Italian Buttercream

EGG WHITES	1#
CREAM OF TARTAR	1 TSP.
SUGAR	2#
WATER	8 ounces
BUTTER - very soft or BUTTER plus SWEETEX	3# 2# 8 ounces 8 ounces
LEMON JUICE	1 tsp.
VANILLA EXTRACT	1/2 ounce
1-2-3 ButterCream METHOD: ITALIAN MERINGUE 1) Place sugar and water together in a pot. Place over medium heat, and stir sugar until dissolved. Raise heat to high and cook until 240F is reached on a candy thermometer. Throughout the cooking process, wash down the sides of the pot with a brush and warm water. 2) At 230F, begin whipping the egg whites with the cream of tartar. Whip to soft peaks. 3) When the sugar reaches 240F, begin slowly pouring the hot sugar syrup into the soft peak egg whites. During this procedure the machine is running on 2nd speed! After all the sugar has been added, turn the machine up to 3rd speed, and whip until cool - this takes about 30 minutes. TO MAKE BUTTER CREAM: 4) Cream the butter (butter & sweetex), lemon juice and vanilla extract until light. 5) Slowly add this creamed butter mixture to the cooled meringue. With the mixer on 2nd speed. After the butter is completely added, turn the machine up to 3rd speed for about 5 minutes and whip until light and fluffy.