I've just made Italian meringue buttercream!! You have to heat a sugar syrup to a certain temperature whilst brushing down the sides of the pan whilst at the same time whisking egg whites to soft peaks and then beat the syrup into the meringue for 10 minutes eek. I used my Kitchen Aid and, even though it is a beast of a machine, I could hear it wanting to give up towards the end.. But the end result is silky, vanillary, meringuey gorgeousness :)

I'm going to use the Italian meringue for some of the cupcakes tomorrow but I'm also going to make Lime and Coconut cupcakes with a mascarpone and lime frosting - sounds good!