French-style buttercream is made in the same way, but with the addition of egg yolks, which produce a much richer icing. If the mixture splits or curdle instead of emulsifying, stick the bowl in ...

Use this simple buttercream icing recipe to decorate your birthday cakes, cupcakes and sandwich biscuits. Try adding a little food colouring gel for a splash of colour to your butter icing.

Jane explained that using a chocolate base for black buttercream will make it easier to achieve, but that it can be achieved for a vanilla frosting, too. She said: “The theory behind this is ...