Vanilla Buttercream Vs French Vanilla Buttercream
Decorating By dogwood Updated 12 Nov 2009 , 8:28pm by loulou2
made with crisco, and a merangue type with egg yolks? 
I did a fair amount of research on this last year as my sister swears she doesn't care for anything vanilla but french vanilla is her favorite. What I came up with is this; French vanilla just has more vanilla, and coloring! There is no such thing as French Vanilla; there is French Vanilla extract but it's just a mixture of vanilla and a few other things that probably enhance the flavor. I think when you're talking about vanilla cake or ice cream vs. french vanilla it has something to do with one having eggs yolks and not the other.
So, if someone wants french vanilla bc you could just buy the extract at the grocery store (McCormick's), or even add extra vanilla and possibly a tiny bit of ivory coloring.
I haven't seen the French Vanilla Flavoring before maybe just because I was never looking for that specifically. I have some French Vanilla Syrup, the kind that comes in the bottles to flavor coffee and other things. I wonder how it would be if I used that in place of my other liquid?
Hmm.....I would be careful with the syrup? I'm sure the taste would be fine, but it will change your bc consistency and workability if you use enough to pull the flavor from it. I tried ice cream caramel in bc because everything else I've tried hardens immediately, and 1. no matter how much I used I couldn't really taste it, and 2. the icing had a 'stickiness' to it, if that makes sense?!
I got the french vanilla in the baking aisle at my regular grocery store, where all the other extracts are kept. You really have to search for it, and yes, some stores do not carry it. I believe I've also gotten it at Walmart? It's by McCormick and called French Vanilla Blend or something. It can't say it's an extract because not all of it is, but that is what you'd be looking for.
If you want to make a truly delicious bc, try adding some Lorann's Vanilla Butternut flavoring, like the kind you would make rock candy with. It does color the icing a bit, but the longer you let it mix the more white it becomes. You can get a lot of flavor without the alcohol aftertaste some people can taste from extracts (I'm one of those people!). I can't stand icing, but this makes me weak in the knees!!!
According to wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_vanilla#Cultivars
The term French vanilla is not a type of vanilla, but is often used to designate preparations that have a strong vanilla aroma, and contain vanilla grains. The name originates from the French style of making ice cream custard base with vanilla pods, cream, and egg yolks. Inclusion of vanilla varietals from any of the former or current French dependencies noted for their exports may in fact be a part of the flavoring, though it may often be coincidental. Alternatively, French vanilla is taken to refer to a vanilla-custard flavor.[18] Syrup labeled as French vanilla may include hazelnut, custard, caramel or butterscotch flavors in addition to vanilla.
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