Swiss Meringue Buttercream is the BEST in the world of buttercream! This frosting is light and fluffy, silky smooth and creamy, and super stable for decorating cakes and cupcakes.
When it comes to ease and simplicity, American buttercream wins.
But when it comes to taste and texture, nothing beats Swiss meringue buttercream!
What is Swiss meringue buttercream?
Swiss meringue buttercream is a buttercream frosting made with Swiss meringue and butter, plus other flavorings like vanilla.
Swiss meringue is made of egg whites and sugar cooked in a double-boiler (Bain Marie), then whipped into fluffy meringue.
This buttercream is an ideal frosting for decorating cakes, cupcakes and even macarons!
Why you’ll love this recipe?
- Simple ingredients: only 5 basic ingredients
- Incredible texture: light, fluffy, creamy, silky sooth
- Balanced taste: not too sweet, not overly buttery
- Easy to use: perfect consistency for piping and frosting
- Easy to make: with few key tips for success
How to make Swiss meringue buttercream:
Step 1. Make Swiss Meringue
- In a heat-proof bowl, combine sugar and egg whites together. And place the bowl over simmering water.
- Cook the egg whites gently until it reaches 160°F, whisking it continuously. (This’s my favorite thermometer!) You shouldn’t feel any sugar granules when you rub the mixture between your fingertips.
- Now remove from heat and whisk it until stiff peaks form. At this point, meringue should be completely cooled.
3 tips for successful meringue:
- Make sure the bowl and whisks are completely grease free. It’s ideal to use stainless steel or glass bowl for making meringue.
- Never break the eggs over your main egg white bowl. Instead, use this 3-bowl method: 1 bowl for collecting egg whites, 1 for egg yolks, and 1 for breaking and separating each egg.
- Be careful when separating egg whites. You should have even smallest amount of yolk in the egg whites. Here’s why.
Tip
It’s easier to separate cold eggs right out of the fridge, because egg yolk is firmer.
GOT LEFTOVER EGG YOLKS?
Step 2. Add butter
- Add room temperature butter, one tablespoon at a time, whisking the frosting thoroughly after each addition.
- Continue whisking the buttercream until all the butter is added and the frosting is super light and fluffy.
ROOM TEMPERATURE BUTTER
It’s important to use room temperature butter. When you push a finger into it, the butter should dent with some resistance.
- Too soft butter will cause soupy frosting.
- Too cold butter will curdle the buttercream.
How to bring butter to room temperature?
Take the butter out of fridge 1-2 hours before making the frosting. Butter at room temperature should be cold to touch and dent when pressed without losing its shape.
Tip
If you forgot to take butter out in advance (happens to all of us), here’s a genius trick to quickly soften butter.
Step 3. Add vanilla
Switch to paddle attachment and add vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste.
You can also add food coloring at this stage. It’s best to use gel food coloring.
Tip
For ultra-smooth buttercream, beat the buttercream with paddle attachment on low speed to remove excess air pockets.
FAQs:
Is Swiss meringue buttercream safe to eat?
Since we’re cooking egg whites in a double boiler until it reaches 160°F, it’s completely safe to eat. We basically pasteurized the egg whites.
To be safer, I highly recommend using an instant thermometer to make sure egg whites had reached the proper temperature!
Can I add flavors?
Absolutely! You can substitute any extracts for vanilla extract. Also, check out my Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Salted Caramel Buttercream.
Can I add food coloring?
Yes, I recommend using gel food coloring.
Can I use carton egg whites?
I’ve used carton egg whites with great success. Be sure to read the labels, as some carton egg whites specify that it’s not for meringue.
Can I make it without a thermometer?
For food safety, I strongly recommend using a thermometer to ensure the eggs reach 160°F. If using pasteurized (carton) egg whites, you can skip a thermometer. But be sure the sugar is completely dissolved, you don’t feel any sugar granules between your fingers.
How do you make white Swiss meringue buttercream?
If your buttercream has yellowish hue, add very small amount of violet gel food coloring. I use a toothpick to smear tiny bit of color. And then whip it well.
Troubleshooting Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Meringue won’t reach stiff peaks
This could happen if the egg whites were in contact with any fat, grease, or egg yolks. Make sure to clean your bowls and whisks thoroughly, wipe the utensils with vinegar or lemon juice, if needed. And be careful when separating egg whites and yolks.
