This easy swiss meringue buttercream is a butter-flavor forward frosting that's sturdy enough to hold up layer cakes & pipe beautiful designs.
This easy swiss meringue buttercream is truly my favorite frosting! It's buttery, not overly sweet, and works perfectly with every type of cake. I also LOVE using it as a filling for macarons.
It may sound like a fancy, complicated recipe, but I assure you it is not as difficult as it seems! Follow the recipe closely and you'll come out with a silky smooth swiss meringue buttercream.
For more frosting & filling recipes, try Mascarpone Frosting, Master Pastry Cream Filling Recipe, and Foolproof Salted Caramel Sauce.
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What is Swiss Meringue Buttercream?
Swiss meringue buttercream is a meringue based frosting made with the swiss method, which involves heating egg whites and sugar over a double boiler before whipping to stiff peaks. Butter and flavorings are then mixed into the meringue, creating an incredibly sturdy & buttery frosting. This buttercream is perfect for just about any cake, cupcake, or macaron recipe.
Why you'll love this buttercream
- Buttery Flavor: The butter is a very predominant flavor, which makes it the perfect pairing for any sweet cake.
- Balanced Sweetness: Unlike American buttercream, which is often described as cloyingly sweet, this buttercream is much more balanced in sweetness.
- Sturdy & Pipe-able: Swiss meringue is the sturdiest of all meringues, making this the sturdiest of all buttercreams! It holds up heavy layer cakes and can piped into beautiful designs.
- Customizable Flavor: Since this is such a stable buttercream with a mellow flavor, it's the perfect canvas for just about any flavor you can think of! See flavor variations below.
Ingredient Notes
Ingredient quantities are listed in the recipe card below. Here you'll find notes on why I chose certain ingredients, as well as ingredient substitutions.
- Vinegar: Wipe down all appliances with white vinegar to ensure nothing hinders the meringue.
- Egg Whites: Separate your egg whites carefully! Any amount of yolk may hinder the meringue.
- Sugar: You'll need about 1 ½ cups of granulated sugar.
- Vanilla: Add vanilla bean paste or extract for best flavor.
- Salt: Do not skip on the salt! It will help to amplify the flavors and balance out the sweetness.
- Butter: Since butter is a predominant flavor, it is important to use a high-quality brand. I recommend any European-style butter!
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.
Step by Step Instructions
Though it seems complicated, there actually are not many steps to this buttercream. The most important step, however, is to wait until the meringue drops down to 85 degrees F before adding the butter. This take anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes, but the good thing is that you can just turn it to low speed and forget about it! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.
Step 1: Mix & heat. Whisk together the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Place over a pot of simmering water and bring to 160 degrees F.
Step 2: Whisk. Transfer the bowl to a stand mixer and whisk until soft peaks form. Add the salt & vanilla and continue whisking until stiff peaks form. Turn the mixer down to low speed and wait until it drops down to at least 85 degrees F.
Step 3: Add butter. Once the meringue has reached at least 85 degrees F, add the room temperature (but on the cooler side) butter a few cubes at a time.
Step 4: Mix. Once all of the butter has been added, it may look curdled, but continue mixing and it will come together.
Step 5: Beat. Lastly, switch to a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until silky smooth.
Step 6: Add flavors. If desired, divide the buttercream into three parts, and add cocoa powder to one, espresso powder to one, and leave the last vanilla.
Other flavor variations
There are so many different flavor variations to choose from! I will undoubtedly continue to create new flavor ideas, but for now here are my favorite flavors for macarons -
Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream: This buttercream is made with salted caramel mixed into it and swirled between brown sugar macaron shells for these Salted Caramel Macarons.
Pumpkin Swiss Meringue Buttercream: This buttercream is perfect for fall! It's made with reduced pumpkin for optimum flavor and sandwiched with vanilla macaron shells for these Pumpkin Macarons.
Expert Baking Tips
- It is very important that your measurements are precise for all ingredients, but for the egg whites in particular. Use a kitchen scale to weigh them out!
- Your butter should be room temperature but on the cooler side. It should not look greasy or be soft enough to easily squish it.
- Be sure to wipe your bowl and whisk attachment down with white vinegar. This ensures that everything is squeaky clean and nothing will hinder the egg whites from forming stiff peaks.
- It is SO important to wait until the meringue drops down to at least 85 degrees F or you will risk the butter melting and the whole thing turning into a big soupy mess. This can take about 20-30 minutes.
