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
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.
How many cupcakes will it frost? Cant recall seeing that part
Hi Omita, this would frost 24 cupcakes 🙂
The first time I made SMBC, I was disappointed, the recipe only had slightly over a cup of sugar, less eggs and more butter. So I found your recipe, and it’s awesome! Sweet, but not like American BC, and sliky smooth. My family loved it!
Thank you so much for sharing this with me, Amber! I’m so happy your family loved this!!
Great recipe. I have a question. Can I skip the salt?
Hi Sadia! You shouldn’t be able to taste the salt. In baking it does enhance the natural flavors from the other ingredients. So if you had to you can.
This is the best frosting I have ever made! Thank you! I used almond in place of vanilla on the raspberry almond cake I made. Fantastic!!
Wow! Thank you so much for this awesome feedback, Kristin!
Hi Natasha! I made this recipe last week and LOVED it! Everyone raved about the flavor and smooth texture. Can I make a chocolate version by just adding some melted chocolate, or do you have a specific chocolate SMBC recipe?
Thank you for the wonderful review, Mehera! I haven’t tried making this chocolate, but From my research, chocolate is always added at the end. I would probably start with 8-9 semisweet chocolate, melted and slightly cooled and whip it in at the end.
Perfect! I’ll give that a try. Thank you!
My pleasure!
Hi, I’m so excited to try this recipe out…I’ve made SMBC many tut imes, but I want to make buttercream flowers with it..PLEASE share how to stiffen up the recipe for that purpose..Thank you!
Hi Pan! It is a pretty stable cream and will work well for flowers.
Natasha.. I wonder if you’ve received my comments of today.. it doesn’t let me to sent you again..
HI Nikita! Yes I have responded to you messages 🙂 Thank you!
Hi Natasha 😀
Your recipe is awesome!!
I made it strictly and following your tips and the Elsa Frozen Cake for my 4th years grandaughter birthday was amazing!
Thank you. It’s a pity I cannot include the photo..
Luv your blog!
That’s amazing! Thank you for sharing this awesome review with me, Nikita! I’m so happy you enjoyed that!
How much buttercream does this make?
Hi Ivy! I wish I had measured it that way, but I can only guess now – maybe 5 or 6 cups? It is enough to frost a 9″ two-layer cake.
Thank you Natasha! This was absolutely amazing! Made this for a 1st birthday party cake and this is now my go to buttercream. I truly appreciate the easy step by step instructions and pictures.
it absolutely held up really well in our humid and hot weather. Cake was at room temperature at about 80 degrees for over 5 hours and the buttercream was light, fluffy and not too sweet. Almost like whipped cream. It was definitely a huge hit!
I would suggest to double up on the recipe, if possible. Its easy to freeze leftovers and to defrost for a couple hours. Just leave it on the kitchen counter right before baking your next batch of cupcakes.
It’s been quite a journey trying to find the perfect buttercream. I’m now looking forward to experimenting with different flavors like fruits and chocolate. Thanks again!
I’m so happy you all enjoyed this recipe, Rona! Thank you for your thoughtful review!!
I made this today for the very first time and I must say…this is the best frosting I’ve ever made and I’ve been making frosting for over 40 years. I’ll definitely be keeping this on hand as my go to.
Wow! Thank you for such an amazing and thoughtful review, Cheryl!!
Oh man! I really fudged this up. By the time my egg/sugar mixture reached the correct temperature it was similar to a marshmallow consistency (it was delicious). I kept going and ended up with some really yummy (not very fluffy) icing- only about 2 cups total. I am going to buy a new thermometer and try again. Have you heard of this problem before?
Hi Sam. Are you using a high powered stand mixer with whisk attachment? Also, did you place the egg whites and sugar on the water bath as directed? If you beat raw egg whites without sugar, it tends to look like marshmallow fluff. Did you possibly omit the sugar? Was anything else changed or modified either in process or ingredients in the recipe?
Sam, I never heated up my egg whites. I used Pasteurized Egg Whites and they worked great. The brand I use is called, All Whites. I also use them for whipping up a really good homemade Angel Food Cake. I’ve never had a problem with them. I just whipped them for quite some time. And when I started adding the butter, it scared the wits out of me because it started getting soupy and I wasn’t sure it was going to work. But once I added all the butter and whipped it for about 20 minutes…wow…it was perfect. Just thought I’d pass that info along to you. 🙂 Good luck.
Hi Natash, SMB cream is great made it successfully on my first attemp however, mine is creamy in colour (off white) not white as yours. Do you have an answer to this.
