Swiss meringue buttercream is better in flavor and texture than American Buttercream. Once you try it, you will want to use it on all of your cakes, cupcakes, cookies, everything! It is silky, pipes beautifully, and is stable. Watch the easy video tutorial and you will be a pro in no time!

Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting piped onto a cupcake

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Swiss Meringue Buttercream Video

Swiss Meringue Buttercream (SMBC) is my favorite of the meringue frostings because it is not overly sweet or difficult to make, and this method pasteurizes the egg whites in the process – Hooray!! It is simple enough to use for everyday baking but the flavor is a special occasion worthy frosting (scroll down to see the fun design I made for my niece and nephew’s puppy-themed birthday party). This frosting makes me think of wedding cakes every time I make it!

Swiss Meringue Buttercream keeps really well overnight at room temperature without drying out or forming a crust as American buttercream will. You can completely assemble your cake ahead of time without taking up space in the refrigerator and it will look and taste just as good the next day. It’s also freezer-friendly (see instructions below).

Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting on a spatula

Cook’s Tip for Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Butter should be softened at room temperature for about 1 hour (more or less depending on your room temperature). You want it to be still slightly cool to the touch and not overly soft or warm. If it gets too soft, refrigerate for 10 minutes at a time.

How to Make Swiss Meringue Buttercream

1. In a medium pot, add about 1-inch of water and bring to a simmer.

2. Thoroughly wash and dry the stainless steel mixing bowl from your stand mixer** (you don’t want any fat touching meringue). Add 7 egg whites and 2 cups sugar and whisk together. Place mixing bowl over a pot of barely simmering water, creating a seal over the pot (bowl should be over the steam, not touching water). Whisk constantly until sugar/egg white mixture reaches 160˚F (takes about 3 minutes). Sugar should be fully dissolved (you should not feel any sugar granules when rubbing the mixture between fingers), and the mixture will feel hot to the touch.

Two photos of a mixer with a mixture for Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Two photos one of mixture being cooked over a steam bath and one of fingers feeling the mixture

3. Wipe water from bottom of mixing bowl and transfer bowl to your stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff glossy peaks form (about 15-20 minutes) and the bottom of the bowl feels completely at room temperature and not warm (important: if meringue is warm, it will melt the butter).

Meringue with stiff peak on a whisk

3. Once bowl is at room temperature, switch to the paddle attachment, reduce to medium speed and add butter 1 Tbsp at a time, adding it just as fast as it can be absorbed by meringue. Once all butter is in, scrape down the bowl and continue beating until the buttercream has reached a thick whipped consistency (3 min on med-high speed). If it looks lumpy or liquid at all, keep beating until smooth, thick and whipped.

Two photos of Swiss Meringue Buttercream in a mixing bowl
A mixing bowl of Swiss Meringue Buttercream

4. Add 2 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp salt then mix on med-high until incorporated (about 1 min).

Two photos of vanilla extract being added into a mixing bowl with Swiss Meringue Buttercream

P.S. The tiny amount of salt at the end gives this frosting incredible depth of flavor.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream will become your go-to buttercream frosting. Swiss meringue buttercream is silky and pipes beautifully on cakes and cupcakes | natashaskitchen.com

Common Questions

Why is my meringue not reaching stiff peaks?

For egg whites to become glossy and reach stiff peaks, it’s critical to make sure your mixing bowl and attachments are free of any grease, egg yolks, or water. You need to start with thoroughly clean and dry tools.

Why is my Swiss Meringue Buttercream Soupy?

This is usually due to the mixture being too warm or adding the butter before the meringue has fully cooled down. Thankfully, it is easy to fix. Refrigerate the bowl for 15-20 minutes then continue mixing until the frosting thickens.

Can I use a hand mixer?

It is ok to use a high-speed electric hand mixer, but it may take 5-10 minutes longer of total mixing time. Also, a glass bowl will work but meringue may take longer to whip/cool down because glass retains heat longer.

Why is my frosting grainy?

Avoid using coarse sugar. Granulated sugar works best here. Also, make sure to heat your mixture over the water bath until it registers 160˚F on a thermometer.

Can I use SMBC to frost a cake?

