Melting Moments
Posted: September 8, 2011 Filed under: Bake Off Recipes, Biscuits, Budget, Traditional 102 Comments
Wotchers!
Week 4 on The Great British Bake Off was Biscuit week, and for my Signature Bake I chose to make Melting Moments.
The reasons were many:
- Underneath all the ‘bells and whistles’ decoration, they contain just five ingredients, all of which you would find in your cupboards – one of my (numerous!) pet peeves is having to make a shopping expedition in search of ingredients.
- There’s no tricky techniques – it’s practically a ‘bung everything in a bowl and mix it’ method.
- They bake really quickly – a mere 12 minutes!
- They’re crisp, yet melt in the mouth. No, seriously – they literally melt! It’s the magic of cornflour! I’m all for a nice, crisp, chunky, rustic biscuit, but every now and then something delicate and indulgent just hits the spot.
- They can be prettied up by being piped – or if speed is of the essence, teaspoonsful of mixture on a baking tray work just as well with a fraction of the faff.
- They can be kept in a tin and enjoyed plain – but also sandwiched together with jam and buttercream at short notice for a special occasion.
As luck would have it, I’d recently spent quite some time perfecting what I believed to be the perfect Melting Moment. This involved experimenting with various proportions of cornflour/butter/flour/sugar to achieve that delicate balance of crisp to bite, yet melt in the mouth crumbliness: too much cornflour, and they end up tasting almost ‘chalky’ – too much flour, and they don’t crumble, too much butter and they end up greasy.
It also gave me the opportunity to use a new recipe for a lighter, silkier buttercream that I’d found. Doesn’t that sound delicious and awesome? Stay with me though, because you might start to have doubts as I elaborate. It’s known by a variety of names, but the one that I, possibly misguidedly, chose to remember it as is: Depression Era Buttercream. Stay with me! Think silky! Think luscious!
Still here? Good. Because now I’m going to tell you it’s made using a thickened paste of flour and milk. *waits for the shrieking stampede of readers fleeing for the hills* Born in an era of economic hardship (sound familiar??), this buttercream recipe manages to stretch the expensive butter and sugar to go a little further, but what you actually get is astonishingly good and head and shoulders above a regular buttercream.
Seriously – what with the description and the name – if ever a recipe needed some MAJOR PR and spin-doctoring, it’s this one. It almost had me doubting too, when I first read about it – but if you look out there on the internet, it comes up time after time, with people raving about how great it is. I reasoned that they couldn’t ALL be delusional, so I decided to give it a go. With a bit more research and some tweaks here and there, I came up with the instructions below to ensure that the end product is stunning.
Where normal buttercream can be a greasy, gritty, yellow lump, this buttercream is light, dazzling white, and silky smooth. It’s versatile in that you can add flavour and/or colour to the milk, and not risk spoiling the end result by accidentally adding too much liquid. I used a variation of this with my blackcurrant and mint macaroons (which weren’t shown in the final edit *sob!* but which tasted lovely!).
Melting Moments – makes 12-14 sandwiched biscuits
250g plain flour
58g cornflour
58g icing sugar
250g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Cream butter and icing sugar together until pale and fluffy. NB This will take a good 5 minutes, possibly longer. The mixture needs to be soft enough to pipe
- Add the vanilla extract and beat for a few seconds.
- Sift flour and cornflour together over the butter mixture and mix until smooth.
- Fit a large star-shaped nozzle into a piping bag. To add the touch of colour to your biscuits, draw/paint a single line of food colouring inside the piping bag, from the nozzle to the bag opening. I chose red, because I was using raspberry jam. Matching the colour to the jam is a nice touch, I feel – but any colour would do.
- Spoon mixture into the piping bag and pipe swirls on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. NB I used a template of circles drawn on a sheet of cardboard, and pinned it underneath the baking parchment. Not compulsory at all, but if you’re going to sandwich the biscuits together, it helps to keep them all a similar size.
- Place in freezer for 15 minutes to firm. This will harden the butter in the swirls, so that when the biscuits go into the hot oven, the heat will cook them almost instantly, thereby preserving the pretty pattern. You can skip this step by all means, but the result will be decidedly ‘fuzzy’ compared to the picture above.
- Turn oven to 200°C, 180°C Fan.
