Swiss Meringue Buttercream is silky smooth, versatile, and perfect for people who find American buttercream to be too sweet. This recipe takes a bit of effort and patience, but it’s so worth it! Recipe includes a how-to video.
A Perfectly Sweet Buttercream
If you’ve ever been the kind of person to scrape the frosting off your cake because it’s just too sweet, today’s recipe is for you.
Swiss meringue buttercream is one of the most common frosting recipes used by professional bakers, yet most home bakers haven’t heard of it. Instead, they use American buttercream frosting, which is thicker and typically very sweet. Swiss meringue buttercream, on the other hand, is light, buttery, and perfectly sweetened.
This frosting gets its texture from a meringue base made of granulated (not powdered!) sugar and egg whites. It’s not hard to make, but if you’ve mostly made your frostings away from the stovetop in the past (as I did for decades), this recipe might seem a bit more complicated than what you’re used to. Today we’ll walk together through all the steps in detail so you can make your own flawless batch of buttercream.
What you’ll love about it:
- Velvety smooth & creamy (and stays that way–it doesn’t crust!)
- Has a light, silky & perfectly buttery mouthfeel
- Perfect for piping, decorating, and using under fondant
- Versatile; I love to pair it with chocolate cupcakes or vanilla cake, but it would be great with any flavor!
What You Need
Similar to my German buttercream, this recipe starts on the stovetop and ends with lots of butter (but I personally believe the Swiss version is less fussy and easier to get just right!). Here are the key ingredients you’ll need:
- Egg whites. For best results, use room temperature egg whites; I do not recommend using the kind you can find in a carton, as they don’t consistently whip properly (some of you who try will have success, others won’t!). Make sure you don’t have any yolk in your whites! We will be cooking the egg whites, so you won’t be consuming raw eggs in this frosting.
- Butter. It’s important that your butter is softened, but not so soft that it’s melting out of your butter wrapper or even greasy. I usually set mine out of the fridge about an hour before I begin making my buttercream.
- Vanilla. I use vanilla extract today, but you can switch up the extract for a different flavor. Note that some extracts, like almond or mint, will be more potent, so you may not need as much as I have listed here.
- Granulated sugar. Unlike most frostings, this recipe uses granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar. The sugar will need to fully dissolve before you begin whipping your meringue, or it won’t turn out properly.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Swiss Meringue Buttercream
I strongly recommend using a stand mixer for this recipe. Making this frosting by hand or even with an electric mixer would be a workout. I can’t even imagine how long it would take!
- Combine egg whites, sugar, and salt in a clean, dry, and grease-free mixing bowl.
- Place your bowl over a double boiler and whisk constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture reaches 160F (this ensures your eggs are cooked to a safe-to-consume temperature).
- Place the bowl on your mixer and beat on medium-high speed until you reach stiff peaks.
- Let the bowl cool down completely, then switch to a paddle attachment and beat in the butter one tablespoon at a time.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and continue beating on medium-high until the frosting is smooth and thick.
- Stir in any flavorings or coloring, then pipe or spread on your cake as desired!
SAM’S TIP: To test if your sugar has full dissolved, rub a small bit between your fingers before proceeding to the next step. If you can feel any grit or grain at all, your sugar is not fully dissolved and you’ll have a gritty buttercream–so keep whisking until all the sugar is dissolved.
SAM’S TIP: “Stiff peaks” means that if you lift the whisk straight out of your meringue, the peak that forms holds its shape and doesn’t melt back into itself or fold over. This will take at least ten minutes or so. If you’d like a visual of this, check out the photo below or watch the video in the recipe card.
Help: My Buttercream Curdled!
Sometimes during the process of adding the butter, your buttercream might break down and take on a curdled appearance. Don’t panic! So long as you’ve followed all of the previous steps correctly, everything is going to be just fine. Just keep mixing, just keep mixing, and by the time all of your butter is added, the buttercream should come back together. If it doesn’t, transfer your bowl to the refrigerator for 10 minutes and then try mixing again. Serious Eats has a great guide on rescuing Swiss Meringue Buttercream if you are convinced you’ve ruined it.
SAM’S TIP: Once the meringue reaches stiff peaks, I like to give my mixer a break while the bowl cools completely (some people keep mixing until it cools, but I don’t want to wear out my mixer!). At this point I also like to switch over to my paddle attachment for a smoother whip. Don’t start adding your butter any further until your bowl is completely cool and not even a tiny bit warm to the touch!
