Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe
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!
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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
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.
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Hi Natasha, this recipes sounds great but I was hoping you could help me with some thing I need to make a gluten free, sugar free chocolate cake, I’m going to use your chocolate cake recipe, just subbing the flour and I would like to try your Swiss meringue frosting but I don’t know if I can add cocoa and sub the sugar and if you can suggest a good sugar free option? Thank you!
Hello Wendy, I honestly haven’t tried making that version yet. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes!
I made this recipe tonight. I beat the meringue until I had stiff peaks. The meringue wasn’t warm and the bowl was at pretty close to room temperature. I added the butter. Love the flavor but the consistency of the frosting is pretty runny. Not sure what I did wrong but will be trying to fix it in the morning.
Hi Kathy, continue beating for a few minutes – it may be that the mixture was too warm when butter was added. You might also refrigerate for 5-10 minutes and then continue mixing again for a few minutes until it turns fluffy.
I have made this frosting several times and every time after I add the butter it gets thinner and thinner as it beats. I always have to put it in the refrigerator and re beat.
Hi Natasha!
Ive got your website from another person when I was looking for a perfect buttercream recipe. I was sooo happy seeing how nice, silky and fluffy my buttercream is turning:) at the end Ive added a pinch of salt and …organic vanilla extract. Ive added literally a few drops (no more than 1/2 teaspoon) and my perfect buttercream changed almost instantly started to change its consistency to very butter!!! I dont understand! Why this happed? It looks like net time I cannot add a drop of vanilla extract to keep this perfect silky consistency…Anyway thanks for this recipe, its the best one for me so far:)
Hi Eva, it may just need a few extra minutes of mixing. I added 2 tsp of real vanilla extract without any issues so that should not be the culprit.
It turned out great my first try, my son lived it. I halfed recipe and had no problems made plenty for what I needed.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Angel!
Hi! I’m making cupcakes with this icing 2 days in advance. How should I store them?
Hi Chloe, if stored properly and refrigerated, this frosting will last a couple days.
Hi Natasha! Thank you for the recipe. May I ask what the yield is? I am planning to make this for a wedding cake that’s using 10″ bottom tier (4 layers) and a 6″ top tier with 4 layers as well.
Hi Angela, 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
I added black cocoa and black gel to my SMBC but maybe over did it on the gel. It’s now too runny, it was perfect before the coloring. Any recommendations on fixing this? Thanks!
Hi Tracy, I haven’t tried that to advise. Maybe others here have some tips that they can share?
My family calls it MAGIC and I must agree! This buttercream also converted two formerly “I hate frosting” people into Swiss buttercream aficiandos! Beautiful recipe and results. Thank you, Natasha!
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Hi Natasha!🤗I made my swiss meringue now,but It was all liquidy now,I try to freeze it now for 10 to 20 mins,is it possible to freeze it inable to get it stiff peak?
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 natasha another question before i try to make the swiss merengue buttercream.If i cut sugar alittle bit still work?
Hi Ji, it would start to taste buttery if you cut the sugar.
Hi natasha i try to male the buttercream but somehow fail it was good until i put the butter in. The butter wasny smooth not is because i pit alot of butter at once or because the butter was too cold? The merengue was at room temperature i bit it for 20mins and it felt cold
It is important that the butter be added one piece at a time. That may be the issue. Overly cold butter won’t blend as well either. You want to keep the butter at room temperature for about 1 1/2 hours before using.
Thank you ill try one more time also can i reduce some sugar i dont like really sweet
Reducing the sugar will affect the texture and make it seem more buttery.
Thank you for this recipe. I’ve always hated American buttercream because it’s always nauseatingly sweet and too thick for my liking, even when trying different recipes. This is perfect!
Thank you for the wonderful review!
Hi! The puppies are adorable! My daughter is wanting a rainbow puppy cake. Is it possible to color this frosting? And how would you do so? Thanks!
Hi Melissa, adding food coloring should work. Add a little color at a time until you reach your desired color while maintaining consistency. I would recommend using gel food coloring over a liquid one. I would add that at the very end.
Hello Natasha.
I’m making my sons 1st birthday cake for his cake smash and Im going to give SMBC a go it’s something I have never made before and intend on having a couple practice runs before hand 🤞 I absolutely love the taste compared to American buttercream and really want it to work. My question is I’m wanting to decorate/pipe with different shades of blue roses. How do I go about adding colour without changing consistency? Also confused about how to add the butter is it just 1 tbsp then mix then add another and mix ect untill it’s all incorporated?
