Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Learn how to make the BEST buttercream there is! Swiss Meringue Buttercream is light, fluffy, creamy, silky-smooth, and utter perfection on cakes, cupcakes, or to fill French macarons. It's much less sweet than traditional buttercream, and can be flavored with anything you like. Tons of tips, tricks, and troubleshooting info below.
Ingredients
- 177 grams egg whites at room temperature
- 200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 454 grams (1 lb) unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into cubes
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract (or any other flavorings you like!)
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, place about an inch of water and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. In the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large metal mixing bowl that fits nicely over your saucepan), place the egg whites, sugar, and salt, and whisk a little to combine. Place the bowl over the pot of simmering water.
- Continue to lightly whisk, keeping the mixture moving, to prevent scrambling the eggs. Around 140°F / 60°C, the sugar will dissolve and the eggs will begin to froth and foam up.
- Once the mixture has reached 160°F / 71°C (usually about 3-5 minutes), remove the bowl and carefully wipe the bottom dry.
- Place the bowl on a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high until stiff peaks form, and the outside of the bowl is completely cool to the touch. This usually takes me about 10 minutes. Ensure you have reached stiff peaks before proceeding to the next step.
- (How to Check for Stiff Peaks: Remove whisk attachment and turn it upside down. The meringue on the whisk should stand straight up, or with just a very slight bend. If the bend is more significant, whisk for another minute at a time until the bend is very slight or straight up.)
- Swap to a paddle attachment and add all your butter at once (ensure your butter is at room temperature – 70°F / 21°C is perfect).
- Mix on the lowest setting on the mixer, until beautifully silky-smooth. This sometimes takes awhile. It may start to separate or look curdled, but just leave it alone and keep mixing on low – it will fix itself, I promise!*
- Once you have light, fluffy, completely-smooth buttercream, add the vanilla and/or other chosen flavorings.
- Use to frost or fill your baked goods, or store Swiss Meringue Buttercream for 1 week inside an airtight container in the fridge. Just pull it out and let it come to room temperature, then re-beat on low again to refresh, before using. It may separate again, but it will come back together.
Notes
*Curdling or Separating: Please don’t panic if the frosting looks curdled as you mix in the cubed butter and/or flavorings. Just keep mixing and it will eventually come back together and look creamy and smooth again.
Flavorings: This recipe can be used to make any flavored buttercream you desire! Add any pureed fruit, liquors, melted and cooled chocolate, homemade Salted Caramel Sauce – you name it!
Make Sure Your Butter is at Room Temp: Pull your butter a couple hours before you wish to make the buttercream (or even the night before). You need the butter to be soft enough that if you pick it up and squeeze with your fingers, it’s soft and pliable. Aim for 70°F / 21°C. If your butter is too cold, it may not emulsify with the meringue mixture correctly. Please also avoid microwaving your butter to speed this up; melted butter could ruin your buttercream.