- Bake for 12 minutes or until they are a pale golden colour and the edges of the ‘swirls’ are just turning a light brown.
- Leave for a few minutes on the baking tray to firm up slightly before transferring to wire rack to cook.
Depression Era Buttercream Filling
This makes enough buttercream to fill and ice a regular-sized cake – more than is needed for a single batch of biscuits. Consider halving the recipe – or make twice as many biscuits!
250ml milk
4 tbs plain flour
225g unsalted butter
225g caster sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Heat the milk with the flour, stirring with a whisk until the mixture thickens.
- Continue cooking and stirring for 1 minute. This extra bit of heating/stirring will ‘cook out’ the flour and ensure that the buttercream doesn’t taste floury.
- Pour the mixture onto a plate, cover with cling film, to prevent a skin forming and cool. NB Don’t skip the cooling part – you don’t want the butter mixture to melt.
- Beat the sugar and butter for at least 10 minutes until pale and fluffy . NB Do not skimp on the whisking time. Obviously, a stand mixer would be ideal, but even with hand-held beaters you should persevere. This extended beating will get air into the mix, and the more air means a lighter, silkier buttercream. The mixture will become almost white in colour.
- Add thickened milk mixture and vanilla extract.
- Continue mixing until fully incorporated, pale and thick – another 10 minutes.
To Assemble
Seedless Raspberry Jam (or jam of your choice – whizz it in a mini food processor to get rid of any lumps of fruit)
Buttercream
Icing sugar
- Spread the bases of half the biscuits with a little jam
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle with the buttercream and pipe circles of cream onto the bases of the other half of the biscuits.
- Sandwich the biscuits together and and dust with icing sugar.
Cost: Biscuits: £1.35, Buttercream: £1.55 (September 2011)
Time To Cook - Online 
I am so going to try and make these at the weekend. Along with Jae’s banana bread I found on his site, I’m going to be busy!
Awesome, David! Do let me know how it goes! M-A 😀
I always enjoy reading your posts honey. Well done on such fabulous photos too x
Thanks Urvashi – my first pic with my new indoor lighting setup – I’m rather chuffed! M-A 😀
I’m planning on breaking out a batch of these to cure a hangover this weekend – I thought they were such a cracking idea on the show! Can I also compliment you on your lovely writing, your recipes are a pleasure to read 🙂
Beth x
Thank you Beth – I try to write like I’m just chatting/waffling on at home over a coffee. Glad you likey! M-A 😀
Hello Mary! Im so excited to have found your blog completely by accident (tastespotting browsing 🙂 ) Id just like to say I have loved watching this series of The Great British Bake Off and your bakes always look absolutely divine, I got given the book for my birthday a week or so back and made the brandy snaps today (yum!) but have bookmarked your amazing ploughmans loaf that im elated to see you have posted about! Will hopefully make these lovely little cookies sometime very soon too 🙂
Anyway, enough ramblings 🙂 Just to say incredibly well done on your fabulous successes so far and good luck for the rest of the show!
Thank you Sasha – always such lovely comments you leave me! 😀
I’m in awe of the frequency of the posts on your blog – it’s exhausting just to watch! Keep up the excellent work! M-A 🙂
Just watched the repeat of GBBO and am going to have a go at your melting moments, and also try macaroons. Please could you tell me what kind of piping bag & tips you were using to make the melting moments? The bag looked reusable and robust, unlike what I’m finding online. Many thanks, and best of luck with the competition!! Tully
Wotchers Tully – as luck would have it, I’ve recently ordered 2 more piping bags – they’re Cotton Thermo Standard Pastry Bag 500mm from nisbets.co.uk. They’re lined cotton – nice and sturdy. The nozzle is a large open star tip – the mix is a bit dense for anything smaller. Hope this helps! M-A
Many thanks M-A, nisbets looks like a very good resource. Melting moments this weekend then!!
I want to try these today. They look delicious and beautiful, I found them amazing during the show also! Compliments for your baking! 🙂
Thank you for the compliments! 😀
Mmm 🙂 I will have a go at making them sometime soon! They look lovely, I watch the GBBO every week at least once, my favourite tv show! Hoping for you, Holly or Jo to win.
Martha
x
Sounds yummy! Definetly gonna make this recipe soon, I love the red colour intwined makes it look extra cute! I’ve been watching the GBBO, and your great. Love your recipes! Good luck!