Absolutely adore you thank you for inspiring myself and many others in the world of cooking/baking. Your recepies are to die for xx
Hi Emma, that is correct, you want to add a Tablespoon at a time, giving it a chance to incorporate before adding more. Also, I would add gel food coloring at the end and mix until it’s well incorporated.
Hi! I’m about to make a 3 layer 8 inch cake – will this make enough frosting to fill and frost/coat it? Thanks!
Hi Emma, that should work. This chocolate cake is an example of a 2-layer 9″ cake that we frosted with this.
I like to make my cakes and ice them in advance, them freeze them. Will this icing freeze and thaw ok?
Hi Kay, SMBC freezes well normally so I think that should work if it is already frosted on a cake, although I haven’t tested that myself. If you try it out, please let us kmnow how it goes.
Can I decorate the smbc using an airbrush? I’d like to use a stencil to decorate a cake and would like to try smbc
Hi Tammy, I haven’t tried that and don’t have any experience with airbrushing.
I’m needing to make a black swiss meringue buttercream. Can I add 1/4 cup of black cocoa powder to this recipe and maybe a couple drops of black gel coloring to achieve this? Or will it totally destroy the buttercream? Thank you.
Hi Kelly, I haven’t tested this with chocolate to advise but here is what one of our readers wrote “I ended up adding 3oz of melted semisweet chocolate and 3 oz of bitter 100%cocoa chocolate after adding the vanilla. I didn’t want the sweetness to go up because of the chocolate. And I also sifted about 1/4 cup of cocoa powder at the end and hand mix that in. Tastes amazing! I’ll re-whip on Friday for the cupcakes I’m making” I hope that helps.
Thank you so much for replying! And yes, that helps tremendously. You’re recipe has been my go-to after failed attempts at other recipes. Thank you again!
I have yet to fail at a recipe on your site—everything is perfectly detailed and so easy to follow. This frosting came out perfectly with your vanilla cupcakes and I’ll never go back to American buttercream. The saltiness and sweetness are perfectly balanced and the texture is so silky and pipes easily. I used real vanilla bean (1/3 of a bean for 1 tsp extract) and it was such a luxurious treat. Thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Hi,
I made your recipe and I can’t seem to get it to come together. It wont hold any shape. The butter was at room temperature for several hours and still has several small lumps in it. It has wonderful flavour, but it’s a complete mess.
Hi Judy, I do recommend reading through all the recipe tips to be sure nothing was missed. If it is runny/ not stiff and not pipe-able, the easiest fix is to beat the swiss meringue buttercream frosting a few minutes longer. It could be that the mixture did not cool completely to room temperature before adding butter, but it can be fixed with a longer beating. I hope this helps.
The meringue was the perfect temperature. I read through and followed all instructions precisely. It was after I made the recipe that I read reviews, and the several that stated they had the exact same problem. No matter how much I beat it, it wouldn’t come together, I cooled it, I warmed it with a towel, nothing worked. I realize there are fails in life, but I’m 54 with enough experience and thought I would try something a little different, as I always make the Italian buttercream, and never have I failed so hard. I just wish I knew what I did wrong that made it not come together as it should have.
Having even the smallest amount of fat/oil on your tools will make your egg/sugar mixture not whip up. If it fell apart after that then try colder butter or putting the meringue in the fridge for a bit before adding the butter.
Im new at baking and I’ve been looking for the perfect icing recipe and this is the only one I need from now on! Thank you! Super creamy, melt in your mouth and not too sweet. Very detailed and easy recipe to follow. Everyone loved it! I made it with your vanilla cupcake recipe .
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Natasha – can I make a cake and decorate it with this a day (or few days?) in advance of cutting/eating? I know I can make the Swiss buttercream and put it in the fridge, but can I decorate with it in advance too?
Hi Sally, you can decorate in advance, but it tastes best and softens back up at room temperature so you might take out and leave it at room temperature for a while before serving.
I made this and my christmas cake looks so beautiful. OmG I almost don’t want to slice and eat it. Too bad I couldn’t put a picture.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that, Rhea! This is our favorite buttercream recipe!
I made this buttercream but found after I added the butter it was too runny. I kept whisking for ages but still too runny to pipe. I think next time I will leave out the butter and just keep it as Swiss meringue and pipe it on the cupcakes. Would it need to blow torched or it’s ok to eat as meringue?
HI Nadeea, it all depends on the temperature of the mixture when adding the butter. I would refrigerate for 10 minutes and then try mixing again or place a cold towel around the base of the bowl to help cool it down faster while mixing.
I love this recipe but I have a hard time with it. I can never get it smooth enough to get super smooth coat on my cakes. My other problem is that if I have leftover frosting that I put in the fridge and later take out to use again, it turns to soup and I can’t get it to set up again! Help!
