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!
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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).
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.
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).
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.
4. Add 2 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp salt then mix on med-high until incorporated (about 1 min).
P.S. The tiny amount of salt at the end gives this frosting incredible depth of flavor.
Common Questions
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.
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.
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.
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.
Absolutely! See how we frosted our 9-inch, 2-layer Chocolate Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
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:
- Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- Vanilla Buttercream
- Cupcake Frosting
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe
Ingredients
- 7 oz egg whites, from 7 large egg whites
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened, (3 sticks)*
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
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
Filed Under
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).
If you make this frosting, let me know what you think of it in a comment below.
Hey there ,this look like a great recipe but I’m wondering if I can half the ingredients or will that mess with the consistency
Hi Sabs, when you’re at the recipe you can click Jump to recipe and click on the number of servings to adjust the ingredients too. Hope that helps.
Hi Natasha,
I tried flavouring at the end with Nutella and it became slightly runny. I’ve been trying to salvage by refrigerating 20 mins and whipping it up again but it doesn’t seem to help. Any ideas?
Hi Pavi, I honestly haven’t tried adding Nutella yet to advise. Sorry I wish I could be more helpful!
Hi, if this happens again in future, I suggest putting the whisk attachment in the freezer, the bowl of SMBC in the fridge for around 25 minutes depending how runny. I then would whip it on high speed for 4 minutes. This should do the trick!
Hi there! I sat at the stove cooking the meringue for over half an hour and it still wouldn’t reach 160F. The meringue is very thick too once I have whipped it. Is this right?
Hi Cammy, make sure you have water under the bowl and that the bowl sits snuggly over the surface of the saucepan, otherwise the steam will escape and it will take much longer to heat up.
Can you add flavoring to this buttercream, like a curd or paste, or will it affect the texture to much?
Hi Hope! That may work! Normally flavorings are added at the very end. If you try something new, I would suggest trying to add it to a small batch in a ramekin to be sure it doesn’t hurt the consistency and to see if you enjoy the overall flavor. There are so many ideas! Almond extract, lemon/ lime, liqueurs, fruit puree or preserves, the list goes on. You might google to get ideas for add-ins, depending on the type of cake you’re making.
Thank you so much
Iam doing daughters wedding cake.It will take 2 days to assemble 3 tier cake and deliver to venue the night before. Will this frosting keep and taste good till the cake cutting. wedding in feb next year
Hi Geraldine, I see buttercream more commonly used for making wedding cakes and I wonder if that is the reason – because it holds up better and can support stacked cakes. I’m not an expert in wedding cakes – you might try googling that. Sorry I can’t be more helpful.
How many cupcakes do this frost?
Hi Calli, This recipe makes maybe 5 or 6 cups? It is enough to frost a 9″ two-layer cake OR it will ice 24 plus cupcakes. One of our readers wrote, “I put a generous amount on 24 cupcakes and still had some left.” I hope that helps
Hi Natasha
I will be attempting to do this recipe. What is the best butter to use for recipe ? Appreciate your kind advise.
Hi Lina, we try to use a light butter. Some butters are more yellow in color and make this less white. I’ve tried organic unsalted by Simple truth brand and the longer sticks from Costco by Kirkland signature unsalted butter and both were very white in color.
This is so delicious and silky, I am seriously never making American buttercream again!
It is just a tad sweeter than I would prefer. Can I use less sugar or will that mess up the consistency?
Thanks!
Thank you for your good feedback! Hi, reducing the sugar will affect the texture some and make it seem more buttery.
I use this recipe all the time. It’s always comes out perfect! Thanks!
So great to hear that, Janice. Thanks for sharing!
Beautiful!!♥️
How far in advance can I make this? Will it hold in the fridge for a couple of days before piping?
If not using Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting the same day it is made, it can be refrigerated. If it has been chilled, bring back to room temperature then re-whip until smooth in texture before using.
can you substitute the white sugar for brown sugar because i want a more caramelly taste.
Hi Ishrath, I haven’t tested that so I’m not sure how it would incorporate.
Made this and reasonably happy with result, added a bit of icing sugar and dye to it to had to play around. How did you get it do white? Once I added the butter it went a yellowy colour which was what I was hoping to avoid.