Becky
x
Oooooh !!! We are actually watching GBBO RIGHT NOW having Sky + it during the week. Your depression era buttercream piqued my interest so I googled it and here you are !!! WOW !!! Thanks for sharing this recipe – and our fingers are crossed for you. Good luck !
I’ve loved this since the first time seeing it, so lovely! Thanks for the recipe, I will try this this week!
You have your on blog! how lovely. Your doing great on the show! They look soo nice! I’ll give them a try 🙂
Hi Mary Anne
Can you tell me the best way of getting the line of food colouring into the piping bag without making a big mess!
Thanks 🙂
Wotchers Sarah! The least messy way would be with the gel colours, as they won’t drip. Failing that, I’d say use a pastry brush – silicon if you have it – to paint the stripe inside the piping bag. Hope this helps! M-A 😀
Thank you, i’ll give that a try!
The butter cream also sparked my interest in this recipe and I’m excited to try it out. There is a popular bakery in New Orleans that uses a “cooked” frosting and it’s fantastic. It think this may be very similar. Thank you for posting!
Thanks Michelle – hope you like it! M-A
Hi! This is a great recipe. We had a go at it last weekend, but I must have made my template circles for piping the biscuit mixture far too large as I only got about 16 out of the mix! What size circles do you use? Thanks!
Wotchers Kathryn – I made mine about 4cm diameter and got about 34 individual biscuits – hope this helps! M-A 😀
Hi there,
I tried your melting moments biscuits this weekend, WOW! absolutely wonderful.
The Depression Era Buttercream was so light, mine was a little runny, but oh so yummy!
A fabulous recipe, thank you.
Mellenie @ Sweet Wishes Cupcakes
Wotchers Mellenie! Thank you for the compliments – maybe try a little less milk or another spoonful of flour for the next batch? Hopefully that will firm it up a bit 😀 M-A
Hi Mary anne love the melting moments. Like you I have been using this type of buttercream for years as not a fan of the normal buttercream this is less sweet and use it in cakes, cupcakes as well as a filling for cookies. Loved your idea of puttina touch of colour to the Melting Moments
Congratulations on your great site, i think you’re a hugely inspiring cook.
could you tell me where i can buy the cake tins you used for your two tier chocolate and raspberry opera cake?
Wotchers azalia! Thank you for the kind words. The pans I used I bought from our local The Range for £8 each. They are called Half-Sheet pans and are 30cmx45cm. Happy Baking! M-A 😀
Thank you 🙂 ps i made the melting moments yesterday – they were to die for! i made bite size versions, they looked very pretty with the red colouring running through and tasted fabulous – even without the jam which i didnt have. the pattern wasn’t as pronounced as yours after baking even with the freezing, i baked them in my fan assisted electric oven.
oh and i plan to attempt your gloriously appealing Orange and praline croquembouche with cardamom caramel but i can’t seem to spot the ‘orange’ in the recipe! am i just being dim?
Wotchers Azalia – and Hrms – seems the orange has gone AWOL en-route to the BBC – should have the zest of 2 oranges in the pastry cream 😀
I’m so very pleased to have found your blog Mary Anne – but especially glad to have this recipe. Know what I’ll be baking tomorrow.
Pam
Hi Mary Ann are you going to put up the macaroon recipe that you used on GBBO?
saw your most wonderful bakes on the programme, oh how I wanted you all to win! but there we go! i am now 17 and have been baking for about 6 years, though still making babysteps,saw so many things you made that i want to try, these include, so when i saw you had a blog, i had to find it, and glad i have (i also hate the search for ingredients, as do my parents). anyway, just wanted to say congratulations!
x
I absolutely loved these biscuits when I saw you making them on the GBBO. I am making these soon. So very very tempting.
Hey Mary-Ann,
Looked up your blog after the Great British Bake Off final (congratulations by the way) as I always loved your approach throughout the show. I made these last night to bring into the office and they are currently getting sold to help raise money for Jeans for Genes.
Will be going through your site to see what else I can try… already have my eye on the Tiger Bread.
Just a little note about the website tho, is there any way you could make a page with all the titles of the recipes with a like to the appropriate post? At the moment you can select the type of recipe, but you only see one at a time which makes it a tad difficult to see what you have on offer! (Hope you don’t mind me saying this!)
