Full Recipe
Author
David Turner | 2026-02-09
Description
Silky, creamy, and unapologetically luxurious, French buttercream is the frosting to choose when you want something truly celebratory to finish a cake or fill delicate macarons. Whereas Swiss and Italian buttercreams are made exclusively with egg whites, French buttercream is made with egg yolks, yielding a richer frosting with a golden hue. To make it, whipped egg yolks are gently cooked by streaming in a hot sugar syrup to create an exceptionally smooth, sturdy buttercream. We like to flavor it with a splash of vanilla bean paste (those lovely specks!), but you can also use this French buttercream recipe as a base and make chocolate, citrus, or other fruit-flavored variations; see “tips,” below for details.
