1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 egg whites
2/3 cup blueberries
1 vanilla bean, split length wise
pinch salt
Directions:
Beat the egg whites and salt to soft peaks using an electric mixer. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring sugar, vanilla bean blueberries and water to a boil, stirring occasionally, mashing the berries a bit with the back of your spoon. Continue to boil until it reaches soft ball stage (when a drop of the syrup forms a soft ball when dropped in cool water) while continuing to stir occasionally.
Whisk the mixture through a fine sieve into a heat safe measuring cup and discard the blueberries. Keep the mixer running (to be safe use a stand mixer or a friend to complete this next step) and pour a continuous stream of molten syrup into the egg whites. Continue to beat for about 5 minutes or until the frosting is fluffy, glossy and cool. Frost cooled cupcakes or cake.
My thoughts:
The best word to describe this frosting is ethereal. It has an incredibly light and smooth texture and is infused with blueberries and vanilla. So good and perfect for summer.
I want to try this with the strawberries I have to hurry up and finish from our CSA. And the several pounds of vanilla beans in my cabinet. Looks luscious!
Ooooooh, gorgeous! This sounds really delicious! I will have to give it a try. 🙂
Amazing! Look at those colours, it is worth it just for that alone.
Wow, what perfect timing! I've been trying to figure out the perfect frosting for a cake that I want to make, and blueberries appear to be at their peak in my region, so … thank you for the serendipity! That pastel purple in the photo really is attractive. 🙂
this looks so pretty, so if the taste is good an extra plus! I am thinking of doing this with raspberries just because they are peaking here and soo sweet….if I do I will link back to you! thanks for the great recipe!
This sounds really delicious….mmmmm….
This sounds amazing. I love a good frosting and these one seems great for the summer.
Blueberries are one of my favorite things and this look great!
Sounds delicious, but it also looks beautiful – that light, lavender color.
I LOVE this idea, Rachel. It's really fabulous.
This is an ingenious idea! A great way to flavor Swiss buttercream without messing with the consistency. I love it and I'll definitely be making this in the future, thanks for the idea 🙂
Thanks, Anna! It is actually not a buttercream though, it is a beaten icing.
Has anyone ever had any problems with this frosting having a sort of "sour" aftertaste? I've attempted a beaten frosting with just vanilla to flavor it and it turned out beautifully, but there was an almost metallic tinge to it. I checked my saucepan and it's non-reactive so that can't be it…
Anon-
I've made this type of icing dozens of times and have never encountered any sort of aftertaste. Could it be the utensils you are using? The mixing bowl? Is everything very clean? There is nothing in beaten icing that should have any aftertaste at all, it is just sugar, water, egg whites.
Yum – what a delicious fresh summer frosting! I've only experimented with adding a bit of citrus zest to beaten icings but I will be playing with this idea soon!
oh my goodness- i love meringue, i love blueberries, i love vanilla… it's not very difficult to figure out what's topping my next angel food cake!