Hi Rebecca, some butters are more yellow in color and make this less white. I’ve tried organic unsalted by Simple truth brand and the longer sticks from Costco by Kirkland signature unsalted butter and both were very white in color.
Get some blue food coloring. Take a took a toothpick and tab it with the blue food coloring. I actually rubbed it on my paddle attachment and then mixed it again and the frosting was a bright white! use a very small amount. You do not need a lot. You can always add more blue if you want the frosting to be more white.
Great idea! Thank you so much for sharing that with us Nicole!
I made this tonight to use for cupcakes that I’m making tomorrow. After adding the butter it fluffed up but not enough for my liking so I added some powdered sugar and it stiffened up better. It didn’t alter the taste much either. This will be my go-to frosting recipe from now on!
Thanks for sharing that with us, Stephanie!
I have never tried this but anxious to try. Do you have any experience with using powdered egg whites instead of fresh egg whites?
Hi Carol, we have not tested that.
How much frosting should I make if I want to make a 6 inch cake with three layers?
Hi Hannah, it is hard to say without testing it myself. This recipe makes maybe 5 or 6 cups? It is enough to frost a 9″ two-layer cake OR it will ice 24 plus cupcakes. One of our readers wrote, “I put a generous amount on 24 cupcakes and still had some left.” I hope that helps
Any tips on making this recipe lime flavored? I’m debating between lime juice and extract, but I’m I don’t want to mess up the consistency. Thanks!
Hi Lola, I haven’t tested this with lime. Normally flavorings are added at the very end. If you try something new, I would suggest trying to add it to a small batch in a ramekin to be sure it doesn’t hurt the consistency and to see if you enjoy the overall flavor. There are so many ideas! Almond extract, lemon/ lime, liqueurs, fruit puree or preserves, the list goes on. You might google to get ideas for add-ins, depending on the type of cake you’re making.
I would toss in some lime zest. I don’t believe it would cause a reaction and the zest holds the best flavor any ways.
How many cupcakes could I pipe with this recipe? thank you!
Hi Jamie, this recipe makes maybe 5 or 6 cups? It is enough to frost a 9″ two-layer cake OR it will ice 24 plus cupcakes. One of our readers wrote, “I put a generous amount on 24 cupcakes and still had some left.” I hope that helps
Hi Natasha,
Can I reduce the sugar to 1.5 cups? Will it affect the texture? And also, can I use margarine instead of butter? Thanks
Hi, reducing the sugar will affect the texture some and make it seem more buttery. I have never tried making this frosting with margarine so I can’t speak to that.
I just tried this recipe for the first time and OMG, it was amazing! It did take a good 15 minutes or so for it to finally come together and get thick after the butter was added. But it was so worth the wait!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Once you get it this will be your favorite for ever!
Natasha helppp! It would stiff up. I’ve been beating for over 25 min it’s still watery. What do I do?
Hi Sandra, it can look soupy before it comes together and that is normal. If it stays soupy after a few extra minutes of mixing, it is likely due to adding butter before the meringue fully reached room temperature, or due to adding oversoftened or partially melted butter. I would suggest refrigerating 10-15 minutes at a time and continuing to mix and it should come together.
Hi, I’m trying to get stiff peaks and I can’t. I measured everything in grams, I’m using a hand mixer, made sure the bowls were clean. The only thing I can think that I did differently is I didn’t have a big enough bowl so had to set it on a strainer that I wrapped mostly in tinfoil so I wouldn’t lose much steam. Any tips besides buying aluminum bowls?
Hi Jess, if the mixture reached the desired temperature then it is probably due to using an electric hand mixer. A stand mixer with a whisk attachment is more efficient at whipping.
I made this recipe and I succeeded
But, I tasted a lot of butter, which I like less. Is it possible to put only 3/4 cup of butter? And I really like the taste of whipped cream, could it be good to add cream to it? If yes, how much and when should I add it to the recipe?
thank you
Hi Christel, I really haven’t tried adding whipped cream so I’m not sure if it would break the consistency. I also haven’t tried reducing the butter that much and without experimenting its difficult to guess if it would form properly.
Question: I can’t do dairy so butter is out. Do you think margarine would work or is it too soft?
Hi Blenn, I have never tried making this frosting with margarine so I can’t speak to that.