Wotchers Stewart – Don’t mind at all – I had written it down to do, but must have misplaced the bit of paper. Excellent reminder! Thanks! I’ll get right on it 😀
Hi Mary-Ann,
Congratulations on GBBO, my boyfriend and I loved you right from the start, and your inventive approach to getting such pretty cakes was marvalous. You are now a legend in our house!
I made these pretty little biscuits last night and they turned out amazingly well. I’m not really into biscuit making, usually stick to cakes but I will definitely make these again they put my shop bought Fox’s creams to shame! 😀
I was also very dubious of using caster sugar in the buttercream as I hate the gritty texture, but I decided to trust you and go with it and you are absolutely right such a lovely recipe!
Thanks 🙂
Hi Mary-Anne.
Firstly, I want to say that I absolutely loved your style of baking on the GBBO. It was honest and inspiring.
Secondly, I just whipped up a batch of these little beauties. So easy to make, but the results are gorgeous, only let down by the fact that I haven’t piped in ages.
Thanks for sharing
I was pleasantly surprised to stumble across this blog whilst trying to find out a bit more about “Depression-era buttercream” – you intrigued me! It was such a pleasure watching you on the show. Some of you guys are so amazingly talented. You especially were one of my favourites – a proper mad genius of baking! Couldn’t wait to tune in each week to see what amazing concoctions you’d have for us. You’ve inspired me to get back in the kitchen. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes. Can’t wait to try this one out!
Hi Mary Ann,
I loved watching your recipes on GBBO and the different techniques that you use including the paste to make the colours in the cakes.
I wish that I was as creative with my baking as you are, I can never remember any recipes at all so always have to read them so my concentration goes into just getting the basic recipe right without experimenting :-S
I can’t wait to have a go at making your strawberry and Rhubarb cheesecakes!
Its been great to watch you on GBBO and I will certainly have a go at your recipes and keep an eye on your blog x
Hooray!! I found your recipe. It was one that was not listed on the BBC site.
I live in the USA and found the GBBO by accident and downloaded all the episodes as sadly we can not get BBC 2 here. 😦
I just wanted to say that you and Jo were my two favorites throughout the whole thing. I so enjoyed your humor and willingness to try different things. Even when things went bad, like the bag bursting the tip off you still managed to smile and get it finished and presented without the feathering.
Now that I have found your Blog I will be a regular follower.
Again congrats on all that you have achieved and that great humor and positive attitude.
Hi Mary-Anne
Congratulations on making it to the GBBO final. Totally deserved.
I made your Melting Moments last night and they are just delicious. Easy to make too. Inspired by my recent travels to Latin America, I opted for dulce de leche to sandwich them together and then, since it’s National Chocolate Week (like I need an excuse!) I dipped half of each sandwiched biscuit in melted chocolate. They looked great and tasted amazing. A real sugar hit, but I’m not complaining and nor was anyone else who ate one!
Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to many more posts from you!!!
hi mary
Have just made these but had real trouble piping them – not sure if it is my piping skills rather than the bag and nozzle! Have you got any tips for piping these. Is there an alternative to piping? What bags and size nozzle do you use?
Wotchers Jo – Sorry to hear about the difficulties. Yes, piping this mixture can be a bit of a strain on the hands/piping bag, but there are a couple of tips that might make things a bit easier. 1. Have the butter as ‘room temperature’ as possible without actually melting it. 2. Beat the butter on its own until light and fluffy – beating will add air and help to ‘souffle’ the mix. 3. Beat the butter and sugar for an extended time also. 4. Sift in the flours and beat some more. 5. Use a canvas piping bag. My nylon one just couldn’t cope with the stiff mixture either. 6 Use a large, open star nozzle – looks like a pointy star rather than a snowflake. The wider the better, but adjust the size of the biscuits down accordingly. Hope these help! M-A 😀
thanks – i think my nozzle was too small – also used a nylon piping bag and all the oil was running out making it slippery so couldn’t push as much as i wanted to!! time for new piping bags! although i had difficulty piping them, have now cooked and filled them and they taste delicious!
