Огромная благодарность tchitwood за Мастер-класс










Santa is all tuckered out after his big night of delivering gifts!
I made this cake for a customer's Christmas party. The tree and the chair are all cake and Santa, the fireplace and the gifts are rice cereal treats.
You will need the following materials:
NOTE: If you would like recipes and instructions for the cakes and icings that I used for this cake, please see Step 9 in this Instructable.

• Six 9" x 13" Cakes - Leveled off at 1.5" - 2" high
• About 6 lbs of Icing (that can be unrefrigerated for at least a couple days)
• 2 regular batches of Rice Cereal Treats
• Fondant in the following colors: (I use Satin Ice fondant but you can you any that you like)
  • White: Floor, Chair, Santa, Blanket, Ornaments, Start, Fireplace, Gifts, Stockings
  • Red: Santa, Gifts, Ornaments, Stockings
  • Black: Santa, Fireplace
• 1 MDF Board - 24" wide x 21" tall x .5" deep
• 5 MDF Sqaures (Feet) - 2" w x 2" t x .5" deep
• One 15" Wooden Dowel/Rod - .75" diameter
• 5 Wood Screws with a length of .75"
• 1 Wood Screw with a length of 2.5"
• Wood Glue
• Cardboard Cake Boards:
  • Two Square at 9" x 9"
  • One Circle at 8.5" diameter
  • One Circle at 5.75" diameter
• Bamboo Skewers
• Plastic Cake Support Straws/Tubes
• 2 LED Tealights
• Piping Bags
• Wilton Star Tip # 18
• Quilters Ruler or regular ruler or tape measure
• Rotary pastry or pizza cutter
• Misting Spray Bottle filled with water (optional)
• Dremel or Drill with a small drill bit
• Dremel with Router Attachment and router bit # 615 (optional)
• Fondant rolling pins (large & small)
• Non-stick Fondant Rolling Mat
• Cake Foil
• Gel Icing Colors
• Vodka or Clear Extract
• Paintbrushes (used ONLY for food coloring)
• Scotch Tape
• Hot Glue Gun & Glue Stick

First up is preparing your baseboard.
I use .5" thick MDF (medium-density fiberboard) that can be purchased at hardware stores such as Home Depot® or Lowes®. The main base board of this cake is sized at 24" wide by 21" tall.
I sketched out a general layout for the scene on the board with a pencil. I've got the tree on the right toward the back, the chair where Santa will be sleeping on the left in the front, and the fireplace in the back left corner. this doesn't have to be perfect or exactly what you end up with! If you look closely at some of the photos, there are some where I've got some changes and a toy train & track penciled in that didn't make it in the final product. Sometimes I don't get to everything I wanted and just have to go with the flow!
Drill holes in the 4 corners and center of the base board, as well as a hole in the center of where the tree is going to be. Then drill holes in the center of each of the 2" x 2" MDF feet. Now here's tricky part! Drill a hole in the center of one end of the 15" wooden dowel. It doesn't have to be very long, about .5-.75" into the end. Pre-drilling with a bit smaller than the diameter of the wood screws help the screws go in much easier I've found. I use my Dremel with it's router attachment but you can use any drill with a small bit.
Next, apply a little wood glue to the top of each foot. Then screw in each foot to the underside of the baseboard, with the glue facing the baseboard, and the screws going in from the top of the baseboard to go through and into the pre-drilled holes in the feet.
Having the feet under the board will allow space for fingers to get under for easier lifting and transport. I also screw the screws in from the top of the baseboard, and not from the bottom up on the feet, so that the screws will not scratch up any surfaces.
Next, screw the 2.5: screw in up through the bottom/underside of the baseboard, and screw the wooden rod with the hole in the end down onto the screw sticking up from the baseboard.
Tighten all the screws, especially the tree support rod screw.
Optional Step:
I have a router attachment and bits for my Dremel took so I used bit #615 to round off the top edges all around the base board. It's not imperative that this is done, I just like how it looks (although subtle) and it does help to keep the fondant cracking on the sharp corners.
This is a good time to also prepare the cardboard cake boards that will be used for the tree.
Two 9" x 9" cardboards are hot glued together. Then cit out a single circular 8.5" board and a single circular 5.75" board. Cut out a 1" circle in the center of each cardboard. Cover them with cake foil and cut an X in the foil over the circles to allow the tree support rod to go through.













