Swiss meringue buttercream is silky, smooth, not-too-sweet, and one of the most frequently made recipes around here.
Follow along as Tessa shows you how to make Swiss Meringue Buttercream from scratch and read up on some of the tricks and tips for getting it just right and ready for your beautiful cakes.
Ingredients in Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- egg whites
- granulated sugar
- unsalted butter
- pure vanilla extract
Steps for Making Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Whisk together the sugar and egg whites: In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, add the egg whites and granulated sugar. Whisk them together briefly by hand until just combined (so that the egg whites don’t scramble).
Create a double-boiler: Fill a sauce pan with a few inches of water and bring it to a simmer. Place the mixer bowl with the egg white mixture on top to create a double-boiler. The water should be kept at a simmer and should not touch the bottom of the bowl. This will indirectly being the eggs to a safe temperature without them becoming hard-cooked or scrambled.
Heat the egg white mixture: Occasionally stirring, heat the egg white mixture until it reaches 160°F on a candy thermometer. The mixture will be very hot to the touch and the sugar should be dissolved.
Make the meringue: Once the egg white mixture is hot, carefully return the bowl to the stand mixer. Fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the mixture on high speed for 8 to 10 minutes. When done, the meringue should hold shiny, medium-stiff peaks and the outside of the bowl will have returned to room temperature.
Add the butter: With the mixer on medium-low, add in the butter - a couple tablespoons at a time.
Add the vanilla: Once the butter has been mixed in, add the vanilla extract.
Mix it up: Stop the mixer and swap out the whisk for the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and mix until smooth and spreadable, 3 to 5 minutes (see Baker’s Notes for troubleshooting).
Smooth it out: For frosting a smooth cake, you will want to eliminate the air bubbles that were whipped into the buttercream during the process. Mix on low speed for a few minutes for the silkiest, smoothest buttercream.
Baker’s Notes
- Recipe yields enough buttercream to fill and frost a three-layer, 8-inch cake. It may be cut in half.
- If after the butter has been added and the buttercream appears to be curdled, the butter was probably too cold. In this case, just keep mixing! Instead of the standard 3 to 5 minutes, it may take longer (up to 10 to 15 minutes!) for the butter to completely emulsify into the meringue mixture. If the buttercream remains “broken",” try gently reheating the buttercream over the double-boiler then mixing again.
- If after the butter has been added and the buttercream turns soupy, the butter was probably too warm or the meringue didn’t completely cool before the butter was added. In this case, pop everything (the bowl and buttercream) into the refrigerator for about 10 minutes then mix until smooth.
- Swiss meringue buttercream may be made in advanced. It can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple weeks or in the freezer for a few months. Before using, allow the buttercream to come to room temperature (thaw in the fridge if coming from frozen) before being remixed until smooth.
- Generally, fresh egg whites work best for all meringue-based buttercream. Not all carton egg whites will work for this recipe.
Cakes to Make with Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Recipe
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 6 large egg whites
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 cups unsalted butter at room temperature, cubed
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, add the egg whites and granulated sugar. Whisk them together briefly by hand until just combined (so that the egg whites don’t scramble).
- Fill a sauce pan with a few inches of water and bring it to a simmer. Place the mixer bowl with the egg white mixture on top to create a double-boiler. The water should be kept at a simmer and should not touch the bottom of the bowl. This will indirectly being the eggs to a safe temperature without them becoming hard-cooked or scrambled.
- Occasionally stirring, heat the egg white mixture until it reaches 160°F on a candy thermometer. The mixture will be very hot to the touch and the sugar should be dissolved.
- Once the egg white mixture is hot, carefully return the bowl to the stand mixer. Fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the mixture on high speed for 8 to 10 minutes. When done, the meringue should hold shiny, medium-stiff peaks and the outside of the bowl will have returned to room temperature.
- With the mixer on medium-low, add in the butter - a couple tablespoons at a time.
- Once the butter has been mixed in, add the vanilla extract.
- Stop the mixer and swap out the whisk for the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and mix until smooth and spreadable, 3 to 5 minutes (see Baker’s Notes for troubleshooting).
- For frosting a smooth cake, you will want to eliminate the air bubbles that were whipped into the buttercream during the process. Mix on low speed for a few minutes for the silkiest, smoothest buttercream.
Jessica
Hi. I don’t have a electric kitchen aid just hand electric beaters. Can this be made with that or is a kitchen aid style the only way to do this ?
stylesweet
Hi! You could use a hand mixer. It will likely take a bit longer but would be a great arm workout!
Sue
Beautiful cake!’ What did you use to make the beautiful color pink hue for the Swiss buttercream meringue frosting?
Thank you,
Sue
stylesweet
Hi! I use Americolor gel food coloring. It's been a while, but I think this is soft pink. Thanks!