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Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Amy Faries • Mar 03, 2020
Smooth and creamy swiss meringue buttercream that is not overpoweringly sweet. Perfect for cakes, cupcakes, or to top of a delicious cheesecake.
For starters
So I need to start off by saying this is my all time favorite buttercream, it has such a silky texture and isn't crazy sweet like american buttercream. With that said, its a tad more complicated than making american buttercream but the results are well worth it. This buttercream is perfect for frosting a cake, using as a filling, or decorating cupcakes! I am not a huge frosting person (I usually take 80% of the frosting off my cake when I eat it) but this is too good to take off. It has such a good and subtle sweet taste that it ends up tasting similar to whipped cream in my opinion.
Adventure
Making swiss meringue buttercream is a task on its own, but making it with a 20 month old (my niece; Lily) is an adventure for sure. While making this batch of SMBC for the blog, Lily decided to be a stage 5 clinger. Nothing wrong with that usually since most of the time I have her on my hip while doing things. BUT in the beginning stages of making SMBC you need to use a double boiler...and that is not necessarily the best thing to have a curious handsy baby around. With many cries, snacks, and oh so many cuddles later I was ready to tend to Lily. Just kidding the snacks and cuddles were all for Lily ;-) We settled on Moana and a big bottle of milk. Now, Auntie was finally able to start making this dreamy buttercream. I made sure to set my butter out about a half an hour before I started, so that it had time to come to room temp but still be a tad bit cold. In order to start making SMBC we need to start with making a basic meringue mixture (eggs and sugar) over a double boiler. Once this was done everything else was a cake walk. Swiss meringue buttercream takes practice but never get discouraged! It is one of the best buttercream's to save from disaster, just remember to keep whipping it.
Tips
**Some tips may be the same from the meringue "how to" post**
-Make sure your bowl and mixing attachments are 100% clean and grease free. Give your bowl and tools a wipe down with a paper towel just to make sure! If there is any grease or fat remnants still left over from the last time you used these items this will effect how your meringue will puff up.
-Make sure there are no sugar crystals left in your mixture before you start with the whipping process. When you are using the double boiler method you will constantly whisk the mixture until any sign of grit from your sugar is gone. If you skip this step you will have meringues that taste fine but their texture will be quite gritty. That is the exact opposite texture you want in a fluffy meringue.
-You will want to use 2 paddle attachments. Start off with your whisk attachment, then before you add the butter switch to the paddle attachment. The whisk attachment helps to make sure your meringue gets those perfect stiff peaks you need. The paddle attachment is great for mixing up your buttercream with ease and will not incorporate as much air into your buttercream.
-If your mixture begins to look curdled, soupy, or just not right. Make sure your bowl is cold and remember to keep mixing! Mixing is your friend when it comes to getting the perfect consistency with SMBC.
-If your mixture is still soupy looking after you have mixed for a couple minutes pop it in the fridge for around 15 minutes and begin mixing again. The cold will help to firm up the mixture so when you take it out and mix it again it should mix up to the perfect texture.
-Its ok if your mixture looks curdled at first, that means it is becoming buttercream. Don't get scared and remember your mantra for this recipe "keep mixing"!
-Use clear vanilla extract if you want a white buttercream without that pesky yellow tint.
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
6 fresh egg whites
4 sticks (2 cups) butter
2 tsp clear vanilla extract
1/4 Tsp salt
Instructions
Step 1:
Take your egg whites and sugar and place into the bowl of your stand mixer. Using the double boiler method (one pot of boiling water and your glass or stainless steel mixing bowl) stir the mixture with a whisk non stop for 7-10 minutes or until all the grit is gone and your meringue mixture is smooth. I like to test this by putting a drop between my fingers and feeling for grit. If there is any grit at all continue to stir over your double boiler until it is gone.
Step 2:
Once your meringue mixture is grit free, transfer to your stand mixer and mix with a whisk attachment on high for 8-10 minutes. The goal here is for smooth glossy peaks in your meringue.
Step 3:
Feel the outside of your bowl. If it is still a tad warm pop your bowl into the fridge for 10 minutes. Switch to your paddle attachment. With your mixer on low slowly begin adding your butter 1 TBS at a time, making sure your butter is incorporated each time. I like to scrape the sides of my bowl after each stick of butter to make sure everything mixes well together.
Step 4:
When all your butter is added into the bowl you may now add your clear vanilla extract and salt. Your mixture should now be coming together. Just remember to keep mixing and eventually it will turn out creamy and whipped. If it still doesn't begin to form pop it into the fridge for around 10 minutes then begin to mix again.
Give your SMBC a final mix with a wooden spoon or spatula to get it super smooth and silky. Don't let the thought of Swiss Meringue Buttercream scare you. As long as you follow these steps and tips I can guarantee you will be good to go! Feel free to send me a message if you ever encounter any issues while making this recipe.
** You can keep this at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 24 hours. After that it can stay in the fridge for up to 2 weeks**
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