Now on to the tree trimmings and the stocking!
I used wooden bamboo skewers for all the ornaments and the star. I cut down 19 skewers to a length of 3.5". That's 18 skewers for the ball ornaments and 1 for the star. I used a piece of styrofoam to stick the skewers into to dry the ornaments.
The Star:
I used white fondant, rolled to about 3/16" (.1875") thick. I used a star cookie cutter that was about 3" wide and I cut out 2 stars. Next, brush a little water on the top side of one of the stars, lay the skewer on the moistened start, with about half of the stick sticking out of the bottom. Then lay the 2nd star on top and gently press down on the whole star with something flat to better adhere them together with the stick inside. Set this aside, flat, to dry.
The Stockings:
The stockings were made with red and green fondant. I colored a small amount of fondant a light green (also used some of this on the chair for piping) and used the red fondant (bought pre-colored) rolled to about 1/8" (.125") thickness. I drew out a little stocking shape that is about 3" tall on some thick paper and used this as a template to cut out the stockings. Then I cut out strips to make the stripes, rounded pieces for the heels and toes, and rolled tiny balls to flatten out on the dotted stocking. I used small strips for the bow. Everything is "glued" on with water. Set aside flat to dry.
Make sure to only use a thin coating/very little water! Water dissolves the fondant so used lightly it acts as a nice glue.
The Ornaments:
The ornaments were pretty easy. Each ornament is a 1" ball of fondant on a skewer. I dipped the dull/cut/non-pointy end of each stick into water and then pushed it into a 1" ball of fondant about .5" and pinched down all around the bottom edge where the skewer is coming out. This helps secure the ball on the stick. It's OK if it doesn't look perfect, this area will be hidden by the tree once the ornaments are put on the tree.
Make 8 balls with the red fondant and 10 with white fondant. Stick them into the styrofoam to dry. I let them dry about 3 hours (while I did other stuff.) Once dried, I used Wilton Color Mist spray in silver and in gold to color the ornaments and star. I did a light spray of silver on 4 of the red balls, a light spray of gold on the other 4 of the red balls, gold spray on 6 of the white balls and silver on 4 oft he white balls, and gold on the star. Set aside to dry.









To make the wooden floor I used a quilters ruler because it's 24" long and see-through so it makes it a lot easier to cut in the planks for the floor, as well as easier for measuring when rolling out the fondant.
I rolled and cut strips of fondant about 5.5" wide by 22" long. I did each strip at a time so the fondant wouldn't dry out while applying each strip. Lightly spray the baseboard with water from a misting spray bottle. You can also just use a large paintbrush or basting brush to apply water to the board. Using a mix of corn starch and powdered sugar to lightly dust the top of the strip, then roll the strip up on your rolling pin and bring it over to the cake board. Starting at one end of the 21" side, unroll the fondant strip onto the cake board. Make sure it hangs over the edges slightly to cover the edges. Press down onto the board lightly and around the edges. Trim off excess.
Repeat until the board is covered. Don't worry about getting measurements perfect! It's just the floor and a lot of it will be covered. Also do not worry about cutting the strip that goes around the tree support rod. This cut will be covered up by the tree cake.
Next, using the ruler, I divide each strip into 4 planks by running the rotary cutter along the ruler at my designated points. This doesn't have to be perfect either! After applying to the board, not all of my strips were the exact same width so I visually marked the center of each strip and then the center again between the edge of each strip and my center mark. then use the ruler to run the rotary cutter along to make it look like there are many long planks.
Since the size of the board was 21" tall, I decided on 7" planks. I wanted to stagger the planks like you would on a wood floor so starting from the front left plank, I measured in 4" and made a cut with a small paring knife the width of the plank to mark the end of that plank. Then from that cut I measured 7" and made another cut, another 7" and another cut, which left a 3" plank going off the back of the board. I did this with all the planks in a pattern. On all of them I started at the front and worked my way back. I did 5 "first" plank sizes and then just repeated them left to right. Starting from the front left plank I measured 4" for the first plank, the 2nd plank started with 2", the 3rd plank with 6", the 4th plank with 3" and the 7th plank with 7". Then from each of those cuts I measured out 7" planks back to the end of the board.
I painted the floor with a large brush (to cover more space faster) with a "paint" wash made by mixing brown gel food coloring with vodka. You want to use either vodka or some other clear alcohol or extract to paint on fondant, as water will dissolve the fondant and make it gummy.