Absolutely! See how we frosted our 9-inch, 2-layer Chocolate Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

Stable smbc frosting piped on a vanilla cupcake

Make-Ahead

  • Room Temperature – Swiss Meringue Buttercream is a stable frosting, meaning it will keep well covered at room temperature for 1 to 2 days in a low humidity environment.
  • Refrigerator – cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Bring back to room temperature to re-whip before piping.
  • Freezing – SMBC can be frozen for up to 3 months. Transfer to a freezer-safe zip-top bag, squeeze out any excess air, and store flat for quicker thawing. Thaw at room temperature then re-whip for a few minutes to lighten it up.

More Frosting Recipes

We haven’t found a storebought frosting even comes close to homemade. If you love homemade frosting as much as we do, you’re sure to find some new favorite frosting recipes in this list:

Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe

4.92 from 583 votes
Swiss Meringue Buttercream will become your go-to buttercream frosting. Swiss meringue buttercream is silky and pipes beautifully on cakes and cupcakes | natashaskitchen.com
Swiss meringue buttercream is supremely better in both flavor and texture than American buttercream. Once you try it, you will want to use it on all of your cakes, cupcakes, cookies, everything! It is silky, pipes beautifully, and is very stable.
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 24 (makes 5 cups) Frosts 9″ cake or 24 cupcakes

Instructions

  • In a medium pot, add at least 1-inch of water and bring to simmer.
  • Thoroughly wash and dry the stainless steel mixing bowl from your stand mixer (you don't want grease touching meringue). Add 7 egg whites and 2 cups sugar and whisk together. Place mixing bowl over a large saucepan of barely simmering water, creating a seal over the pot (bowl should be over the steam, not touching water). Whisk constantly until mixture reaches 160˚F (takes about 3 min). Sugar should be fully dissolved (you should not feel any sugar granules when rubbing mixture between finger tips). Mixture will feel hot to the touch.
  • Wipe water from bottom of mixing bowl and transfer bowl to stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff glossy peaks form (about 15-20 min) and bottom of the bowl feels completely at room temp and not warm (important: warm meringue will melt the butter).
  • Once bowl is at room temp, switch to paddle attachment, reduce to medium speed and add butter 1 Tbsp at a time, adding it just as fast as it is absorbed by meringue. Once all butter is in, scrape down the bowl and continue beating until it reaches a thick whipped consistency (3 min on med-high speed). If it looks lumpy or liquidy at all, keep beating until smooth, thick and whipped.
  • Add 2 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp salt and mix on med-high until incorporated (about 1 min).

Notes

*Butter should be softened at room temp for about 1 hour (more or less depending on your room temperature). It should be slightly cool to the touch and not overly soft or warm. If too soft, refrigerate for 10 minutes at a time.
Troubleshooting: If your frosting seems soupy, or won’t thicken up properly, this is usually due to the meringue or butter being too warm. See the Common Questions section above to troubleshoot. 
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Skill Level: Easy/Medium
Cost to Make: $
Natasha's Kitchen Cookbook

And here are the puppy cupcakes I made using this Swiss Buttercream for my niece and nephews birthday party! The kids LOVED them!! Here is the vanilla cupcakes base that I used for these. I used mini M&M’s on the eyes, a Hershey’s chocolate drop for the nose, then used a rolling pin and my hands to form the ears out of tootsie rolls and the tongue out of a similar shaped pink candy (similar to an airhead candy).

Swiss Meringue Buttercream will become your go-to buttercream frosting. Swiss meringue buttercream is silky and pipes beautifully on cakes and cupcakes | natashaskitchen.com

If you make this frosting, let me know what you think of it in a comment below.

4.92 from 583 votes (208 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




Comments

  • Debi Mitchell
    February 8, 2025

    Well I tried. You make it look so easy! I am a great cook but not a great baker. I need to keep practicing. 1st step -seemed like it took a long time to do the 1st step, maybe I used too small of a sauce pan to get the water steaming, took me 15+ minutes to get the egg whites and sugar to 160 degrees (I didn’t want the bottom of the bowl to hit the water simmering). Then I messed up when I added the butter, I had a beautiful meringue with peaks until I added the butter — butter was either too soft or meringue wasn’t totally cool. It was close but I need more practice! Tasted good!
    Question when you are whipping the meringue can you whip it too long? Seemed like mine was peaking quicker than I expected.

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      February 8, 2025

      Hi Debi! Yes, it’s possible to over beat meringue. You’ll want to beat it to stiff peaks and then stop. It should be thick, glossy, and stiff. If your frosting looked curdled after adding the butter, it just needed to be whipped longer. Keep mixing, it will come together. If it got too soft, you could chill it in the refrigerator for a little while then rewhip.

