Simply Perfect Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream: so light & silky-smooth, with a deep chocolate flavor & a hint of sweetness. This will be your new favorite frosting!
Did you see my Simply Perfect Chocolate Cupcake recipe? You didn’t think I’d leave ya hanging with the frosting recipe, did you? Aww, I’m not one to hold back, believe me. 😉
It’s over here in a separate post, just for organization and indexing purposes!
Swiss Meringue Buttercream takes a little bit more effort than the powdered sugar + butter American variety, but it’s totally doable, even for a beginner, and the flavor payoff makes it all worthwhile. If you’ve never tasted it before, you are not going to believe it! Every time one of my friends or family tastes it for the first time, they’re always like “what IS this???”
The hardest part is warming the eggs and sugar together, and that’s not really a big deal. I do it right in the bowl of my stand mixer, over a pot of simmering water. Just whisk it continuously for a few minutes, and then rub a drop of the mixture between your thumb and forefinger. Does it feel gritty? If so, keep whisking for another minute or so. If not, go ahead and put the bowl on the mixer and start whipping!
You’re going to whip it until it’s completely cool. It will look (and taste!) a lot like marshmallow.
When there is absolutely no hint of warmth to be felt, start whipping in the softened butter. Just a tablespoon at a time! If it starts to look curdled, don’t panic. Just whip, whip, whip, and it’ll come back together. I promise. 😉
Fold in the melted chocolate, and you’re golden! I melt mine in the microwave, stirring after each 20 second interval, until it’s completely smooth and velvety.
This frosting would be great on just about any kind of cake or cupcake. I especially love it on a vanilla cupcake, but my four-year-old prefers chocolate on chocolate. Here’s the recipe for Simply Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes. They are easy-peasy to throw together, super moist, and deeply chocolatey. You’re going to love ’em!
Now, if you have ANY questions at all, they’re probably answered in this extremely comprehensive Swiss Meringue Buttercream post. So click on over to learn tons more!
This post is part of a recurring series on Baking a Moment called “Simply Perfect,” where I share my favorite recipes for basic “building block” baked goods. Many of these recipes are tried and true, that I’ve made over and over again, through the years, tested on my friends and family, and deemed to be the best. Check out the “Simply Perfect” category of this website, for all the recipes in this series!
And find lots more great buttercream recipes on my “Icings, Frostings, Fillings, & Toppings” Pinterest board!
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Simply Perfect Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients
- 3 egg whites
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, (2 sticks), softened but cool
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) semisweet chocolate,, melted & cooled slightly
- 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon (0.13 teaspoon) kosher salt
Instructions
- Place the egg whites and sugar in a large metal or glass bowl.
- Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water, and whisk, continuously, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture looks opaque.
- Remove the bowl from the heat, and whip on high speed until completely cooled.
- Whip in the butter, a tablespoon at a time, until thick and fluffy. (If it begins to look curdled, continue to whip until it comes back together, before adding in remaining butter.)
- Fold in the melted chocolate, vanilla, and salt.
Notes
*Enough to ice (2) 9-inch diameter cakes, (1) 9 x 13-inch sheet cake, or 2 dozen cupcakes
First of all love this recipe!! I use it on the order I get!!Do you know how many cups this makes? I know it says enough to decorate 24 cupcakes but just wondering if you know:) thank you
I just made this recipe using milk chocolate instead of semisweet and it’s beyond silky and divine! I’m sitting here with the bowl and spatula and licking them clean like a little kid:)
It is a bit loose – probably because of the milk chocolate – but I only need it to frost a layer cake so doesn’t bother me much.
Thanks so much!!
I LOVE this frosting! It’s pretty easy once you get the hang of it and I love how forgiving it is. Pipes beautifully. Thank you!!!
Thank you for this delicious recipe you’ve shared,one of my favorites 👍❤️
So great when a recipe works perfectly. Love this!
Hello from Malaysia!