Time to make the tree! Remember the cardboard cutouts that I covered in foil? Well here's where they come in!
Take the 9" x 9" square covered cardboard and spread a little icing on the top side. Then cut one of your 9" x 13" cakes down to 9" x 9" and cut a 1" hole in the center to match the board. Set aside the cake scraps as they will be used for the chair later. Place the cake onto the cake board. The small amount of icing on the board will help the cake stick to the board.
Next, using a serrated knife, cut the 4 corners of the cake off at an angle, as shown in the photo. Ice the top of the cake. Cut another 9" x 9" cake, cutting hole in the center and then cutting the corners down, and place on top of the first layer of iced cake, rotated 45" so that the corners stick out the other way (see photos.)
Ice that layer's top and add a 3rd cake layer, cut to 8.5" x 8.5". Measure the vertical height from the top of the cake board to the top of the top cake layer. Cut 4 plastic support straws to that size and push them down into the 3 layers of cake from the top.
Then, take the whole 3 layer section with it's cardboard base and thread it down over top of the wooden dowel support rod that's on the cake base board.
Next, lightly ice the top of the 3rd layer of cake and then thread on and down the 8.5" covered circle board. Spread a little icing on this. Next repeat the same process of cutting cakes, holes and corners for the remaining layers. The first layer on this 8.5" circle board will be another 8.5" x 8.5" cake, then icing, then an 8" cake, then icing and a 7" cake, all with corners cut and hole in center. Here again, cut 4 support straws the height of these 3 stacked layers and insert. Add a little icing and then the 5.75" circle cake board. Spread a little icing on this board and follow with 2 cake & icing layers, sized at 5.5" for the first layer and 4" for the top layer.
Next, ice the tree in icing tinted green. I reserved some of the white icing to be used for Santa and colored the rest green. A rough icing gives the tree texture. You could also use a grass tip and pipe the icing on the tree but that will probably take a lot longer!
Next, add the painted, dried star ornament to the top of the tree, pushing down a little into the icing to help it better stay in. I didn't put on the ornaments until the end but they just push in, randomly wherever you see fit!













To make the chair Santa will be sleeping in, I used the cake pieces I had left over from cutting the layers for the tree to size.
First I pieced them together dry and then put the icing in between each piece as I built it on the cake board. The size of the chair (pre-fondant) is 9" wide by about 8" deep.
Once iced, I applied fondant in pieces (in a light yellow, but you can use any color.) To make the bottom ruffle, roll the fondant out thin, cut into a long strip and then pleat/fold along one edge of the strip to form the ruffle.
I didn't worry about seams, as I rolled out the light green fondant into long "snakes" and used it as piping to cover seams and where the ruffle attached to the chair. I didn't bother with piping over the seams in the seat part since it was going to be covered by Santa. The ruffle and piping are glued on with water, lightly brushed on with a paintbrush.























Santa is made of rice cereal treats. Since he was going to be covered by a blanket, I didn't bother giving him pants. No peeking!
For the legs I cut 2 strips of treats that were about 8"-9" long, rounded one end of each strip to form a foot. Then ice the foot end and apply rolled black fondant over the end. These are his legs and feet. Form and lay the legs on the seat, bending them down so the feet rest on the floor and using water to glue, press the other end into the seat lightly.
Next is Santa's head. Start with a piece of cereal treat shaped to a rounded shape that's about 3" tall, 2 " wide and 1.5" deep, with indentions in place were the eyes will be. Spread with icing on the front to fill in small gaps and texture of the treat. Cover in fondant (any color you want his skin to be) and smooth over with your hand and lightly press the fondant into the eye indentions.
Roll little balls of your flesh colored fondant. Apply a little water with a brush to the eye indentions and press the little balls into the indentions and press to flatten somewhat. Then smooth out the top half of the pressed in balls to blend in with the face. I then used a black food coloring marker to outline the lower half of each pressed in eye ball, to further define the closed eyes.
Using a fondant tool or a toothpick, create a mouth and use a black food coloring marker to define the mouth. Then roll out tiny "snakes" of fondant to adhere (with water) around the mouth line and then smooth out the top edge of the top lip and bottom edge of the bottom lip.
For the nose, make a tear drop shape of fondant for the center/main part of the nose. Flatten the pointed end and then glue into place on the face with a little water, pointed end up between the eyes. Flatten and smooth out the top section between the eyes and some along the sides. Roll 2 small balls of fondant and glue these on the sides to created the nostril area.
Santa's body is just a big piece of the rice cereal treats, rounded on the edged, covered in icing and red fondant. Glue into place above the legs in the chair, then glue on his head above that, gluing to both the body and the back of the chair.
Next make 2 arms, each with one rounded end for a hand. Cover with icing and red fondant, and then black fondant for the gloves. Press a tear drop shape of black fondant into the side of each glove for thumbs. Then glue in place on the chair and to the body.
Roll a "snake" of white fondant for the front of Santa's body and around his wrists and zig-zag/coil it against itself and glue into place. Small balls of black fondant are used for the buttons. Also use small pieces of white fondant for eyebrows.
Next make a cone shape for the hat and fold it over. Cover with a thin layer of icing and red fondant. Glue the hat into place and secure it from behind/top of the hat with a toothpick or skewer pushed through and into his head. Use the same zig-zag/coil method for the fluff around his hat brim and glue into place.
Next use a #18 Wilton star tip (or similar) to pipe white icing for the beard and mustache, making sure to pipe over the neck and shoulder seams with the beard. Make a ball for the end of the hat from white fondant and set into place.
Now the blanket to cover them naked legs! I chose to use a dark teal/green color I had from a previous cake since I had fondant left over of that color but you can make the blanket any color you wish. I simply rolled out a piece of fondant, cut to size (about 11" wide by 8" tall) and glued on thin strips of white near the ends. Next, cover his legs in icing and place the blanket on top, arranging it so there are some wrinkles and waves in the blanket.






