Martha, Martha, Martha

I am so disappointed!

I love to watch cooking shows and Martha Bakes is one of my favorites. I want to be a baker. I want to make beautiful cakes. I want to create pastry that will make your eyes roll back in your head. So, to that end, I decided that I wanted to try to make an Italian Meringue Buttercream frosting. I made a chocolate cake. A perfectly wonderful, delicious chocolate cake using a Natalie Dupree recipe. I found several recipes for the frosting, but decided to use Martha Stewart's recipe because Martha has never let me down.

Until now.

This frosting ruined my cake. It was awful. It tasted like pure butter.

Martha Stewart's Italian Meringue Buttercream Frosting

1 1/4 cups sugar
5 large egg whites
Pinch of cream of tartar
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring sugar and 2/3 cup water to a boil. Continue boiling until syrup reaches 238 degrees on a candy thermometer (soft-ball stage).
Meanwhile, place egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat on low speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, and beat on medium-high speed until stiff but not dry; do not overbeat.
With mixer running, add syrup to whites in a stream, beating on high speed until no longer steaming, about 3 minutes. Add butter bit by bit, beating until spreadable, 3 to 5 minutes; beat in vanilla. If icing curdles, keep beating until smooth.

So I checked Buddy Valastro's recipe.

Cake Boss Italian Meringue Buttercream Frosting

INGREDIENTS:

8 extra-large egg whites
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
4 cups (8 sticks) usalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small cubes
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

PREPARATION:
Put the whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment.
Put 1-1/2 cups of the sugar and the water in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-hight heat, stirring with a wooden spoon to dissolve the sugar. Continue to cook, without stirring, and bring to the soft ball stage (240 degrees Fahrenheit).
Meanwhile, whip the whites at high speed until soft peaks form, approximately 5 minutes. With the motor running, add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar gradually, continuing to whip until medium peaks form.
When the sugar reaches 240 degrees Fahrenheit, with the motor running, pour it into the egg whites, very slowly, in a thin stream, to avoid cooking the eggs. Raise the speed to high, and continue to whip until the mixture has cooled to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.
Stopping the motor between additions, add the butter in five increments, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula before adding each addition of butter. With the motor running, add the vanilla, and whip just until it is blended in. (The buttercream can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one week. Let it come to room temperature and paddle briefly before using.)

See the difference? I cannot help but think that the additional egg whites, sugar, and vanilla only improve the taste.

I will try Buddy's recipe in the future, specifically when I feel like using up a pound of butter. But I can highly recommend the cake recipe:

Everybody's Favorite Chocolate Cake
Natalie Dupree's Matters of Taste

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease three 8 in. or two 9 inch pans or a 13 x 9 inch pan. Line the bottom of the pans with wax paper cut to fit. Grease and flour the paper.

Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the oil, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Stir in the boiling water until blended. The batter will be thin.

Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake 30 - 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans on wire racks 5 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and finish cooling them on wire racks.

I refuse to even show a picture of this one.

Oh, Martha! Why?