Swiss Meringue Buttercream
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Swiss Meringue Buttercream might seem a bit intimidating at first, but once you try it, you'll discover a whole new world of cake decorating and desserts. It's light, silky, buttery, and less sweet than traditional American buttercream, with a smooth, luxurious texture.
Table of Contents
- Here's Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients You'll Need
- In Photos: How To Make Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- A Few Things to Know Before You Start
- Add-In Options
- Recipe FAQ
- Recipes Using Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Swiss meringue buttercream is a frosting used to top and fill cakes, cupcakes, and macarons. It's incredibly light and airy, yet rich and buttery.
What I love most about it is its silky texture. It's made by first dissolving sugar in egg whites; it has an incredibly smooth texture that you just don't get with regular powdered sugar (aka American-style) buttercreams.
When you take a taste, you'll be struck by its subtle sweetness and how it melts on your tongue.
I tried Swiss meringue buttercream for the first time about 15 years ago, and it was a total "a-ha moment!" The light, silky texture and perfectly sweet flavor blew me away. I had never tasted anything quite so delicate before. Right away, I realized that this was the BEST way to take my cakes and cupcakes to the next level, and I have never looked back!
It also works very well under fondant! It gives you a perfectly smooth surface with no lumps or bumps, so it's ideal. When I worked as a pastry chef, it was all we used for fondant-topped cakes.
There are so many recipes here on Baking a Moment that utilize Swiss Meringue Buttercream. I'll share some examples below. But first, I'd like to take the opportunity to answer any and every question you've ever had about this unique and delicious frosting!
Here's Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Light, silky, and smooth!
- Less sweet than powdered sugar-based frostings.
- Perfect for frosting, filling, and piping.
- Easy to flavor in lots of different ways!
- Beautiful texture and glossy finish.
- Great for layer cakes, cupcakes, and celebration bakes.
Ingredients You'll Need
The recipe card at the bottom of the post contains the full list with all of the amounts. Refer to that when you're cooking.
- Egg whites: These form the base of the meringue and give the buttercream its light, airy texture.
- Granulated sugar: This dissolves into the egg whites to make a smooth, glossy base and adds sweetness.
- Unsalted butter: Softened butter turns the meringue into a rich, silky frosting with a luxurious texture.
- Kosher salt: A small pinch balances the sweetness and brings out the flavor.
In Photos: How To Make Swiss Meringue Buttercream
A Few Things to Know Before You Start
Swiss meringue buttercream can look messy partway through. Sometimes it seems soupy, curdled, or separated after you add the butter. This is normal.
Usually, it just needs more mixing. Keep beating, and it will come together into a smooth, fluffy frosting. The meringue should be fully cooled before adding the butter, and the butter should be softened but not greasy or melted.
Step 1: Heat the egg whites and sugar
Put the egg whites and sugar in a large heatproof bowl over gently simmering water. Stir continuously until the sugar dissolves and the mixture feels hot and smooth when rubbed between your fingers.
Pro Tips: I usually cook my whites/sugar for around 10 minutes, whisking occasionally. You'll notice the mixture goes from thick and transparent to thinner and more opaque.
The best way to know if it's really ready is to place a drop on your finger and rub it together with your thumb. If you feel any grit at all, keep cooking. When it's smooth as can be, you're ready for the next step.
You'll also notice that the mixture feels hot to the touch. You can gauge it with a candy thermometer (it should register 140 degrees F), but I don't really find that necessary. If it feels hot and the sugar is fully dissolved, you should be good to go.
Step 2: Whip into a meringue
Take the bowl off the heat and whip the mixture on high speed until it's thick, bright white, and glossy. It should hold stiff peaks and feel cool before you continue.
Step 3: Add the butter
Add the softened butter one tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. This step takes some patience, but it's what gives the buttercream its smooth, velvety texture.
Pro Tips: Your buttercream might start to look funky and curdled at this stage. Be sure to add the butter slowly (a tablespoon at a time) and let each addition fully incorporate before adding the next. Just keep on whipping, and I promise, it will come back together!
