It's diwali...

And I don't feel like working :(

But I have to clear that darn paper by tomorrow before I move to mothership ministry on Monday. Yeah,that's right. I'll be there for a month.

Maybe I should go bake! I think Mel wanted the recipe for the swiss meringue buttercream that I learnt at Shermay's a while ago... so here goes:

Ingredients:
2 egg whites (approximately 80gm nett weight of egg whites without shell; from large eggs, 60gm per egg with shell)
150gm caster sugar
1/4 tsp fine salt
230 gn unsalted better, cubed and softened at room temp for 30 mins

Method
1. Fill a medium-sized saucepan with water (up to a depth of 5cm). Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat so the water just simmers.
2. Meanwhile, mix the egg whites, sugar and salt with a hand whisk in the bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer
3. Place the bowl over the pan of simmering water and gently whisk until the ingredients are hot to the touch and the sugar is dissolved - feel the mixture between your fingers; it should be smooth, with no grains of sugar left
4 Fix the mixer with the whisk attachment. Attach the bowl to the mixer. Whip on medium speed until the mixture is oooled to room temp; abt 5 mins
5. At a medium-low speed, add the softened butter, a few cubes at a time, waiting for each addition to be incorporated before adding the next. After all the butter has been added, increase mixer speed to medium, and continue whipping until the buttercream is thick and smooth, abt 5 mins
6. once the buttercream is firm and smooth, add the desired flavouring gradually and continue to beat untill well blended.

Flavourings:
Raspberry buttercream
Add 4 tbsp of thick, seedless raspberry puree

Chocolate buttercream
Add 75gm bittersweet chocolate (melted and cooled to room temp before using)

Vanilla buttercream
Add the scraped-out pulp of 1 whole vanilla bean, of 1 tbsp of vanilla bean paste , of 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

Espresso buttercream
Add 2 tbsp of freshly-brewed espresso (cooled to room temp before using) of 2 tsp instant coffee granules dissolved in 2 tbsp of hot water (coffee cooled to room temp before using)

When it's done it can be piped above the cupcakes for deco. The base of the swiss meringue is cooked egg whites so it's pretty safe to keep in the fridge for a couple of days before re-using. Just wait for it to cool first so that it's easier to pipe.