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re storing this frosting, I recommend placing it in the refrigerator in an airtight container. A cake or cupcake frosted with this icing can be left out at room temperature (preferably in an airtight container!) for up to 2-3 days; beyond that, I recommend refrigerating.
Unfortunately, this frosting does not fare well in the heat. While the meringue does help to add some structure to the frosting, all of that butter is going to want to do what butter does in the heat: melt! While you can keep this frosting at room temperature and it will hold its shape wonderfully, it will start to melt or become very soft in hotter temperatures or if served outside on a warm day.
American buttercream is very sweet (almost too sweet for me, even!) and is made primarily of butter and powdered sugar. Swiss meringue buttercream is less sweet and is made primarily of granulated sugar, egg whites, and butter. Unlike American buttercream, Swiss doesn’t crust or harden and (as you’ve seen above) the technique for making Swiss meringue is quite different.
Yes! I recommend gel food coloring for best results, but any kind should work fine. Simply stir it in at the end until you have the desired color.
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients
- 6 large (210 g) egg whites¹ make sure there is not even so much as a tiny bit of yolk mixed in with the egg whites or they won’t whip properly. (7.5 oz/210ml)²
- 1 ¾ cups (350 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ scant teaspoon salt just ever so slightly less than ¼ teaspoon
- 2 cups (455 g) unsalted butter cut into Tablespoon-sized pieces. Butter should be room temperature but not melt-y/oily, still solid enough to cut, but softened
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- You will need a double boiler or makeshift double boiler for this recipe. I use my KitchenAid stand mixer and a medium-sized saucepan that the bowl fits snugly into without touching the bottom of the pot.
- In clean, dry mixer bowl, combine egg whites, sugar, and salt and whisk until combined.6 large (210 g) egg whites¹, 1 ¾ cups (350 g) granulated sugar, ¼ scant teaspoon salt
- Heat about 1 ½ inches of water over medium-low heat in a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a simmer.
- Rest the bowl of your mixer in the pot over the simmering water (should not be touching the water).
- Whisk egg white/sugar/salt mixture constantly until the sugar is dissolved and mixture is no longer grainy (if you rub a small bit between your fingers it should feel smooth and not at all gritty) and the mixture reaches 160F (70C). This will take several minutes.
- Remove mixing bowl from heat and dry the bottom of your bowl. Fit bowl into your stand mixer.
- Using a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium/medium-high speed until meringue is thick and glossy and you have achieved stiff peaks (see photo in post or see video for visual). This will take about 10 minutes or so.
- Once you have achieved stiff peaks, stop beating and allow bowl to cool down completely. The bowl must no longer be warm to the touch before proceeding.
- Once bowl is no longer warm to the touch (make sure you are feeling near the bottom of the bowl), switch out whisk attachment for paddle attachment. Turn mixer to medium speed and add butter one Tablespoon at a time. Don’t add the next tablespoon of butter until the previous one is incorporated into the meringue. If you notice that your buttercream starts to break down or look curdled, just keep mixing and it will come together. If it still doesn’t come together (it could take some time), place the mixer bowl in the fridge for about 10 minutes and then try mixing again.2 cups (455 g) unsalted butter
- Once all butter has been beaten into the meringue, scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir again. Beat on medium/high until smooth and thick.
- Stir in vanilla extract or other flavoring and any food coloring, if using.1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- Spread or pipe over cupcakes or cake or use under fondant! I used an Ateco 848 for the cupcakes shown in this post.
Notes
¹Egg Whites
I do not recommend using pasteurized egg whites (the kind that you buy from the store in a carton) for this recipe.²Measuring Cup
If using a liquid measuring cup, you would fill to directly between the ¾ and 1 cup lineMaking in Advance/Storing
Swiss Meringue Buttercream may be made several days in advance of using it. Store refrigerated in an airtight container and then allow frosting to come to room temperature and stir well before using. If the buttercream seems to have lost some of its volume/lightness, use an electric mixer to whip it until it returns to its original texture.Here are a few recipes to use up your leftover egg yolks!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Lori
This recipe was amazing and easy to follow. It was light and smooth. I made a double batch and took awhile to dissolve on the stove top. My question concerns the use with a fruit filing. The cake fell apart when cut. I only used the buttercream as a damn for the filing and then to frost the three tier cake. What did I do wrong?
