Buttercream is an icing, sometimes called frosting, made by creaming together butter, sugar, and egg whites. Buttercream is used for frosting, filling and decorating cakes. There is a bit of a controversy over the term frosting versus the term icing. Some feel that icing is a more professional term indicating a firm consistency that is easier to decorate, than a softer frosting. Others feel that the terms are synonymous, with no real difference between the two. http://www.cakespy.com/2009/01/icing-on-cake-exploration-of-icing.html. Either way, buttercream icing or frosting is very versatile, it can be used in its basic form, or flavored with cocoa, bits of chocolate, frozen strawberries, or a wide variety of flavor extracts.http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/ButtercreamRecipes.htm

It is important to be aware that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued statements about the dangers of raw eggs, and recommend that food items with raw eggs should not be without refrigeration for more than two hours. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/salment_g.htm

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups unsalted, room temperature butter
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract (almond or lemon extract may be substituted)
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 3 Egg whites

• Cream butter and vanilla extract
• Whip sugar and egg whites together until the sugar is dissolved and semi-stiff peaks are formed
• With a mixer set to a medium speed, beat the butter mixture into the egg white mixture a quarter cup at a time

Keep refrigerated

1. After baking the cake let it cool, wrap in in some plastic wrap and put it in the freezer for a couple of hours to minimize crumbs while cutting and frosting it.
2. Unwrap the cake and cut it in half, into two layers. Fill with whatever filling is preferred. Wrap the cake up again and return to the freezer for another hour.
3. Take out the cake and cut it evenly on the sides so that there are no uneven layers. Spread the buttercream over the cake thickly, so that crumbs will not be pulled up while spreading. Spread the buttercream with a spatula and when an even coating is achieved, gently scrape off any access frosting.