Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Swiss meringue buttercream is a silky smooth style of buttercream. It is made from a Swiss meringue which creates a stable buttercream that does not crust over.
What is Swiss Meringue Buttercream?
Swiss meringue buttercream, also known as Swiss buttercream, gets its name because it starts out with the process of making Swiss meringue. This buttercream is used most commonly in professional pastry kitchens because of its silky texture and it is relatively simple to make.
For Swiss buttercream, sugar and egg whites are heated together over a double boiler. This process melts the sugar which is what creates such a smooth texture in contrast to American buttercream.
Characteristics of Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Swiss meringue buttercream is less sweet than American buttercream due to a lower ratio of sugar in the recipe. This style of buttercream does remain soft when exposed to air because of the cooked sugar.
Swiss buttercream is fairly stable and works well for creating smooth finishes on cakes or for when fondant will be added to a cake. Because of its very pale white color, Swiss meringue buttercream also works well for adding color.
Tips for Making Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Make sure that the water in your double boiler is not touching the bottom of the pot with your egg whites. This could cause them to heat up too fast and scramble the eggs.
- The butter should be at a cool room temperature, around 68-70 degrees F. If the butter is looking greasy or melted it is too warm and the buttercream will not properly come together.
- During the process of adding butter to the Swiss meringue buttercream the mixture will begin looking thin, watery, and curdled. This is normal! Keep whipping and trust that it will come together!
If you do not use the buttercream immediately, refrigerate it in an airtight container. Allow it to come to room temperature and then re-whip it until you have the desired texture.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Swiss meringue buttercream is a silky smooth style of buttercream. It is made from a Swiss meringue which creates a stable buttercream that does not crust over.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (6 fl oz, 177 ml) egg whites (from about 5 large eggs)
- 2 cups (14 oz, 392 gr) granulated sugar
- large pinch of salt
- 4 sticks (1 lb, 448 gr) unsalted butter, room temperature
- extracts and flavorings as desired
Instructions
- Place the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Set the bowl over a pot of water over low heat. Whisk the whites and sugar over the hot water bath until a candy thermometer reads 160 F (71 C).
- Move the bowl to the stand mixer and whip with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form and the meringue cools to room temperature.
- Beat in the salt. With the mixer running on medium speed, add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time until it is all incorporated.
- Beat in any desired flavorings.
- Store unused buttercream in the refrigerator in an airtight container. To use, bring back to room temperature and re-whip it for a few minutes.
Note: This recipe makes enough buttercream to generously frost 24 cupcakes, or a 2 layer 9” round cake.
Notes
Flavor Options
- Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream: Add in 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream: Melt 4 oz of bittersweet chocolate and allow to cool slightly. Fold it into the prepared buttercream.
- “Wedding Cake” Swiss Meringue Buttercream: Add 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp almond extract
- Lemon Curd Swiss Meringue Buttercream: Fold in 1 cup of lemon curd to the prepared buttercream
- Strawberry, Raspberry, or Blackberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream: Fold in 1 cup of seedless preserves
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31 Comments on “Swiss Meringue Buttercream”
This looks stunning!!!!
Thank you!
It seriously is the most silky loveliness of frostings
IT IS! Thanks Kayle!
How many layers of an 8″ cake would frost? Two? three?? Its looks so good! I want to try it for my son’s birthday next week! Thanks!
This will easily frost a two layer 8″ cake with likely some left over!
HI Bettie, I just love following your baking mastery. I do wonder on this Swiss buttercream how heat stable it is. I plan on testing it myself, but do you have an idea at all? I am looking for a lightly sweet, but heat stable frosting for my son’s wedding cake he has commissioned me to make (yikes) but want to MAKE SURE I choose correctly, as once I get the layers done, I have to travel 3 hours with it. 🙂
Thank you for your help!
Hi Vickie! If you are looking for the most heat stable buttercream I would highly suggest going with Italian Meringue. It will hold up the best and it only lightly sweet. Here is the link to the recipe: https://bakerbettie.com/italian-meringue-buttercream/ Congratulations on your son’s marriage and good luck with the cake!
Hi can I cook the sugar n egg mix a day in advance n beat or next day /or make the meringue n beat butter with it next day ..as I realised the texture of buttercream changes in 24hours
You can make the buttercream a day in advance before using it however you need to make the whole buttercream recipe at one time. Do not split up the steps.
Could one just use a hand mixer, you think?
Yes, you should be able to use a hand mixer however, you’ll get quite the arm workout!
Can we halve the recipe?
Hello, I am making a cake with this buttercream so i did a test batch and the meringue didn’t peak it just turned crumbly, how to i not do that? (i am not great at knowing this stuff but i really want to try)
I suspect your sugar wasn’t fully melted. It has to melt completely and slowly. If you have any granules at all, it won’t properly whip. Swiss Meringue is pretty tricky so don’t get discouraged. Keep trying!
Hi, is it possible to reduce the sugar amount to 1/4 cup without affecting the end result, i.e. still silky, smooth, stable n 8 cups in quantity? If so do I need to reduce the butter and egg whites, by how much? Can I use coconut sugar instead of normal white sugar? Thx
I do not suggest changing the sugar amount unless you reduce the entire recipe. You could possibly use coconut sugar however I have not tried it.
hi, im making a cake for my bday and its about 5” its a korean lunch box cake and im wondering if this is enough to cover it or should i double the amount ? and i want to lessen the sugar amount but as i read in another comment you said if you lessen the amount it wont work and i like this recipe and other recipes are too complex for me so what can i do to make it less sweet and not cause me diabetes ?
Huda, In general, food does not cause diabetes. It’s more of a genetic thing. Eating some cake with icing won’t make you ill. However, since this is a concern for you, many people with diabetes do well by eating their sweets with fat, fiber, and protein. So maybe you could serve your frosted cake with slices of apple and peanut butter.
Happy birthday!!
Im living in jamacia so what can i add so it wont melt on my cake…. Please answer
Was way to much butter I think all it tasted like was butter. I know it’s butter cream. But maybe just not use to it haha
Icing sugar will work woth it too??
No, it won’t.
I made this buttercream. Everything went so smoothly until I tried to fold in one cup of strawberry preserves. Then the entire batch broke. It’s my first time making this so I spent hours on it. Is there any way to fix it?
It would be nice if, in the instructions, you mentioned testing the egg white + sugar mixture as you’re heating it to make sure the sugar is fully dissolved. I didn’t realize this was a potential problem until after I whipped in the butter and now I’m left with grainy/gritty buttercream.
Do you switch to a paddle when incorporating the butter? I’m worried about over whipping.
No, you will keep using the whisk attachment when adding the butter at medium speed. After it’s completely incorporated then you can switch to the paddle attachment. This will smooth out the buttercream and remove bubbles if you are ready to use it.
My Swiss buttercream release water after taken out from fridge and didn’t get back normal. Any reason?
I tried the recipe and it’s good
Hi. I have been making your easy meringue recipe. What’s the difference between this one as far as taste?
Hi, the taste is the same with Swiss and French meringue. However, Swiss meringue is more stable, pips a bit better, and doesn’t weep as quickly as French meringue will.