This easy Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe is made with 5 simple ingredients and has the EASIEST steps for a sweet, buttery, stable frosting that’s ready to use in about 30 minutes. Infused with delicious vanilla flavor, it’s perfect for piping, frosting, and decorating, and is our favorite finishing touch for a variety of desserts!
What is Swiss Meringue Buttercream?
Swiss meringue buttercream, often shortened to SMB, is a type of buttercream frosting that is thick and creamy with a decadent, buttery taste. It is known for being stable, making it great for decorating and piping different desserts such as tiramisu cupcakes or gingerbread cake.
Swiss meringue buttercream is less sweet, lighter, and smoother in consistency than American buttercream, because it uses cooked egg whites and granulated sugar rather than powdered sugar. However, it is less stable than Italian buttercream, which is made by boiling sugar to the hard crack stage and then adding it to whipped egg whites.
Why You’ll Love This Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe
- Simple Ingredients – The frosting comes together with 5 staple ingredients we always have in our kitchen.
- Easy Steps – The instructions must be followed exactly for the meringue to turn out, but the steps are all simple, especially if using a stand mixer, like we do!
- Texture – Once combined, the buttercream turns out thick and silky, practically melting in your mouth with each bite.
- Flavor – With a well-balanced, sweet, buttery, vanilla flavor, we love to add this meringue to everything!
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Ingredients
Believe it or not, you don’t need fancy ingredients to create bakery-worthy buttercream. Here’s what to gather:
- Egg Whites – Fresh egg whites work better than carton egg whites. Separate the whites and yolks carefully, and save yolks for lemon bar cookies or easy creme brûlée!
- Granulated Sugar – This sweetens the frosting and helps give it structure.
- Unsalted Butter – This is what turns plain Swiss meringue into meringue buttercream, adding depth and incredible flavor.
- Vanilla – We recommend using high-quality pure vanilla extract, not imitation varieties. Because there are so few ingredients, we really notice a difference!
- Salt – This balances the flavors.
How to Make Swiss Meringue Buttercream
This recipe can be temperamental, but if you follow the long mixing times, it should work well every time. You’ll need a heatproof bowl, an electric stand mixer, a medium pot, and a towel. Here’s how to make a homemade Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe:
- Prepare the butter and eggs – Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes, and set it aside. Then, separate the egg whites and yolks.
- Combine ingredients – Combine the egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl of an electric stand mixer, and mix by hand until well combined.
- Cook the egg white mixture – Fill a medium pot with about 1 inch of water, and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Then, place the bowl with the egg white mixture on top, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, whisking the mixture often, until the sugar has dissolved. Carefully dry the bottom of the bowl with a towel.
- Beat the egg mixture – Transfer the bowl to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, and beat the egg mixture on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. It will look like a shiny, glossy meringue at this point!
- Add butter – Once the meringue has stiff peaks and the bowl is no longer warm, switch the mixer to a fitted paddle attachment, and beat in 3-4 cubes of butter at a time. Repeat until all the butter is incorporated into the frosting.
- Beat – Once combined, continue to beat the mixture until it is thick and stiff. Then, beat in the vanilla and salt until just combined, and use the buttercream right away!
Tips
- Use a clean, grease-free bowl. Even a small amount of fat or egg yolk can prevent the egg whites from whipping properly, which affects the entire buttercream.
- Fully dissolve the sugar. Whisk the egg white and sugar mixture until it feels completely smooth between your fingers. Any graininess will carry through into the final texture!
- Let the meringue cool completely. If the bowl is still warm when you add the butter, the mixture can turn soupy instead of thick and creamy.
- Add the butter slowly. Incorporate a few cubes at a time, letting each addition fully mix in before adding more to help the buttercream emulsify properly.
- Don’t panic if it looks curdled. It’s completely normal for Swiss meringue buttercream to look broken at some point. Just keep mixing, and it will come together!
- Chill briefly if it’s too runny. If the buttercream looks thin after mixing, place the bowl in the fridge for about 10 minutes, then whip again until it’s thick.