Tried this recipe for my girl’s 5th Birthday chocolate cake yesterday.
It’s lovely and by far the best recipe i’ve tried for swiss meringue buttercream. Easy, yummy, and portion-wise just right for 1 double layer cake. Not too much, not too little.
Thanks a lot for sharing the recipe.
Xoxo
Can this frost a 9 by 13 inch cake??
Yes!
I simply love this frosting …. it’s the best ever 🙂
Hi Allie
Thank you so much for this recipe. I tried it for the first time today, it seemed to have gone really well i.e. the the meringue was silky and glossy. I also added the butter tablespoons at a time, and made sure my butter was the right temperature.
However the end result, it seemed as if the frosting tasted too buttery? I’m not too sure what I did wrong. So keen to try this again and perfect it.
Thanks so much!
So sorry you weren’t happy with the taste Simone! Swiss meringue buttercream is very buttery tasting, so perhaps this type of frosting just doesn’t suit your preference. I have many others to choose from, just search “frosting” in the search bar at the top of this site.
Hi! May i know if its alright to use chocolate ganache in place of the melted chocolate in the recipe?
So sorry- I have not tested it that way so I can’t say for sure.
Is it ok to use brown sugar instead of white sugar
I think that should work.
Can I use Cocoa powder instead of melting chocolate?
I have not tried it that way, so I can’t say for sure.
Allie, Mine just stayed curdled and wouldn’t ever combine. Is it possible that I didn’t whip the egg whites and butter together long enough before adding the butter? Also, the butter was soft but not melted.
If it looks curdled, keep whipping! It usually does this right before it comes together and smooths out. More helpful info can be found here: https://bakingamoment.com/swiss-meringue-buttercream/. Good luck!
I’ve tried to make this recipe three times tonight… three times the sugar didn’t melt fully… is it possible that 1 cup of sugar is too much for 3 eggs?
No it’s not possible, sorry! I make this recipe all the time, as you can see it’s was published many years ago and has over 260 comments on it from others who have as well. There definitely aren’t any typos here, it’s been viewed so many times and so many have followed it with success. But I can help you to troubleshoot. A few questions:
1) What size eggs are you using?
2) What type of bowl are you heating the eggs and sugar in? Glass or metal?
3) How long are you keeping the bowl over the simmering water, and how often are you whisking it?
If you want to get back to me on these items I may be able to pinpoint what the problem is. Thanks!
OMG. What else is there to say. Didn’t even add jnbthe chocolate and am in love. Dont have a stand mixer so did with my hand beater, wow wow wow
So glad you’re pleased Rudy! Thanks for the great feedback!
Have you ever doubled or thirded this recipe for a larger cake? Trying to avoid making recipe twice.
I have and it works well, just be sure your mixing bowl is big enough to accommodate! Good luck!
I NEVER leave comments, most of the time the recipes I find are OK but do not convert well to sugar free, this was awesome. I grind Erythritol and Xylitol but can never get it fine enough to make a smooth buttercream icing, the finished product is always grainy. I used both sugar free sugars and a small amount of Splenda in your recipe here and it was perfectly smooth and creamy and delicious. I will be making ONLY this icing from now on, and will be making it in the other flavors you suggested. I found many more Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipes on the internet since finding yours, but I feel your instructions are the best. I’m going to try and convert your Simply Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes next, using my special low carb flour and my sugar mixture. Thanks making it easy to make this Buttercream icing.
That is SO great to know; thank you so much for sharing this info Kathy! I’m sure it will be helpful to a lot of other readers. Would love to also know how the cupcake recipe converts as well!
Hi, is this recipe enough to ice three 8″ layer cakes?? Frosting ththe whole cake completely?
Hi there! This recipe makes enough to ice (2) 9-inch diameter cakes, (1) 9 x 13-inch sheet cake, or 2 dozen cupcakes. You might be able to stretch it for 3 8-inch layers.