those cupcakes.

I thought that maybe I’d add white chocolate for a little more depth, but the recipe also calls for 1 cup of eau de vie or liqueur.  My son doesn’t want any flavor other than vanilla coming through.

I can’t imagine substituting a cup of liqueur for a full cup of vanilla extract.  Leaving the liqueur out would leave the buttercream flavorless IMO.

So what would you do?  What kind of liqueur or eau de vie would you add a cup of?  That would still let the vanilla flavor take center stage.  I did look for a vanilla liqueur, but could’t find any in any of my local stores.

Thanks!

Hi, Mom!

Welcome!

OK I’m dating myself

I trust you were not also engaged to yourself ...

I cannot help you with your question, but I really wanted to make that smart aleky remark!

If your son loves vanilla, though, I can suggest this—if the cake you are making uses milk, put the amount of milk you will be using for the cake into a glass jar (or whatever), and put vanilla beans in it for a day or two.  Cut a slit down the middle of the vanilla bean so it’s easier to scoop out the seeds.  The milk will get a little brown but will be so infused with vanilla flavor from the pod, it will give the most amazing vanilla flavor to your cake!!!  Also, if you use real beans, you can use extra without any bitter flavor (like you can get from extract), so you can really amp it up.

Happy Bar Mitzva to your son!

Please keep us posted on your cupcake progress!

—ak

You don’t need to add the alcohol to the mousseline; we use mousseline as our house buttercream and while I’ve added a double fold vanilla extract on occasion for plain buttercream, I don’t use any alcohol in the buttercreams.  You could add some vanilla bean paste, but I find that to be more sweet than vanilla-y but see what you think. Since the buttercream is not sweet, it might be fine.

For a wonderful vanilla flavor, I’d go with vanilla beans- scrape out the seeds and add them to the buttercream.  You can also put the pods in the buttercream, let it sit for a bit, then remove them and be sure to re-beat before using it to distribute the flavor evenly.

It’s true that you don’t need to add liqueur, but I would recommend either liqueur or white chocolate- either works wonders on the texture and deliciousness of mousseline.  The white chocolate doesn’t come across as white chocolate, just a yummier version of vanilla with a lovely texture.  I recommend Green & Black’s or Vahlrona for the best flavor, and you can still add a vanilla bean if you like.  This would be my first choice.

If you go the liqueur route, there’s Navan liqueur, but it definitely adds the flavor of brandy, so I don’t think it’s what you’re looking for.  You might consider just vodka in which you’ve soaked a vanilla bean or two (you don’t have to use the full amount of liqueur).  I think there are some vanilla vodkas on the market but I haven’t tasted them so I don’t know how wonderful they may or may not be.

Whatever liquid you choose to add to the buttercream, you can soak beans in the pre-measured amount it for a day or two, too!  Those pods give out so much flavor, and you can’t really overkill on them.  I ususally do two days, myself.  It also softens the pod, so when you scrape them, you get more from them.

Thanks everyone for your answers!

Do you think that the texture of the IMBC will not suffer if I leave out the liquid and just add white chocolate instead?  I’m a little worried, since the recipe calls for a full cup of liqueur (for a 3-tier cake - which I assume will be plenty to frost 200 cupcakes)

I’m thinking to leave out the liqueur, and add in the white chocolate.  Think that will be enough to give a good flavor to the frosting and keep a good consistency?

Also, thanks for the idea of soaking some pods in the milk I"ll use for the cake.  I’ll do that too.

Anne in NC - 21 July 2012 10:33 AM

Hi, Mom!

Welcome!

OK I’m dating myself

I trust you were not also engaged to yourself ...

 

Mom929,

I have nothing to add but wanted to say welcome and mazel tov on your son’s bar mitzvah.

It depends on if you like stiffer or fluffier frosting.  I find mousseline (IMBC) without added liquor to be somewhat stiff—amazing, but stiff and buttery.  What I’ve done with the white chocolate mousseline—and it was fabulous—is to thicken milk with flour (you can use vanilla podded milk for this), let it cool completely (or it will melt the frosting) and beat it in.  It makes the frosting lighter and fluffier, while still being completely stable.  If I have 4c mousseline, I’ll thicken 1c. milk.  I make the milk pretty thick—so it’s about as thick as Campbells condensed cream soups.  Remember those????  Wondra works well for this, becuase it sort of “dissolves” easier.

It will be fine with just the white chocolate, I usually think of it as an either/or- either white chocolate or liqueur.

I add one teaspoon of vanilla extract for each cup of sugar in the mousilline.  If you do use milk in your batter, I split a vanilla bean (one bean for each cup of milk approximately) and heat it and the milk to just below a simmer and then remove from the heat, cover and let come to room temperature.  I scrap out the seeds when I am ready to use it and discard the bean.  It is the perfect vanilla balance I think.  I would also use Green and Whites white chocolate.  It is silky smooth and has vanilla seeds.  It looks beautiful!

Good luck!