Hi Maddy, I am always happy to help troubleshoot. If your buttercream isn’t smoothing out, sometimes it needs just a few more minutes of beating and it will come together even when it seems like it won’t. For re-whipping leftover refrigerated swiss meringue buttercream, make sure it is fully at room temperature (72˚F) when you are re-whipping and beat 2-3 minutes with the paddle attachment. You might put a warm towel around the base for a few minutes and then try beating it again until it’s smooth.
Hi Natasha, I noticed that in your other recipes there is a scale to adjust the amount of ingredients you use, but there isn’t the scale here.. hope to get a response soon, I’m really excited to try this recipe ASAP!!
Hi Nicole, that’s right, we don’t have a scale for this recipe at this time; there is too much room for error. 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! just wondering how much this recipe makes preferably in cups : )
Hi Ellie, 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 I dont have a whisk adapter for my stand mixer. Should I just mix it by a manual whisk for step 3?
Hi Amara, an electric hand mixer isn’t as effective, so it will take significantly longer, and you need to be very patient. I imagine this would not work, whisking it by hand.
No i have a stand alone mixer just do not have the whisking attachment for step3. So wondering if i can hand mix for step 3 or can i still use the paddle.
It would be extremely difficult without a whisk attachment. You could use an electric hand mixer with egg beaters but that would take considerably longer and would be tiring.
I used an electric hand mixer for this (steps 2 and 3) and it was fine, but it was tiring on my arm and wrist. I also only made one third of the recipe since I only needed a little bit. It would be possible but impractical to do the full recipe using a handheld electric mixer.
Hi Natasha, I am going to make 12 cupcakes, can i use half of your recipe?
Hi Ardilla, if you click on the serving size in the recipe card, you can slide it up or down to scale the recipe ingredient lists. I hope that helps!
Do you have a video of this pls?
Hi there, there’s no video for this recipe yet, just the recipe.
I have always used American Buttercream until I found your website and decided to give it a try. You were right… once you try this you will never go back! Is there a simple way to edit this recipe to make chocolate swiss meringue buttercream?
Thanks for your wonderful comment, Jessica. I have not experimented on that yet to advise. If you try it, please share with us how it goes as we would also love to know!
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe! It’s so light and delicious, I made this to top your wonderful vanilla cupcakes for my daughters 3rd birthday. I received great praise from your genius, A friend said it was delicious and he doesn’t usually like frosting! Since we are in crazy times and not hosting large gatherings of people I made 12 cupcakes and have LoTS of frosting left over, is it possible to freeze some or what suggestions have you to utilize the remaining deliciousness?
What a great compliment. Thank you for sharing that with us, Samantha. It can be refrigerated. If it has been chilled, bring back to room temperature then re-whip until smooth in texture before using.
Hy, live in France and I don’t understand the ingredients well. Xoxo
Hi Ahmadou, I would recommend using Google Translate or googling some of the substitutes that you can use for the ingredients.
I really want to try this recipe but I can’t use butter because its dairy. Do you know if i can substitute with earth balance vegan butter or coconut oil instead? I buy them in stick form like butter im just not sure if it would work the same way.
Hi Diana, I have not really tried that yet to advise. But I imagine that vegan butter should work fine. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes.
I made this recipe about a year ago and it was a total failure. I used my stand mixer (which I will admit I am not comfortable using – my grandmother taught me to bake so I only ever used a hand mixer or my own elbow grease!) I probably didn’t let the bowl cool down enough (I couldn’t really tell since it was the stand mixer “teacup-like” bowl) and I recall the butter was too soft so I had to refrigerate it again. Bottom line, it was a disaster.
Fast forward to this year and my son requested a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting for his birthday (I make an amazing chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (my grandmother’s recipe), but no, he didn’t want that. I decided I was going to conquer vanilla frosting once and for all. (My daughter is the total opposite – she likes vanilla cake with chocolate frosting! BTW, I tried using Natasha’s Perfect Vanilla Cupcake recipe (which IS perfect!) to make a cake, but it didn’t translate well. Natasha – do you have a Perfect Vanilla Cake recipe????)
Seven vanilla buttercream recipes and attempts later, and I still felt like a failure (plus my husband was getting annoyed that he had so many dishes to put away in the morning!) So, I decided to revisit Natasha’s recipe. Given my trepidation with my stand mixer, I decided to try it the old fashion way.
