First, ITA with Carol regarding flavor. I love the taste of real butter, and like my cakes moist - to heck with color, as far as I'm concerned. However, you always have to be concerned with what the customer wants. When they insist white, I do it they way I described. Make a very white cake and use a flavored simple syrup to moisten. Actually, I use a simple syrup flavored with liquor for almost all the cakes I prepare, regardless as to whether they need it or not. I like the extra boost of moistness and the extra layer of flavors.

French buttercream is my all time favorite, to eat. The couple of times I have had to put it on a wedding cake I hated it and cussed it and my clients to h***.

1. French buttercream has an absolutely to-die-for mouth feel and taste. You will fall in love with it the first time you put it in your mouth.

2. However (big however), it is a pain to make until you've done it a few times. You really need to practice it.

3. It is also very difficult to work with. Because of it's high concentration of butter and yolks, it's very soft. The only times I have ever managed to get it on a wedding cake I had to work in a very, very cold room, or in the walk-in. And once it's on the cake, you absolutely must store it in a cold place, or it will melt right off your cake. This is not an icing you want to put on a cake that is going to sit out at the reception for several hours.

4. Because of it's softness, you can't decorate with it other than some very, very simple lines. Roses and other complex decorations will not hold. They simply won't.

In my humble opinion, DO NOT put french buttercream on a wedding cake, with the only exception being a simple, one or two layer cake. I did a small wedding-like cake for a friend using it and it worked out well, because it was small and it didn't have to sit out at the reception. But don't put it on your traditional one. Bad idea. Save french buttercream for a simple one or two layer torte you are going to share with someone you really want to impress or you really love!

For your standard wedding cake, I always used standard American Buttercream, and added a lot of butter to it for flavor (otherwise it tastes disgusting), or if you can talk your client into it (and I usually did) Swiss or Italian Buttercream. Decorations must be simple, but it will work. Rolled fondant is also an option. Not to difficult to work with, very smooth finish, very easy to decorate after.

vkl, if you want to learn to make french buttercream, and I think everyone should because it's so luscious it would be a shame to never have tasted it, go to the library and get a copy of Cocolat by Alice Medrich. In the back she has a formula for buttercream. It's french buttercream, even if she doesn't call it that. Read the directions thoroughly, then read it again, then give it a shot. She's an excellent teacher; you will be fine. Make a chocolate cake to slather the stuff one when you're done your first experiment, too! And let us know how it goes.