Vanilla Buttercream

This recipe can be used as a starting point to create numerous other flavors. Vanilla buttercream can be flavored with lemon curd, coffee reduction, chestnut puree, hazelnut paste, praline paste, or liqueurs to use as both filling and icing. When used as a filling only, you can also add chopped toasted nuts or candied fruit. When using fresh fruit with a buttercream filling, it is best to arrange thin slices of fruit on top of a layer of buttercream, then cover with additional buttercream,