I used my double boiler to combine the sugar and egg whites. I felt I had much more control doing it this way than when I balanced the stand mixer bowl on top of a pot. I then transferred the mix into a large stainless bowl and used my hand mixer to beat. After 20-minutes of beating, the mixture wasn’t as stiff or peaking as it should be. I was concerned about beating it too much because the last frosting I made with mascarpone I overbeat and had to throw away. I beat the sugar and egg mix for an additional 5-minutes and then took the plunge and added the butter which was the perfect temperature.
It looked like it was coming together nicely – it was a bit stiffer – although the consistency was more like a slightly stiff marshmallow topping than a frosting. I added the vanilla and salt. It tasted great, but was still not the right consistency. I then read the comments to the recipe and saw that other folks who had used a hand mixer experienced the same thing. I thought maybe I should let it cool like Natasha suggested, but then decided to go for it and got out my stand mixer.
I put the buttercream into the bowl and turned the stand mixer to a high beat. Five minutes latter and VOILA! The perfect buttercream frosting!
Thank you so much Natasha! Now I just have to figure out which chocolate cake recipe to use!
Hello Melissa, that’s so nice to know! Thank you for sharing your experience with us, sometimes all it takes is just practice and also trial and error to get things right. I hope you will love all the recipes that you will try!
Hi!
I would like to make this recipe, I was wondering if it will be enough to frost, fill and decorate an 8″ 3 layer cake? Or should I make a larger batch?
Appreciate any help.
Thanks,
Dahlia 🙂
Hi, yes that is enough frosting for that type of cake. To give you an idea, we used it to frost our 2 layer 9″ chocolate cake here.
Hi!
Can you color the Swiss merengue buttercream? Also if I use it on a cake can it be frosted the day before and put it in the cake box?
Hi Matilde, I think you could, but add a little color at a time until you reach your desired color while maintaining consistency. I would recommend using a gel food coloring over a liquid one. I would add that at the very end.
Thank you so much for this recipe!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
How much coloring can you put in this buttercream without making it lose it firmness/peaks?
Hi Tina, I think you could, but add a little color at a time until you reach your desired color while maintaining consistency. I would recommend using a gel food coloring over a liquid one. I would add that at the very end.
I don’t have a paddle attachment since I’m using a hand mixer. What can I do instead?
Hi Sofia, an electric hand mixer isn’t as effective so it will take significantly longer and you need to be very patient.
hello! just so you know i’m 13 years old and i love to bake. my mom is asking if you have classes that you teach? and if you do she said that i should sign up. are you Russian? because most of the things my grandma knows how to make, and i make stuff that you make! 🙂
Wow great job, I’m happy that you are already very interested in baking. However, I don’t have any classes available but I hope my recipes can help you get started.
Any suggestions for replacement of butter as family member has a dairy allergy.
Hi Marilyn, I really haven’t tried a substitution to advise. I also haven’t tried reducing the butter that much and without experimenting it’s difficult to guess if it would form properly.
Can I use this for a macaron filling?
Hi Brittany, I think it would still taste good but it doesn’t have a distinct flavor so I don’t usually use it for macarons.
Turned out perfect! Took a little longer to get to 160* F but other than that everything was exactly as expected! Thank you!
So great to hear that it was a success! Thank you for sharing that with us, Catrina.
Hello, will this be enough to cover a 3 layer cake 8 inches wide? (including a crumb coat)
hopeful that it’ll turn out well!
Hi Syd, it should be enough to cover a 3 layer 8″ cake. I frosted this chocolate cake with it so you can gauge.
This is by far the best buttercream I’ve tried – I use it as icing on cakes and with electric hand mixer because I don’t have a KitchenAid… it takes quite a long time to the point when you think it’s not going to work, but then suddenly it does… so just be patient. Love this recipe, thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing this with me Viktoria! I’m so happy you have enjoyed this recipe!
Can I keep Swiss icing in the fridge for 5 days?
Hi Paula, I can’t say it will be good for 5 days, but it will be fine to cover and refrigerate for several days, just be sure to bring it to room temperature then re-beat it to smooth and fluff the frosting.
I didn’t have much luck with this recipe. I followed the directions, but no matter how long I mixed after the final step it never thickened. It remained a wet mess. I’m not sure what might have gone wrong. The meringue step looked great. I used 3 sticks of butter that sat out an hour. Added the 2 tsp of vanilla and
1/4 tsp of salt…followed the suggested times and when thickening didn’t happen, kept mixing….no thickening. I will say the flavor was very tasty, and I did manage to use what I had by applying it quickly and freezing it fast. But it never even came close to looking the texture of the icing in the pictures pictured on the recipe page. Just wet and drippy.
Hi Krissi, 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.