Thaks, Vesna
HI Vesna! Thank you for reaching out! That is a great question! It could be due to the vanilla extract? Did you use the clear kind or the dark colored vanilla?
TY for your response Natasha. I used Queen Vanilla bean paste however, my frosting is creamy in colour before I added vanilla. I am in Australi, is our butter more yellow then yours?
That could be the case, some butters are more yellow in color so maybe try switching to a different butter. 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.
Try Lurpak and let it whip for a little longer as that also helps whiten the butter. Our Australian butter is so much more yellow sadly.
How many cupcakes will this recipe typically frost?
Hi Crystal, this would frost 24 cupcakes 🙂
It will ice 24 plus cupcakes. I put a generous amount on 24 cupcakes and still had some left. Sooooo Gooood.
That’s exactly how many I was able to generously ice myself, Laurie!
Finally, a swiss buttercream that is absolutely PERFECT! Not so sweet, not too buttery tasting, but exactly what I was looking for. I was starting to give up on this type of frosting as all the ones I was trying out tasted too sweet or too much like butter. These one has the exact combination of ingredients and I think the salt at the end is super important. Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is now going to be my go to buttercream for cakes and it pipes beautifully too.
Thank you so much for this wonderful review, Nancy! I’m so happy you enjoyed that!
Natasha, I was so disappointed when I made this, it was soupy like some others said. I kept beating it and it never thickened. I put this in my fridge over night. When I took it out in the morning it never thickened when I rewhipped it. I started all over again and this time I tried to pay close attention and made sure I tried some tricks others mentioned. I put the bowl in a shallow pan with ice in it and kept stirring it till it cooled down. Then I whipped it up and finished and was very excited to see it whipped up. I only used 1.5 tsp of vanilla instead. Thanks so much for the recipe and the ideas from everyone.
Hi Tamia. I’m so happy it worked out in the end for you. There are so many things that can interfere with the recipe but I’m happy those tips helped you! That is exactly why we appreciate all of you feedback and tips in this thread. Thank you!
Hi Natasha,
I’ve found this great recipe of yours and would like to try it out on this cake for my son’s birthday:
https://livingwellmom.com/thomas-the-tank-engine-birthday-cake/
Do you think your recipe is suitable to cover the cake?
And thank you for the gram measurements.
In Japan we don’t really have cups, more like spoons, but I prefer grams to be exact.
Wondering if the amount will be enough to cover the cake and decorations, but I suppose it depends on the size.
Thank you in advance!
Hi Lidi! It may work. Many of our readers have reported great results using this recipe to decorate cakes! I’d love to see your end result!
Hi, I just tried your recipe and loved it, so silky and smooth.
Do you think think it would be OK to substitute some of the butter with shortening. I live in a hot climate and am unsure how all butter would hold up – but I really want to use this recipe !
Hi Leanne, I honestly haven’t tried it with shortening. If you experiment please let me know how you like it.
So I made a double batch of this, and my butter was too soft when I put it in so the SMBC was too soft. I chilled it and that fixed it.
But here’s the thing: It doesn’t taste like and SMBC I’ve ever had. It still tastes like pure meringue and is very sweet. Can/Should I add more butter? What might happen if I do?
Hi Maya, you could add a little more butter, but it may start tasting more buttery. This combination of ingredients produced what we thought was the best balance – it also depends on what type of cake you put it on. If the cake is sweeter than the frosting – it will taste buttery.
Natasha, did i missed any thing? The uncooked whites egg seem not healthy to eat..i m affraid of the e coli bacteria.
Hi Ester, to be extra sure, use a thermometer to make sure the whites/sugar reach 160˚F which is the safe temperature for egg whites without actually cooking them. 160˚F is the temperature at which salmonella bacteria is killed which is why I prefer this SMBC frosting over other meringue frostings.
I’m making this recipe for the first time for cupcakes I’m bringing to a birthday party tomorrow. I noticed some of the comments said the frosting was runny after being in the fridge. So I was wondering, if I frost (pipe) the cupcakes tonight and put them in the fridge, will they fall apart?
Hi Nicole, I think they meant that the frosting wasn’t firming up. This is usually due to adding the butter while the meringue is still warm (make sure it is completely at room temperature), or adding partially melted butter. This can be remedied usually by cooling the frosting for a bit and continuing to beat it. Once the frosting has formed, it is perfectly safe to pipe the frosting and refrigerate it afterwards. It is a stable and sturdy frosting and it won’t fall apart 🙂