Well I got on a roll and forgot to take photos of the fireplace making so I've drawn out a little diagram.

The fireplace is made out of rice cereal treats and covered in fondant, with a fondant mantle. It's a fairly simple shape with a rectangle cut out of the front. I covered the whole thing in gray fondant (to get the gray I took some of the black fondant and blended in some white) and then the inside of the fireplace in black.

The mantle is white fondant painted with the same mixture I used on the floors and glued into place.

I used water to glue on the stockings but to keep them in place while they dried I secured them with toothpicks but be sure to either remove them before eating or letting the customer know they are there and that they need to be removed!

Then the little battery powered LED tealights can be used for the fire.

The gifts are also rice cereal treats covered in fondant. The bows and ribbons were made with small strips of fondant.

Here is where I also added the ornaments to the tree, just randomly sticking them in.
Step 8: Santa's Done & I Hear Snoring!

And that's it! I hope my instructions make sense and that this helps other create a fun Sleeping Santa cake. Please feel free to ask questions and I will answer them as best as I can.

Happy caking!

If you would like recipes and instructions for the cakes and filling icings I used, continue on to Step 9... and beyond!
Step 9: Making the Cakes & Icing

If you would like to use the same recipes I used for this Sleeping Santa Cake, I've got the recipes & instructions in the next few steps. The cakes are very easy, as they are just altered box mixes. The icing I used for in between the cake layers are Swiss meringue buttercream. Not very hard but it can go wrong so read all the instructions before you start so if it's looking curdled you know not to think it's ruined! You can of course use other cake and other icing. The icing I used for the covering on the tree was actually store-bought and I just colored it.


Greasing Mixture for Cake Pans:

This is what I brush on (with a silicone basting brush) the insides of my cake pans to keep the cakes from sticking to the pans. Simple to make and works better than anything else I've tried.

Ingredients:

1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 cup Canola Oil
1 cup Shortening, such as Crisco®

Directions:

Blend all 3 ingredients together with a fork until well mixed. Then switch to a whisk and whisk until it's all blended and fluffy. Store in a container with a tight lid.

Next step is the Dark Chocolate Cake I used!
Step 10: Dark Chocolate Cake

Dark Chocolate Cake

Dry Ingredients:

1 box of Duncan Hines® Classic Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
1 cup of All-Purpose Flour (I use unbleached, you can use whatever you like)
1 cup of Sugar1/4 cup of Cocoa Powder
1/8 tsp of Salt

Wet Ingredients:

1 cup of Sour Cream
1 cup of brewed Coffee (black), cooled
3 Large Whole Eggs
1 Large Egg Whites
2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Pre-heat a conventional oven to 300 degrees. Brush a 9" x 13" x 2" or 3" deep cake pan with my greasing mixture (recipe on the Making the Cakes & Icings step.)

Thoroughly mix all the Dry Ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk. You want to mix it very well since we are adding in white and lighter colored ingredients.