Hi Mary-Anne
I loved TGBB and think you’re great! I’m so excited to have found your blog. I also had some problems piping as the mixture was too dough-y and it just woudn’t pipe smoothly, the coupler kept on poping off! Now that I’ve read your tips and ordered a canvas piping bag I plan to try again as these biscuits look delicious! Can I ask if you put all the mix into the piping bag or did you do it in two goes?
Thanks a lot
Wotchers Amira! I pipe the whole mix at once. Make sure the butter is really soft before starting, and beat it well to make it light. Happy baking! 😀
Hi. Thanks for your tips- I tried making them again and this time succeeded! They tasted yum and were a real hit at work. I posted a pic on my blog 🙂
Mary-Anne, out of curiosity how did you calculate that the cost of the biscuits was £1.35? 250g of butter on its own costs more than that, or is unsalted butter on sale somewhere that I’m not aware of?
I calculate the cost on the day the post is published, using basic, no-frills ingredients. The butter probably cost me less than a pound. On that day. Six weeks ago. Hope this helps! M-A 😀
Aha, that makes sense! Thanks M-A! Keep up the great blogging 🙂
I have been looking for these – I could not remember the name of them. Well now there is another thing to add to my I must bake list! It keeps growing.
I’ve tried these and everyone who tasted them absolutely loved them (which means I’m making a batch a week!!) I now only ever use depression-era buttercream for all my cupcakes. I love the texture and it’s not too sweet.
Wotchers Catherine! So glad you’re enjoying the biscuits and the cream. I love how adaptable the cream is, and that you can vary the flavour by infusing the milk, and never ruin the texture. Happy baking! M-A 😀
[…] looking for. It had to be the Melting Moment biscuit which I had first laid eyes on as I watched Mary-Anne Boerman bake them on the Great British Bake Off (week 4). One look and I was captivated so much so a few […]
OMG the buttercream is an absoulte revelation!!! Followed your instructions Mary – Anne and wasn’t quite sure how it was going to turn out as the butter/caster sugar mix was so gritty, I probably left the mixer going for a shade over 10 minutes before adding the flour/milk mix and again left it probably for nearer to 15 minutes. I can’t believe that it came out without the gritty sugar – how does that happen? Alchemy!!!..quite the best buttercream I’ve tasted and trust me I’ve tried heaps – I beseech all followers to try this immediately!!
PS What would be the best way to make this into chocolate buttercream?
Wotchers Judi! Happy you enjoyed the buttercream. To make it chocolate flavour, I’d add cocoa to the milk – 2 heaped tablespoons should do it, but do a taste test to check. Then just make the roux as usual. Happy baking! M-A 😀
I’ve just done a vegan adaptation of your depression era buttercream (doing a vegan Lent challenge!) for some cupcakes, and it is absolutely divine! I’ve put this on my blog, but linked back here so everyone can see where it’s from – I hope that’s OK? Now I think the first thing I’m going to bake after Easter will be these melting moments… yum!
That’s fantastic, P! The original is rather dairy heavy – so congrats on experimenting and succeeding! And thanks for the link back, too! M-A 😀
Hi, about to try your recipe.Looks divine. Just wondering what you would do different to the butter cream to make it a lemon butter cream
Hi Andy – I’d use the zest of a lemon added to the whipped butter and sugar. Taste after beating in the flour roux and add lemon juice if more flavour is needed. Have fun! 😀
[…] buttercream and jam wedged in between, but I opted to bake just the biscuits. I followed her recipe here, with the only change being the increase of icing sugar by 40g (since there wasn’t going to […]
[…] can find the recipe for these delicious bite-sized bakes here, on Mary’s blog. I am a bit of a baking geek, but if (like me) you appreciate reading about […]
There is an easier way to make the filling cream! Mix all ingredients together in the saucepan, cook, then beat it as it cools over some ice or cool it then beat it fluffy
I found i had the same taste and texture but easier to do and less likely to go wrong 🙂
Hi Mary-Anne, I just made these melting moments, “delicious”, and your buttercream OMG! The Bake-Off program has just started screening in New Zealand and I watched the melting moments episode and had to bake them to try your buttercream, fabulous! My husband HATES icings/frostings/buttercreams due to the amount of icing sugar that gets added and makes it too sweet for him. He LOVED this, thank you!!! I made it a second time using custard powder instead of flour and then added a few tablespoons of passionfruit pulp, it was unbelivably gorgeous! So silky and smooth. I also made the melting moments again using chocolate icing sugar and then made a very stiff ganache, awesome as well. Thank you so much for this brilliant recipe as having a great base allows you to experiment and play with recipes, which is just the fun of baking !!