Recipe FAQs
If your egg whites did not whip, there may have been a greasy residue in the bowl or on the whisk, or an egg yolk might have broken. Any amount of fat can hinder the meringue from whipping. To avoid this, wipe all appliances down with white vinegar to make them squeaky clean. When separating eggs, use cold eggs and gently break the entire egg into a shallow bowl. Use your hands to pick up the egg yolk and gently pull the white away from it. This will ensure the egg shell does not puncture the yolk and mix in with the whites.
Your butter should be room temperature, but on the cooler side. It should not look greasy or be soft enough to easily squish it.
You likely have added the butter to the meringue too soon. DO NOT add the butter to the swiss meringue until it has cooled down to below 85 degrees F. I have made the mistake of adding it too soon, and the meringue ended up melting the butter and turned the whole thing into a soupy mess. If your meringue has reached stiff peaks before it is cool enough, turn the mixer down to low speed and keep it there until it reaches the right temperature.
If your buttercream did turn out soupy, don't panic! Just stick it in the fridge for about 15 minutes or so, and continue mixing on low speed until it thickens up. If it became too cold in the fridge and it splits as you're mixing it, still continue to mix on low speed. As it warms up, it will come back together.
How to use this buttercream
The variety of flavors that this buttercream can be, as well as its sturdiness, make it the perfect frosting for just about any cake, cupcake, or macarons. Here are a few of my favorite recipes that pair perfectly with this buttercream -
- Small Vanilla Cake (a reader favorite!)
- Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes
- Vanilla Macarons
Storage Tips
This swiss meringue buttercream can be stored covered at room temperature for as long as the cake/cupcake it's decorated on. If it is used for macarons, I always recommend storing them in fridge for about 1 week. You can also wrap leftover buttercream in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost frozen buttercream, place in the fridge overnight, then let stand at room temperature until soft.
Baking in Grams
All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale.
If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.
But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!
Happy baking! x
Other frostings, fillings, & toppings to try
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📖 Recipe
Easy Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Equipment
Ingredients
For the vanilla swiss meringue buttercream:
- 145 g (4) egg whites*
- 300 g (1 ½ cups) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- 340 g (1 ½ cups) 3 sticks unsalted butter, room temp, but on the cooler side*
For the swirled variation:
- 21 g (¼ cup) dutch process cocoa powder, sifted
- 12 g 2 tablespoon espresso powder
Instructions
For the vanilla swiss meringue buttercream:
- Wipe the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk attachment down with white vinegar.*
- Add the egg whites and sugar to the bowl and whisk until fully combined.
- Place over a small saucepan of simmering water, and whisk frequently until it reaches 160 degrees F (70 degrees C) or until the sugar is completely dissolved and the egg whites do not feel grainy.
- Move the bowl over to the stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium-high speed until medium peaks form.
- Add the salt & vanilla and continue whisking until stiff peaks form.
- Turn the mixer down to low speed, and wait until the meringue cools down to at least 85 degrees F (30 degrees C).*
- Cut the butter into cubes and add to the meringue a few pieces at a time, allowing them to fully incorporate before adding more.
- Once all of the butter is added, it will may look curdled, but keep beating for a few more minutes and it will come together.
- Once the buttercream has mostly come together, change the whisk attachment to the paddle and keep mixing on low speed until homogenous and smooth.
For the swirled variation:
- Weigh out and divide the buttercream up into three parts, leaving one part in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- In one bowl, add the sifted cocoa powder and mix with a rubber spatula until fully combined.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the espresso powder and mix on low speed until fully combined and the granules have dissolved.
- In a large piping bag fitted with your desired piping tip, use a rubber spatula to spread the vanilla buttercream along one portion of the inside, then repeat with the chocolate and espresso flavors.
- Pipe onto cakes, cupcakes, or macarons.
Notes
- It is very important that your measurements are precise for all ingredients, but for the egg whites in particular. Use a kitchen scale to weigh them out!
- Your butter should be room temperature but on the cooler side. It should not look greasy or be soft enough to easily squish it.
- Be sure to wipe your bowl and whisk attachment down with white vinegar. This ensures that everything is squeaky clean and nothing will hinder the egg whites from forming stiff peaks.
- It is SO important to wait until the meringue drops down to at least 85 degrees F or you will risk the butter melting and the whole thing turning into a big soupy mess. This can take about 20-30 minutes.
- For a caramel variation see Salted Caramel Macarons.
- For a pumpkin variation see Pumpkin Macarons.
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