Combine all the Wet Ingredients into a mixer bowl. Add in 2 cups of the Dry Mixture and mix with the whisk attachment on medium low until the dry ingredients mixture is incorporated into the wet, usually about 30 seconds.

Add in the rest of the dry ingredients mixture, half a cup at a time, on medium speed; allowing each addition to be incorporated in before adding the next. Once all the dry ingredients mixture is in the mixer bowl, turn off the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then continue mixing on medium to medium high speed for about 1 and a half minutes.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, raise temperature to 325 degrees and cook for another 20 minutes. Ovens very so you may need to adjust your baking times. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool the cake, in it's pan, on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool completely. If you are freezing your cakes before use, level off the top of your cake once completely cooled, but before freezing.

Next step is the Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream! Mmmmmmm...
Step 11: Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream

I used this with the Dark Chocolate Cake. I love Swiss meringue buttercream because it's light and airy and not too sweet. This can be at room temperature for up to 3 days, providing the room/area isn't too warm.

Ingredients:

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp of Sugar
Dash of Salt & 1/8 tsp of Salt
5 large Egg Whites
4 Sticks (1 lb) of Unsalted Butter, cut into tablespoon sized pieces (the wrapping on each stick shows measurements) and softened.
1 bag (11 oz) of Kraft® Caramel Bits
1/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Combine the egg whites, sugar and dash of salt in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. I use my metal mixer bowl over a pot with about 2 inches of simmering water in it. Be sure the bottom of your bowl does not hit the water. Heat simmering, whisking frequently, until the mixture reaches 160° F and the sugar has dissolved.

If you can't tell if the sugar is dissolved, you can pinch the mixture and rub it between your (clean) fingers. If you feel grittiness, that is the sugar and it hasn't dissolved yet. Be sure to whisk very frequently. If you do not and the mixture gets too hot the egg whites will cook and the mixture will be lumpy and you will have to start over. This can also happen if your mixing bowl is touching the water or the heat is too high.

Once the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is to temperature, remove the mixer bowl and carefully pat dry the outside, or if you didn't use your mixer bowl, carefully pour the egg & sugar mixture into your mixing bowl. Mix on high, with the whisk attachment, for 10 minutes, sometimes even more time. Be sure to start it off slow and then bring up to high speed so that you don't get burning hot mixture flung onto you!

Set a timer for 10 minutes and then make the caramel!

Salted Caramel:

Combine the bag of Caramel Bits and the heavy whipping cream into a microwaveable glass or Pyrex bowl or large measuring cup. I use my 2-cup Pyrex cup.

Microwave on low power for 1 minute then stir well. Every microwave is different. Mine is 1200 watts and I use power level 4 setting. On mine, level 3 is defrost and level 5 is half-power so 4 is just in between. Sometimes I go level 5, half power, and do it in 45 second intervals. So, microwave, stir well, microwave, stir well, and repeat until all the caramel bits are melted and you have a nice creamy mixture.

Next, pour the 1/8 tsp of salt into the caramel and stir well. Set aside to cool, stirring occasionally to help it cool faster. It will get thicker as it cools.

Back to the icing!

After your 10 minutes of beating is up, turn off the mixer and test the meringue. You want them to be at stiff peaks. I usually dip a spoon in the mixer bowl and pull it out with meringue on it and then turn the spoon right side up. If the peak of the meringue stays up and doesn't wobble to much or fall, you are ready for the next part. If it does wobble quite a bit and/or falls/drops over, just continue beating on high, checking again every few minutes.

Once you have reached stiff peaks, it's time to add the butter. Change out the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment and turn on to medium-low speed. Add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, to the mixer. Let each addition of butter be fully incorporated before adding the next 2 tablespoons. Once you have incorporated 3 of the sticks of butter, turn off the mixer, scrape the sides of the bowl down with a rubber spatula, and then continue on medium-low, adding the last stick of butter, 2 tbsp at a time.

Next add in the vanilla extract and continue mixing on medium-low. The icing may look "curdled" at some point and if it does, just continue mixing and it will eventually come together. It really will! If for some reason it doesn't after a while, it may be that the room is too warm. You can remove the mixer bowl and place it in the fridge for about 5 minutes to cool it down, then continue mixing.

Once the icing has come together and is nice and creamy and no longer curdled looking, continue mixing on medium-low and slowly pour in the cooled salted caramel. Continue mixing until it's all incorporated. Sometime this takes some time but it's better than having a big chunk of caramel block a piping tip! Also, if your caramel sauce is too warm you may have to put the mixing bowl in the fridge for about 5 minutes to help cool it back down.