Wotchers Jenine! Thank you so much for the kind words! Really pleased you’re enjoying experimenting with the recipe. I love the custard/passionfruit idea – must try that myself soon! M-A 😀
[…] evaporated milk left over from making fudge but Mary-Anne from GBBO has a great milk less recipe here and is the inspiration behind the red streak in my whirls! To make my Viennese whirls you will […]
Hi Mary-Anne,
Thank you so much for generously sharing your melting moments recipe. I saw it on your show a couple of years late in New Zealand! My husband always loves me to make the same biscuits for him, but now that he’s tried your melting moments he has a new favourite. They really melt in the mouth, and you have got the balance of ingredients just right – I have been looking for the perfect recipe and it’s yours! We do them with raspberry icing in the middle and my husband’s colleagues love them too.
Wotchers abbamay! Thank you for the kind words, I’m glad to be responsible for DOUBLING your biscuit repertoire! 😉 The raspberry filling sounds delish! And how lovely to know I’m FAMOUS in New Zealand – I have a cousin there I’ve never met. 😀 M-A
Just saw this on Great British Bake Off. Only showing now in South Africa. I love the idea of the food colouring! Really creative and they look divine. Hoping to make them this weekend!
Wotchers Anita! So glad you like the biscuits. Do let me know how you get on! M-A 😀
Wotchers Anita – so glad you liked the biscuits. Did you try baking them yet? Enquiring minds want to know!? 😉 M-A
I just tried these and they turned out amazing!! i piped them a bit small and I ended up with about 40 pairs (no kidding). thanks for a great recipe! xxx
Wotchers Annie! Amazing number of biscuits! I’m imagining them like pennies! 😉 M-A
Thats true- they were about the size of my thumbnail but they went in a flash!
Thanks for helping me make biscuits. These were the first ones I made and they tasted so nice thank you
Just got to say OMG they are bloody amazing, you certainly did your homework testing them to perfection- Sharon x
Hiya, I am after some advice as although I followed the recipe to the letter, they keep coming out far too crumbly (although they taste delicious). I have also tried making these as fingers as opposed to rounds, but you can’t pick them up without them falling apart!! What can I do to make them less crumbly??? Thanks
Wotchers Steph!
They’re really crumbly when warm, so you either need a wafer-thin biscuit slice to move them from the baking sheet, or slide the whole piece of parchment off the baking sheet and onto the cooling rack. Trying to pick them up any other way is going to make them crumble.
Hope this helps! M-A 😀
Hi M-A, thanks for replying – I’m loving the blog and am itching to try out loads more of your recipes. As for the viennese fingers – as that’s basically what I’m trying to make 😉 – I have tried leaving them on the parchment to cool on a rack but no success. Thebiscuits themselves are just too short!! I would dearly love to be able to make these as they are the one thing my other half actually requests – he really doesn’t have a sweet tooth and I love baking!!!! Thanks again x
Hi M-A, I love these melting moments and they were loved by everyone that tried them, thank you. It was the best buttercream I have EVER tasted and will be making it again and again, will try the chocolate next.
Some did last until the next day but the biscuit had become a little softer, almost soggy so don think they were stored correctly or I should have just finished them the day I baked them!!
Can I pick your brains, if I were to use the buttercream on cupcakes, would they be ok for a couple of days?
Thanks, Sally.
Wotchers Sally!
Thank you for the kind words.
In my experience, it’s best to fill the biscuits just before serving, as the moisture in the fillings can leech into the biscuit overnight – although I do appreciate that it’s difficult to judge how many will be needed.
Something you might want to try in the future – if you’re not eating them the same day as they were baked, warm the biscuits in the oven for a few minutes to crisp them up before adding the fillings.
As to using the buttercream for cupcakes, it’s fabulous. Best approach is to pipe the buttercream as soon as the cakes are cooled, then cover, or put in a sealed box, and chill in the fridge. Allow time for the cakes to come to room temperature, and the buttercream will return to it’s silky texture. I added some espresso powder to the milk and used it for a coffee and walnut cake I had to refrigerate overnight, and it was AMAZING – SO silky-smooth. Hope this helps! M-A 😀
Brilliant, thank you M-A, great tips, just never thought to leave some biscuits ‘undone’ … Will just have to make some more 😜. Cupcakes first with the delicious buttercream.