      Reply

  • Rose Prince
    February 5, 2025

    Hi Natasha, You my are absolutely my favorite cooking expert! Every recipe I’ve tried of yours has turned out fabulous! I’m making 50 cupcakes for my great-grandson’s birthday party and I’m going to make your vanilla cupcakes with this Swiss Meringue frosting. Will the frosting hold it’s shape if I freeze the cupcakes after I frost them? Thank you in advance. You’re awesome!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      February 5, 2025

      Thank you, I appreciate it! Yes that should be fine. You can make them ahead, freeze them and thaw at room temperature then re-whip for a few minutes to lighten it up!

      Reply

  • Misty
    February 2, 2025

    Hi Natasha! When making a cake with this frosting the day before you want it, should the frosted cake be left on a counter or should it be refrigerated overnight?

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      February 3, 2025

      Hello! You can refrigerate it if you will make it ahead overnight.

      Reply

  • C
    February 2, 2025

    Just made it it tasted just butter it tasted better before adding the butter can the butter be less?

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      February 2, 2025

      Hi C! It won’t turn out well without that right amount of ingredients. If it tastes too much like butter, it likely needed to be mixed longer.

      Reply

  • Myron Gray
    January 30, 2025

    Can this type of frosting be made in different flavors?

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      January 30, 2025

      Hello! The base recipe is so versatile so I imagine you can make this in different flavors. When adding flavorings, just be sure to balance it out so the consistency of the buttercream doesn’t change a lot. Hope you love it!

      Reply

  • Sandy
    January 28, 2025

    Can you add food color to this frosting?

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      January 28, 2025

      Hi Sandy! Yes, gel food color works best. Just add it a little at a time.

      Reply

  • Deanna Gilman
    January 28, 2025

    Your the best, thank you for all your recipes

    Reply

  • Rita
    January 22, 2025

    Over looked the recipe . Sorry. Can’t wait to try this icing. Thank you.

    Reply

  • Rita
    January 22, 2025

    You only listed add butter 1 Tbs at a time BUT I could not find anywhere it said how MUCH butter.

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      January 23, 2025

      You can click Jump to recipe to go to the recipe card. 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened, (3 sticks)*

      Reply

  • Leanne
    January 19, 2025

    Hello,
    What is the best way to store the butter cream if making it ahead of time?

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      January 19, 2025

      Hello there! If you will most likely use it within a few days (up to 3 days), you can store Swiss Meringue Buttercream at room temperature. If you will store it for a longer time like up to 1 week, store the buttercream in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

      Reply

  • Beth
    January 17, 2025

    I am making this right now and it was going great until I added the butter and now it is thin and separated. I tried to put it in the fridge but it didn’t help. Got any ideas?

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      January 18, 2025

      Hi Beth! It likely was due to the temperature, either the meringue was too hot when you added the butter or the butter was too cold. Also- keep on mixing! It may look like it separates but keep going, it will eventually come together.

      Reply

  • Erin
    January 5, 2025

    Is this buttercream ok to add gel food coloring to make different colors?

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      January 5, 2025

      Hello there! It would be fine to use gel food coloring because it doesn’t add extra liquid to the buttercream to make sure that the texture stays smooth and stable.

      Reply

  • Sande
    December 27, 2024

    Should the egg whites be room temperature or directly from the fridge?

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      December 27, 2024

      Hi Sandra! You can use them either way. They tend to separate better (yolks from whites) if the eggs are cold.

      Reply

  • Paloma
    December 26, 2024

    Excellent. Came out great and delicious! I let the heated mixture cool for 40 min before mixing. When I started mixing, look just a few minutes to doubled in size. First time making this type of frosting and it was delightful! Not overly sweet which was the goal

    Reply

  • Tammy Vieira
    December 18, 2024

    Does this frosting harden at room temperature?

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      December 18, 2024

      It does not harden at room temperature but it does firm up and hold its shape as it cools.

      Reply

  • Indira Sarais
    December 13, 2024

    Can one use margarine instead, for making SMBC

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      December 13, 2024

      Hi Indira! I really don’t know how that would alter the taste and texture of the recipe. Based on my research, it’s not recommended to use margarine.

      Reply

      • Myron Gray
        January 30, 2025

        I would NOT use margerine. It is ladened with water these days and the taste has no caparison to butter. If you prefer margarine, I recommend the OLD FASHION BLOCK or sticks that had the same consistency as butter and is 100 calories per tablespoon…ONLY.

        Reply

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