I have found that if I soften my butter in the microwave (while still wrapped in sticks) for 10 seconds at 30% power, then flip it over and do another 8 seconds at 30% power, it comes out perfect!
Just bear in mind that all microwaves are not exactly the same, so you might have to experiment a little to find that perfect sweet spot.
Step 4: Finish with salt and flavorings
Once the buttercream is smooth and cohesive, fold in the salt and any flavorings you would like to use.
Helpful Tips and Tricks
- Use a clean bowl: Even a little grease can stop the egg whites from whipping up properly.
- Dissolve the sugar fully: Rub a bit of the mixture between your fingers to check that it feels smooth, not gritty.
- Cool the meringue completely: If it's still warm, it can melt the butter, making the frosting soupy.
- Add butter slowly: Adding it one tablespoon at a time helps everything blend smoothly.
- Don't worry if it looks curdled: Just keep mixing. It usually comes together nicely.
- Re-whip before using: After storing, let it warm up to room temperature and beat it again until it's smooth and fluffy.
- If you want to serve it on a very hot day, just keep your cake or cupcakes refrigerated until ready to serve.
Add-In Options
- Fold in the seeds of a vanilla bean, 1 ½ teaspoons of vanilla bean paste, or 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract to make Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
- Add melted chocolate to make Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
- Add melted white chocolate to make White Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
- Place freeze-dried strawberries in the food processor, grind them to a fine powder, and stir them in to make Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
- Whip in the zest and juice of a lemon, lime, or orange for a citrus Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
- Stir a tablespoon of instant espresso powder into 3 tablespoons of hot water, then stir the cooled mixture to make Coffee Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
- Puree a couple of cups of raspberries, then cook them down until thickened and stir in to make Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
- Reduce sparkling wine to a thick syrup and add it to make Champagne Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
Recipe FAQ
While there is slightly more to it than just creaming butter and powdered sugar together, the payoff is huge! You'll definitely find that it's worth that little bit of extra effort. And once you get the hang of it, it will seem like second nature!
When making Swiss meringue buttercream, the first step is to melt sugar and egg whites together over a pot of steaming water. When the sugar is completely dissolved, you get that incredibly silky-smooth texture in your final product.
But if you don't heat the mixture long enough, you might feel gritty sugar crystals between your teeth.
Believe it or not, you are doing it right! Swiss meringue buttercream almost always goes through a stage where it looks curdled, broken, or split. This often happens just before it fully comes together!
Temperature is everything when making this recipe. The whites and sugar need to get hot enough to dissolve the sugar, but then they need to cool down a lot before the butter goes in.
It's easy to get impatient at this stage! I've done it plenty of times myself and ended up with a runny mess.
But you do not have to pitch it! It's totally salvageable. Just put the entire thing (mixing bowl, whisk, and runny buttercream) into the fridge for about 20 minutes and then re-whip. It works like magic!
It's also a good idea to pay attention to your butter's temperature. You want it softened, but it should still be somewhat cool to the touch. You don't want it so slippery and nearly melted!in the fridge for about 20 minutes,
Swiss meringue buttercream will not crust, as American-style buttercream does. This makes it really easy to work with, especially if you're trying to get a perfectly smooth finish on your cakes.
Swiss meringue buttercream is super versatile! It can be colored with gel paste food coloring (aka: icing colors), and flavored in TONS of different ways.
I often make it the night before I need it, and let it sit out at room temperature. This is fine to do if you plan to use it early the following day.
If you'd like to get even more ahead of schedule, it can be refrigerated for up to a week. But you may find that it comes out a bit hard, and loses some of its airy lightness. Just scoop it out of the container and re-whip it (after it's come back to room temp). It will be just like new!
I honestly think it's one of the most stable buttercreams out there. It works really well for piping, and it holds up beautifully.
It can be frozen as well; just thaw overnight in the fridge, then follow the method above.
Recipes Using Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients
- 6 large egg whites
- 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
- 2 cups (454 g) unsalted butter, , softened
- ⅛ teaspoon (0.13 teaspoon) kosher salt
Instructions
- In a large glass or metal bowl, combine the egg whites and sugar.