Sam
Hi Lori! This sounds like it may have been an issue with the cake rather than the frosting, did you use one of my cake recipes? maybe I can help!
Lori
Hi Sam, Yes I used your The Best White Cake recipe. The cake was perfect.
Emily
Hi, I will be making this frosting for the first time soon and I plan on adding almond extract. I’ve never used almond extract before and I know it’s pretty strong, how much would you recommend I add to this swiss meringue buttercream?
Sam
Hi Emily! It’s really a personal preference. I would probably start with 1/4 teaspoon and taste test it and add more as needed. 🙂
Lori Gilchrist
I don’t have access to non pasteurized egg whites. Will this make a big difference?
Sam
Hi Lori! They typically don’t whip as well so it could cause issues. 🙁
Jeff
When in doubt keep whipping. It’ll come together.
ELISE MARIE
Hi, Sam and Emily. I am not an experienced baker. You’re teaching me how to bake 😊 I would like to make this frosting in chocolate to go with your yellow cake just like you did in your video. What do I need to do for the chocolate flavor? Please give me specific instructions. Thanks so very much.
Sam
Hi Elise! See my chocolate swiss meringue buttercream. I hope you love it!
Claire
Can you use the Swiss Meringue Buttercream on Macrons?
Sam
Absolutely! This recipe makes much more than you would need for a single batch of the macarons on my website (I’d at least cut it in half) but it’s a great filling option.
Lillith
This swiss merigue frosting is so beautiful. So much lighter but more satisfying that a heavy sweet buttercream. I followed every step to the absolute letter and it turned out perfectly. I love that you gave follow up recipes to use the egg yolks. I can never bring myself to throw them out and visa versa when I have egg whites left over. I made your recipe for meringue cookies when I had exactly 4 egg whites left from another recipe. They are drying in the oven now, they look beautiful!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Lillith! 🙂
Mickey
I made this for my grandson’s birthday with your easy chocolate cupcakes. It turned out fine and tastes good but has a very buttery feel in the mouth. Is this normal? I did find I needed to use 7 eggs and even then I only reached 7 ozs. and not the 7 1/2. Your large eggs must be larger than what my grocery store has! Could that have made the difference?
Sam
Hi Mickey! It is a little more buttery than others, but it shouldn’t feel greasy or anything like that. As long as you were measuring oz on the egg whites all is good on that front. 🙂
Lynne
This frosting is so airy & silky smooth, and it has a pretty almost shiny appearance. I love that it’s not overly sweet, and I got so many compliments on it!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Lynne! 🙂
Ama Sonali
I have a very controversial question. Can I lower the sugar to just to 3/4 without ruining the structure of the meringue?
Sam
Hi Ama! It’s worth a try, but I haven’t tried it personally. It may not be as stable and will definitely be a lot less sweet. Let me know how it goes if you try it. 🙂
Judi
Made this for the first time. My family liked it much better than the ermine frosting as a filling for a ring ding cake, and it came out great. Thanks for a great solution!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy everyone enjoyed it, Judi! 🥰
Holly
Mine came out too runny. Any suggestions? I’m refrigerating it now. Taste is great though.
Sam
Hi Holly! I’m sorry to hear about the consistency, but glad to hear it still tasted good! The most likely cause of this is under-beating or over-beating your egg whites causing them to either not have quite the structure they need or breaking down the structure. 🙁
Jessica
Sam, this recipe is amazing. I was asked to make cupcakes for a friend’s gender reveal and I chose your gender reveal cupcake recipe and this frosting to pair with it. I’ve never made Swiss Meringue before and I was very nervous, but after I read the recipe and watched the video multiple times, it was foolproof and turned out SO amazing and delicious! Yes, it’s a bit time consuming but it’s so worth the time and so much better than regular American buttercream. Thanks so much for all of your amazing recipes and the time you spend making everything clear and precise for us. You are my go-to for recipes now and I haven’t gone wrong yet!
Mickey Stock
Will this work if I cut the recipe in half? I’m making your best chocolate cupcakes and plan on frosting half of them with chocolate frosting and wanted to frost the other half with vanilla using this recipe.
P.S. Love your recipes.
Sam
Sure thing! 🙂