Next up is the Red Velvet Cake!
Step 12: Red Velvet Cake

Red Velvet Cake

Dry Ingredients:

1 box of Duncan Hines® Signature Red Velvet Cake Mix
1 cup of All-Purpose Flour (I use unbleached, you can use whatever you like)
1 cup of Sugar
1/4 cup of Cocoa Powder
1/8 tsp of Salt

Wet Ingredients:

1 cup of Sour Cream
1 cup of Water
3 Large Whole Eggs
1 Large Egg Whites
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Pre-heat a conventional oven to 300 degrees. Brush a 9" x 13" x 2" or 3" deep cake pan with my greasing mixture (recipe on the Making the Cakes & Icings step.)

Thoroughly mix all the Dry Ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk. You want to mix it very well since we are adding in white and lighter colored ingredients.

Combine all the Wet Ingredients into a mixer bowl. Add in 2 cups of the Dry Mixture and mix with the whisk attachment on medium low until the dry ingredients mixture is incorporated into the wet, usually about 30 seconds.

Add in the rest of the dry ingredients mixture, half a cup at a time, on medium speed; allowing each addition to be incorporated in before adding the next. Once all the dry ingredients mixture is in the mixer bowl, turn off the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then continue mixing on medium to medium high speed for about 1 and a half minutes.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, raise temperature to 325 degrees and cook for another 20 minutes. Ovens very so you may need to adjust your baking times. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool the cake, in it's pan, on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool completely. If you are freezing your cakes before use, level off the top of your cake once completely cooled, but before freezing.

Next step is the Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream! Mmmmmmm...
Step 13: Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

I used this with the Red Velvet Cake. I love Swiss meringue buttercream because it's light and airy and not too sweet. This can be at room temperature for up to 3 days, providing the room/area isn't too warm.

Ingredients:

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp of Sugar
Dash of Salt & 1/8 tsp of Salt
5 large Egg Whites
4 Sticks (1 lb) of Unsalted Butter, cut into tablespoon sized pieces (the wrapping on each stick shows measurements) and softened.
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Combine the egg whites, sugar and dash of salt in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. I use my metal mixer bowl over a pot with about 2 inches of simmering water in it. Be sure the bottom of your bowl does not hit the water. Heat simmering, whisking frequently, until the mixture reaches 160° F and the sugar has dissolved.

If you can't tell if the sugar is dissolved, you can pinch the mixture and rub it between your (clean) fingers. If you feel grittiness, that is the sugar and it hasn't dissolved yet. Be sure to whisk very frequently. If you do not and the mixture gets too hot the egg whites will cook and the mixture will be lumpy and you will have to start over. This can also happen if your mixing bowl is touching the water or the heat is too high.

Once the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is to temperature, remove the mixer bowl and carefully pat dry the outside, or if you didn't use your mixer bowl, carefully pour the egg & sugar mixture into your mixing bowl. Mix on high, with the whisk attachment, for 10 minutes, sometimes even more time. Be sure to start it off slow and then bring up to high speed so that you don't get burning hot mixture flung onto you!

Set a timer for 10 minutes and relax!

After your 10 minutes of beating is up, turn off the mixer and test the meringue. You want them to be at stiff peaks. I usually dip a spoon in the mixer bowl and pull it out with meringue on it and then turn the spoon right side up. If the peak of the meringue stays up and doesn't wobble to much or fall, you are ready for the next part. If it does wobble quite a bit and/or falls/drops over, just continue beating on high, checking again every few minutes.

Once you have reached stiff peaks, it's time to add the butter. Change out the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment and turn on to medium-low speed. Add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, to the mixer. Let each addition of butter be fully incorporated before adding the next 2 tablespoons. Once you have incorporated 3 of the sticks of butter, turn off the mixer, scrape the sides of the bowl down with a rubber spatula, and then continue on medium-low, adding the last stick of butter, 2 tbsp at a time.

Next add in the vanilla extract and continue mixing on medium-low. The icing may look "curdled" at some point and if it does, just continue mixing and it will eventually come together. It really will! If for some reason it doesn't after a while, it may be that the room is too warm. You can remove the mixer bowl and place it in the fridge for about 5 minutes to cool it down, then continue mixing until the icing has come together and is nice and creamy and no longer curdled looking.

Enjoy!