- Set the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water, and stir continuously, until the sugar is completely dissolved. (Check by rubbing a small amount between your thumb and forefinger; it should be hot to the touch, and feel smooth, not gritty.)
- Remove the bowl from the simmering water and whip on high speed until the meringue is thick, white, glossy, and can hold stiff peaks. (It should be cooled completely. There should be no hint of warmth when you place your hand on the side of the bowl. Refrigerate the meringue for 15 to 20 minutes if necessary.)
- Add the butter in, a tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. (If the mixture begins to look curdled, continue to beat until it comes back together, before adding the remaining butter.)
- Fold in the salt and any other flavorings you may be using.
What butter do you recommend in fat content/ color / neutral taste and smell?
Hey Camila! When I test recipes, I just use regular generic butter. I want to make sure the recipe tastes delicious, even if a lower quality product is used.
Thank you for all the work you do in posting these yummy recipes! I so enjoy baking and unfortunately I love eating it as well. My body testifies to that truth! I am starting Keto this week and was wondering if you ever tried another sugar that
is Keto friendly? The egg whites and butter are fine on Keto.
Any thoughts or ideas would be helpful to me.
Thank you for your help.
I know that a lot of other readers like to use Splenda, and I myself have used a brand called Swerve. Other than that I'm not really sure- the truth is I'm not much of an expert on keto! Wishing you lots of luck!
Thanks for sharing your recipe! This and your chocolate swiss meringue buttercream are definitely my go to frostings.
This was AMAZING! Turned out perfectly for the wedding cake and cupcakes that I made. Thank you for the recipe!
Can you add cream cheese to swiss meringue to use on a red velvet cake?
I have not had much success with the attempts I've made.
Do you know if you can you freeze a cake frosted in SMBC and then thaw the fully frosted cake in the fridge? Or does the frosting get weird?
Hey Hannah! I have never had a problem doing that. Good luck!
can i do it without butter?
It wouldn't be buttercream but sure.
This turned out really well as in in the fridge ready to use on Monday. Please advise how I would soften up to spread on my cake please. With normal buttercream I usually leave out if the fridge for a while to soften.
The information you're looking for can be found under the heading "Can I Make Swiss Meringue Buttercream Ahead."
Hello, I LOVE SMBC but I always have an issue with coloring it. I only use gel food coloring (AmeriColor mostly) but it never seems to incorporate. The color is always off and I will see tiny beads of the color that refuses to mix in. I know the gel coloring is fine since I have test it in AMBC and the color payoff is beautiful. Any tips?
Can you use salted butter and skip the 1/8t kosher salt?
Hi,
I tried your whipped cream icing with your vanilla cupcake recipe yesterday and my cupcakes turned out fabulous! I’m new to baking and wanted to try this icing so stupid question but how many stick of butter is 2cups? Thank you! I can’t wait to try it!
Hey there! So glad you were happy with the cupcakes! One stick of butter is equal to 1/2 cup. It will say that right on the wrapper. So 2 cups of butter would be 4 sticks. Good luck!
Can you swap out half the butter for cream cheese to make a cream cheese frosting?
I have not had much luck with that, sorry!
Could I do a thick layer under a fondant or will it deform and not hold up?
Hello
I have been doing a lot of searching for the best swiss meringue buttercream. I recently saw a recipe using your exact measurements and ingredients except for the amount of egg whites. That recipe called for 9 egg whites instead of 6. Can you tell me if adding more or less egg whites makes a difference in the taste or texture.
Good Day!!! Thanks for the recipe but i got a problem in adding the food color in tge buttercream since i dont have gel type food color so i used the ordinary liquid food color, so how to i add so that my meringue will not be runny and i want to be intense color..?
I would not suggest using liquid food coloring, too much will definitely make your buttercream runny! So sorry about that!
Hi
I’ve made Swiss meringue from a different recipe and it turned out tasting like creamed butter, is there anything I can do about that?
I can't really say without seeing the recipe you used.
The original recipe was 5 eggs 1 cup sugar a pinch of salt and four sticks of butter, so far though it’s the only recipe I’ve tried that has worked out every other recipe has gone soupy.