Thank you thank you, loving the blog x
Just made the lovely Melting Moments – However! my buttercream is looking a little curdled…. Over mixed; under mixed??? Any advice would be much appreciated.
Wotchers Kaye!
Sorry to hear your buttercream wasn’t fabulous.
Two possibilities – 1) The milk/flour paste wasn’t completely cold before being added, and it melted some of the butter, or 2) Undermixed.
If 1) I suggest chilling the mix until the butter solidifies and then beating it thoroughly (although this will be tricky with hardened buttercream).
If 2) Just carry on mixing – it’ll get there.
Hope this helps! M-A 😀
Thanks for that. Buttercream was cold, so obviously need more mixing. However, they have just been enjoyed by my group of friends with second helpings, so can’t be doing too much wrong!
Thanks
Kaye
Love buttercream but mine always comes out with a few little ‘bits’ in it! I guess it’s the flour mix, I follow instructions to the letter and to be fair nobody else ever notices but I do and I would love it perfect. Any suggestions?
Wotchers Del!
Can you elaborate more on what you mean by ‘bits’?
Are you finding pockets of flour in the buttercream?
M-A 😀
Hey Mary, thanks for your reply. No, not flour. Maybe like small paper like pieces, hard to describe really, I thought at first maybe the flour/milk mix had formed a skin so I am careful to cover in cling film but it still happens. I’ll make some today and see if I can define it more. I’m in Australia so we have a sub tropical climate but I can’t think that has anything to do with it. I mix it for ages too. Maybe my flour/milk mix is too thick? I don’t know I’m really stumped. Have to say though this is the best buttercream I’ve ever tasted bits or no!
[…] The recipe, in great detail, can be found here: https://timetocookonline.com/2011/09/08/melting-moments/ […]
hello, i would like to ask a question regarding the buttercream? I know the recipe is for the vanilla version, at what point can I add my ‘alternative’ flavours i.e. chocolate, lemon etc? BTW, absolutely loved this buttercream once I got over the idea of it! Went down a storm on a sponge cake, but now I’d like to make difference flavours. Many thanks from Ireland
Wotchers Sandra!
So glad you’re a fan of the buttercream – and I was also very wary at the thought of adding a flour paste at first!
Regarding the flavourings, I’ve made a few variations: for coffee and chocolate I add 2-3 tablespoons of espresso powder or Green&Black’s cocoa to the milk with the flour, although I must confess I also usually end up adding more once it’s mixed in, as I like both flavours to be strong. For lemon/orange/lime/grapefruit, I’d add the rind and lemon juice to the sugar/butter mix instead, to keep it tasting as fresh as possible. Another option which you might like to explore is freeze-dried fruit powders – I get mine from http://www.healthysupplies.co.uk – which need no cooking and can just be whipped into the sugar/butter.
If you want to have a general rule, if it’s liquid flavouring, add it to the milk, if dry, add it to the sugar/butter.
Hope this helps!
M-A 😀
Thank You so much for this Wonderful Recipe. I have been Craving these delicious cookies ever since I saw you make them. They looked Delicious and Beautiful Thank You so much for sharing on your wonderfull Blog. So glad I have Found You. Thanks again -Rin in U.S.A
P.S. Forgive Typos using Mobile phone
[…] which helped to keep the shape! She wrote about it in her post on her blog which you can find here. But most of the other recipes out there don’t mention chilling at […]
at which stage of your recipe above do you add the flour?
oh sorry – I didn’t read the recipe properly
Theses are great…can you tel me the ladys full name who made them off the bake off plz
Wotchers Angela,
Yes, I can. It’s me.
MAB 😀
Great buttercream. It reminds me of the buttercream my mother used to make, from her Dr. Oetker “Backen Macht Freude” book. You start with a packet of Dr. Oetker pudding powder (usually vanilla flavour), and make it up with 75-100g sugar and 500ml milk. Beat 200g butter, and add the cooled pudding a spoonful at a time, beating well; then use the buttercream to frost your birthday cake! You may of course already know of this buttercream, but if not, I recommend it.