- Use room temperature butter. The butter should be soft but still slightly cool to the touch, not greasy or melting, for the best consistency.
- Beat longer than you think is necessary. That final few minutes of mixing is what transforms the buttercream into a thick, fluffy, pipeable consistency.
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Variations
- Chocolate Buttercream – Melt 4-6 ounces of high-quality chocolate, let it cool slightly, and beat it into the finished buttercream.
- Espresso – Dissolve 1-2 teaspoons of espresso powder with a teaspoon of warm water. Then, mix it into the buttercream for a subtle coffee flavor.
- Citrus – Add 1-2 teaspoons of fresh lemon, lime, or orange zest for a bright, fresh twist.
- Vanilla Bean – Swap the vanilla extract with vanilla bean paste for an even bolder vanilla taste.
- Cookies & Cream – Fold finely crushed chocolate sandwich cookies into the buttercream for a fun, textured topping.
- Add Color – Add a few drops of gel food coloring at the very end for a bright color without thinning the consistency.
Ways to Use
We use this Swiss meringue buttercream as a topping for all our favorite desserts! It’s perfect for layer cakes, like our cookies & cream cake, or as a topping or filling with cupcakes. It can even be used with cookies, macarons, brownies, and dessert bars. Some of our favorite pairings include our raspberry cookies and our Snickers brownies.
Or, try serving the buttercream as a dip, paired with fresh fruit, graham crackers, or pretzels. Scooped into a bowl and paired with various dippers, it makes for an easy dessert platter that’s perfect for parties!
How to Store
Once combined, leftover Swiss meringue buttercream will keep fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Or, you can freeze it for up to 2-3 months!
To use, thaw frozen buttercream in the fridge overnight. Then, rewhip it until it’s smooth and fluffy, and use it right away.
More Dessert Staples
- Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- Birthday Cake Ice Cream
- Cream Cheese Fruit Dip
- Easy Pie Crust
- Brown Sugar Syrup Recipe
- Homemade Caramel Sauce
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Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Equipment
- 1 Medium Pot
Ingredients
- 6 large egg whites at room temperature
- 2 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- 3 sticks 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened at room temperature for 30 minutes
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Cut butter into small 1/2 inch cubes and set aside for later.
- Be sure to separate your eggs so you have the 6 egg whites above. Make sure no remnants of egg yolk appear in the egg whites, otherwise they won’t whip up nicely.
- In a (heatproof) bowl of an electric stand mixer, combine the egg whites and sugar and mix by hand until combined.
- Fill a medium pot with about 1 inch of water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Be sure the water won’t touch the bottom of the egg-sugar bowl when set on top of the pot.
- Set the egg-sugar bowl on top of the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Whisk the egg-sugar mixture often, until the sugar has dissolved, about 3-5 minutes. Touch the mixture between your thumb and pointer finger to feel for any sugar granulated. It should be fully dissolved once ready.
- Remove the bowl of egg-sugar mixture from the pot and carefully dry the bottom of the bowl with a towel.
- Transfer the bowl to the stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat the egg mixture for 10-15 minutes on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. It will look like a shiny, glossy meringue.
- Once the meringue has stiff peaks, and the bowl is no longer warm, continue to the next steps.
- Switch the mixer to a fitted with a paddle attachment.
- Add 3-4 cubes of butter at a time to the whipped meringue, beating on medium-high speed. Be sure to let the butter combine into the meringue before adding a few more cubes of butter. Repeat until all the butter has been incorporated and a thick, creamy buttercream forms.
- Beat for 5-7 minutes until thick and stiff. If the mixture becomes curdled, step away and keep beating the buttercream. If the mixture still looks curdled after 5-8 minutes of whipping it, pause and set the bowl in the fridge for 10 minutes, then return it to the mixer and mix again.
- Beat in the vanilla and salt until just combined.
Notes
- At the end of step 11, once all the butter is added, the buttercream may look a bit soupy (mine did, which is normal). Step away for a few minutes, keep the mixer on medium-high and it should fix itself (mine did)!
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