I definitely waited till the meringue was room temperature. The butter was as you suggested – out for an hour and still slightly cool to the touch. I suppose there is a possibility it was oversoftened but I’m not really sure what oversoftened would be? Your suggestion then is to refrigerate it then take it out and whipping it again? Because I did end up refrigerating some of it overnight hoping to use it for decorating, and after bringing it up to room temperature and whipping it again it was even wetter than the previous evening.
i have tried different smbc recipes but yours is the best. now i always use this recipe. thank you for sharing it.
Thank you, that is so sweet of you!
I just made this icing and I have to say it is the absolute best homemade icing I have ever tasted!! I’m fairly new to making cakes and icing from scratch. I made pumpkin spice cupcakes and it paired perfectly. This is my new favourite and it will be my go to recipe! I’m anxious to know if this recipe can be tweaked to make a chocolate Swiss buttercream.
Thank you so much!!
Thank you for the wonderful review, Tammy! I’m happy you like that!
How do you achieve such perfectly white colour? Mine is usually more yellow/creamy.
Hi Magda, 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.
Buy Violet Americolor gel-stick a toothpick in it and dot it in your icing & keep mixing it. It will turn white. Just be careful. If you use too much it can turn bluish or gray. Works wonderfully. There are video on youtube showing how it turns white.
Hi! Is there a way to make this without a thermometer?
Hi Kawthar, I have only made this with a thermometer, it would be hard to without it to be sure you reached the correct temperature.
Thank you for your help!
I first used this recipe in my brothers wedding cake for the Lemon merengue tier and lovedIt so much I added chocolate to it for the chocolate tier too (after trying soooo many recipes to get things perfect!) This recipe is so versatile and smooth as silk. I’d not tried Swiss’s merengue buttercream before this and now it’s all I use. It has worked well to decorate a Cookie Monster cake and a Fox cake too and seems to make the colours even more vivid.
Your comment made me smile, I totally agree this recipe is a winner! Thanks for the wonderful review.
I just made this icing and I have to say it is the absolute best homemade icing I have ever tasted!! I’m fairly new to making cakes and icing from scratch. I made pumpkin spice cupcakes and it paired perfectly. This is my new favourite and it will be my go to recipe! I’m anxious to know if this recipe can be tweaked to make a chocolate Swiss buttercream.
Thank you so much!!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing that with me, Tammy!
Hi.I would love to try it tomorrow! Would this be enough to cover 6 layers (rainbow ) 8inch cake??
Hi Marta, 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
I want to make this for my daughter’s first birthday party tomorrow, but I don’t have a stand mixer. Is this possible to make without one? I have a hand mixer with the standard beater and whisk attachments, but obviously I don’t have the paddle attachment that a stand mixer would have.
Hi Sarah, to be honest, I have not tried it with a hand mixer because it takes a really long time to whip and that would leave you with a very tired arm! I also haven’t come across any recipes that I can recall where a hand mixer was used – maybe solely because it is not easy to stand over it that long. I wish I could be more help but I just haven’t braved this with a hand mixer. Also, a hand mixer is not as efficient at whipping and cooling a mixture so you may have to whip even longer.
Well, we did it. My husband helped and we beat the mixture for close to an hour, taking turns, but never achieved the peaks as shown in the photo. We took a chance and moved on to the next step. It turned out great! It is so tasty. I’ll definitely use it again, but I’ve officially requested a stand mixer for Christmas.
I’m glad it worked out for you Sarah!
I don’t know how to add pictures but I just made this frosting and it came out perfect and delicious!!!! Best frosting I’ve ever had and I’m proud to have made it myself! Thanks for the great recipe, Natasha!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing that wonderful review with me!
Just tried this – looked great before butter and now it look looks like cellulite.. help!
Hi Kristen! I haven’t had that experience but I’m happy to troubleshoot. I do recommend reading through our tips and comments from readers that have experienced similar Also, was anything altered in the recipe?
I’ve just made this for the second time and it looks a little curdled as well, could I have over mixed it?
Hi Tanya, if it looks curdled, you need to continue beating it and it will correct itself. It is pretty normal for Swiss Meringue buttercream to look that way while beating and then it corrects after a few more minutes of mixing.
Can you color this frosting without it changing the texture?
Hi Crystalynn, I would recommend using a gel food coloring over a liquid one. I would add the at the very end.
Can i use icing sugar instead of granulated sugar for the swiss meringue buttercream?
Hi, I haven’t tested this with confectioners sugar and I suspect it would not work the same way.
I’m wondering if I can use this under fondant? My apologies if that’s been mentioned in your threads and I missed it.
Hi Christina, I honestly haven’t tried putting SMBC under fondant to advise. If you experiment I would love to know how you like that!
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.