I’ve encountered this issue with carton egg whites couple of times. I added butter into soft meringue, and buttercream turned out just fine! So if you got soft meringue and it’s not stiffening up, go ahead and add butter as per instructions.
Curdled buttercream
If your buttercream starts to curdle in the process of adding butter, or right after adding all the butter, don’t panic. It’s totally normal. To fix: just continue beating! And I promise, it’ll magically come together at the end.
And if it doesn’t, simply place the bowl with buttercream over simmering water. Let the buttercream melt a little around the edges, then try whipping it again.
Soupy buttercream
It happens when the meringue was still warm when you started to add butter. Or the butter was too soft and started to melt in the meringue. To fix: place the bowl with buttercream in the fridge for 15-30 minutes, and then whip it again.
Tastes too buttery
When done right, Swiss meringue buttercream is super light, fluffy, and silky smooth. If your buttercream is thick and heavy, it just needs more whipping.
Make Ahead Direction:
Swiss meringue buttercream is an ideal frosting to make in advance. Here’re 3 ways to store it:
- On the counter: It’s ok to keep Swiss meringue buttercream at room temperature for overnight. (It has enough sugar and fat to keep it from spoiling!)
- Refrigerator: You can refrigerate this buttercream in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
- Freezer: Swiss buttercream also freezes well. It’ll freeze well in airtight container for up to 3 months!
Thaw frozen buttercream on the counter overnight. Whip it before using.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients
- 6 egg whites (Note 1)
- 1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups (340g) unsalted butter, softened and cubed (Note 2)
- 1 vanilla bean split and scraped (or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, bring a small amount of water to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer.
- In medium heat-proof bowl (I used my stand mixer bowl), whisk together egg whites and sugar and place it over the saucepan with simmering water. (This is a make-shift double boiler. Make sure the bottom of the top bowl doesn’t touch the water.)
- Cook the egg white mixture until sugar is completely melted and it reaches 160°F (70°C) stirring continuously, about 5 minutes. (This's my favorite thermometer!)
- Now, remove the bowl with egg white mixture from heat. Then whisk it on medium speed for a minute, then slowly increase the speed to medium high and beat until stiff peaks form and the mixture is cool to touch, about 10 minutes. (It may take longer with a hand-mixer.)
- Once the meringue reached stiff peaks, scrape the side of the bowl with a spatula and add salt.
- Turn on the mixer on medium speed and start adding butter, one tablespoon at a time. Make sure the butter is fully incorporated before adding the next piece. (NOTE: It’s normal if buttercream starts to curlde half way. Keep adding the butter!)
- Keep whisking the buttercream until smooth, light and fluffy, about 10 minutes.
- Now, switch to a paddle attachment and add vanilla bean. Beat the buttercream until well combined, about a minute.
Tips & Notes:
Swiss meringue buttercream can be made in advance and frozen for up to 3 months, or refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. Thaw the frozen buttercream on the counter overnight. Whip it before using. Note 1: While I’ve had success with carton egg whites, not all brands work for meringue. But if you want to try, you’ll need 210g of liquid egg whites. Note 2: Make sure the butter isn’t too soft. When you push a finger into it, the butter should dent with some resistance.
Nutrition Facts:
Katrina says
I tried to make this recipe and something always goes wrong after adding the butter. The first batch didn’t thicken even after refrigerating. The second curdled so I did the let it melt? It just liquefied.
Janet B says
This is the best icing I’ve ever made and I have made a LOT of icing. The only issue I had is I made it the day before, brought it to room temp and tried to rewhip it. It separated and curdled. Not sure what I did wrong…
Shinee says
Hi, Janet. So happy you loved this buttercream recipe!! I think your issue may have happened due to temperature difference. Sometimes, portion of the buttercream may have thawed and the inside may have been still cold. But if you’re confident that they were thoroughly thawed, then it may just needed a little more whipping.
Rea Rae Richardson says
Thank you for your detailed instructions and notes on making Swiss Meringue Buttercream. I’ve made Swiss several times and occasionally have problems with it, your help has solved my issuses!
Shinee says
Yay, so glad to hear that, Rea Rae!!! Thank you for your feedback!
Helen says
Hello,
I’m looking to make a pistachio frosting for a cake and was wondering if you’d think it would work with this recipe? I’m going to make a pistachio paste but wondered if it might mess up the consistency?
Many Thanks,
Helen
Shinee says
Hi, Helen. Yes, absolutely you can add pistachio paste into this buttercream.
Helen says
Thank you so much for the speedy reply! I made it today and it was delicious!!
Shinee says
So happy you loved it!!! Thanks for the feedback, Helen.
Jenn says
Hi Shinee,
I just made the vanilla buttercream..it turned out delicious. I wanted to use it to make my daughters first birthday cake. I was hoping you have any suggestions for a fruit filling (preferably strawberry or raspberry) recipe and vanilla cake recipe that you think would complement the buttercream well.
Thank you!
Maria Jose Coronado says
I tried your recipe after various attempts to make a good buttercream (which I all failed), and this was the only way to achieve it! So, thank you for your knowledge!
Shinee says
Yay, so glad my recipe worked for you, Maria. Thank you for your feedback!!
PETRINA says
Hi Shinee,
I love all this technology we have these days. I live in NZ and on a farm. I just want to say that some recipes I see with all these gorgeous photos. My comment is, some of the things we see that don’t come out looking like they do in photos or shops is OK don’t get dispondant. My free range food like eggs, and milk or butter and cream come straight from the chicken or cow and have a deeper colour,taste or feel different to handle. I know most of everything these days is a lot pale than most fresh free range animals or products. And I can’t change that, I love the taste and look, so ladies don’t feel you have to do what is on trend, be individual and be strong, we can embrace what we have at hand when we cook. Sometimes there are people out there that think they are in the know of how the food should look or taste, but we need to have the faith that we are OK and that is all that matters, keep up with the cooking and eating all you wonderful people out in that big bubble of the world.
Shinee says
Hi, Petrina! Thank you so much for your comment. You bring up a very important point here and I appreciate your voice on this. You’re so right that real life food looks different from photography. I too live on a ranch and enjoy free-range eggs, chicken and our own beef, as well as our own garden produce. They’re absolutely not perfect purely on the looks, because heirloom tomatoes are not all uniform size and shape. But there’s absolutely beauty in that!!! Free-range eggs are much richer and yellower, and we absolutely love them for it!!
That being said, we ear with our eyes. I’m basically “selling” my recipes to those who’re looking with my photography. I work hard to make my food look at their best, and photography is my hobby and I try my best to show my photography skill, playing with light and shadows. Everything you see on this blog doesn’t look exactly how they’re on photos. My hope is that people understand that there’s difference between art (photography) and food in real life.
Lisa says
What do you do if the frosting doesn’t thicken up, but remains too “loose”?
Shinee says
Hi, Lisa. Is the buttercream loose after adding butter? If so, simply put it in the fridge for 30 minutes or so, and try whipping it again.
merchie says
Hi we can add food color in this meringue
Shinee says
Hi, Merchie. Absolutely, you can add food coloring.
Rebecca says
1/2 what on Kosher salt
Shinee says
Hi, Rebecca. So sorry for the late response. And I apologize for the incomplete recipe. Thank you for pointing it out, I just corrected it. It’s 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt.
Kelly says
Can you add room temperature cream cheese as well
Shinee says
Hi, Kelly. Unfortunately, I’ve never tried adding cream cheese to this swiss meringue buttercream. So I have no advice.
Cynthia says
Best recipe I’ve tried so far. Thanks
Shinee says
Aww, so happy to hear this. Thank you, Cynthia!!
Denise says
How long in advance can you frost cupcakes? And should it be refrigerated after they are frosted? Thanks
Shinee says
Hi, Denise. Sorry for my delayed response. Technically, buttercream can be store at room temperature for 1-2 days, covered. But I always refrigerate mine. That being said, you can frost the cupcakes a day or two in advance, and I’d refrigerate until the day you’re planning to serve.
Tam says
Can vanilla essence be used…I’ve no access to vanilla bean pods
Shinee says
Hi, Tam. Yes, you can use vanilla extract.
Julie says
How can I add blood orange flavoring to this recipe? I am at whipping stage now with whisk in the mixer. Can I use 1/4 cup blood orange juice?
Shinee says
Hi, Julie. Sorry for delay. I know it’s too late now, but I wanted to note that I haven’t tested this recipe with added juice. No idea how it’d work.
Angie C says
Hello I’m Angie. I dnt understand how you can prepare egg whites in a saucepan for a cream without cooking them to an omelet consistency?! Should it not be a double broiler that u recommend for this recipe?
But with all due respect please explain. AC.