Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Troubleshooting

Swiss Buttercream is popular among cake decorators for its versatility. Smooth, silky texture, piping capabilities, and flavor adaptability. Use it as filling and frosting, on cakes, cupcakes, in layered desserts, and so much more. If you haven’t tried silky-smooth Swiss Meringue Buttercream. It’s time to change that. Let me show you how I make it.

updated from 2010

WHY IS SWISS BUTTERCREAM POPULAR

• Meringue-based buttercream
• Swiss meringue buttercream is made by stirring egg whites with sugar and heating the mixture to a safe temperature over a pot of simmering water.
• Then the hot mixture is whipped into a meringue.
• Room temperature unsalted butter is beaten into a meringue, producing a luscious Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
• Silky and less sweet
• It’s less sweet than traditional American buttercream and supremely silky-smooth, melting in your mouth.
• Room temperature stable
• Swiss buttercream can be kept at room temperature for 1-2 days.
• Smooth elegant finish
• Swiss buttercream is ideal for frosting and filling cakes and cupcakes, especially for smooth finishes and sharp edges.
• Piping control
• Swiss buttercream is excellent for piping 3D flowers, borders, and garlands, as well as for detailing designs on cakes and cupcakes.
• Make ahead
• Swiss buttercream can be frozen for 3 months. If needed, re-whip after thawing for the best results.
• Versatile
• It can be customized into countless flavors while maintaining a light, balanced sweetness.
• Use highly concentrated oil flavorings, thick fruit purees, curds, melted chocolate, thick caramel sauce, brown butter, nut butters, or try pulverized lyophilized fruit.

INGREDIENTS

• Egg Whites from large eggs
• Granulated Sugar
• Unsalted Butter at room temperature
• Cream of Tartar (optional) or Lemon Juice
• Salt
• Vanilla Extract

WIPE BOWLS AND TOOLS

Important! Before we jump into the process, I’d like to remind you to wipe down the bowl and your beaters with a little bit of lemon juice or vinegar. It helps to remove any traces of grease that might be left behind.

ROOM TEMPERATURE BUTTER

Just like egg whites, butter is equally important in making meringue-based buttercream. For the best results, use butter at room temperature.

HOW CAN YOU TELL IF BUTTER IS AT ROOM TEMPERATURE?

When butter is at room temperature, it should bend easily, but it shouldn’t be overly soft and greasy that your fingers sink into it without any resistance.

If you are starting with fridge-cold butter, be sure to cut it into smaller chunks. And let it sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. Frozen butter may take a little longer.

If you are in a pinch, try one of these methods to soften your butter faster.

SUGAR & CREAM OF TARTAR

In addition to sugar, I add an acidic ingredient like cream of tartar, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, or vinegar, to help stabilize the meringue. The acid relaxes the egg-white proteins, making it easier to incorporate air and achieve greater volume. Add the sugar, cream of tartar, and salt to a heat-safe bowl (Steps 1–5).

HEAT EGG WHITES AND SUGAR

• Weigh Egg Whites – One large egg white weighs about 30grams. If you are using eggs that are inconsistent in size, it’s best to weigh the egg whites on a kitchen scale before adding them to the sugar
• Heat Egg Whites – The goal is to dissolve all the sugar granules and bring the egg whites to a safe temperature of 160°F to 170°F.
• Glass or Stainless Steel Bowl – Use a tempered glass or stainless steel bowl. The stainless steel bowl heats up faster over the steam than the glass one.
• Bain-Marie – The best way to achieve both is to use a bain-marie (double boiler). Set the bowl with egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar over a pot of simmering water. Whisking continuously, heat the egg white mixture until all the sugar has dissolved. Rub the mixture between your fingers to test if the sugar is completely dissolved.
• Candy Thermometer – The mixture will be white and soapy; this is normal. Continue whisking until the candy thermometer reads 160-170°F.

SWISS MERINGUE

Swiss Meringue Buttercream is easiest to make using a stand mixer. But, if you don’t own one, you can still make it with a handheld mixer. Let’s give those arms a good workout!

• Stiff Peaks – Pour the hot egg-white sugar mixture into a mixing bowl. Start beating on low speed, gradually increasing to medium-high speed. Continue beating until stiff peaks are formed, and the side of the bowl is just lukewarm to the touch.

BUTTER AND MERINGUE

• Room Temperature – The butter must be at room temperature before adding it to the meringue to ensure a smooth, stable buttercream.
• Don’t Rush the Butter – Slowly incorporate all of the butter, adding 1–3 slices at a time and beating until fully combined before the next addition.

VANILLA SWISS BUTTERCREAM

Vanilla is the most popular buttercream flavor. It pairs nicely with everything. So let’s start with Vanilla. Pour Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean Paste into the buttercream and beat well till combined, 30 seconds to a minute.

• Quality Vanilla Extract – it’s usually a dark ivory color, and so it will, very slightly, change the color of buttercream.
• Vanilla Bean Paste – I reserve it exclusively for buttercreams and frozen desserts.
• Vanilla Imitation – this is a clear extract, and I’d recommend this if you are looking for a pure white buttercream. This clear flavoring won’t tint the buttercream the way real Vanilla Extract does.

Your Vanilla Swiss Buttercream is ready, and you can use it to fill or frost your cakes, cupcakes, etc.

CURDLED BUTTERCREAM

Sometimes, after you add butter, the Swiss buttercream will look separated and curdled. This is totally normal, no need to panic. Continue beating until it comes together.

• How to Fix Soapy Swiss Buttercream? – Due to inconsistent temperatures, for example, butter that is too cold or meringue that is too warm, or ambient room temperature, the buttercream mixture can become soapy and liquefy.
• If this happens, place the bowl into the fridge for 20 minutes or the freezer for 5-10 minutes.
• Beat the mixture until it thickens.
• If it doesn’t improve, chill it again, beating well between cooling periods.

HOW TO FLAVOR SWISS BUTTERCREAM

If you get bored with vanilla buttercream, don’t be afraid to kick it up a notch. Use extracts, fruit purees, baking emulsions, pulverized freeze-dried fruit, thick caramel sauce, dulce de leche, coffee, liqueurs, melted chocolate, matcha, ganache, peanut butter or spices. Personally, I like to start with a good dose of high-qality Vanilla Extract. And then, I add other flavors to make flavored Swiss Buttercream.

• Flavorings
• Extracts
• Specialty Flavorings
• Baking emulsions
• Concentrated Candy Oils

TIP: When using purees, liqueurs, or other liquids, it’s best to do so gradually. Any fruit puree should be reduced so it’s thick. This way, it won’t weaken and dilute Swiss buttercream.

BAILEYS SWISS BUTTERCREAM

Gradually add 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of liqueur to 4 cups of buttercream.

CHOCOLATE SWISS BUTTERCREAM

Start by melting the chocolate over the pot of simmering water. Let it cool to room temperature and then beat it into the buttercream. Be sure not to add it before it cools, or it will melt your buttercream. Find the measurements in the recipe card. I used this Chocolate Buttercream to frost Rice Krispies Ice Cream Cone Cake.

CARAMEL SWISS BUTTERCREAM

To make caramel buttercream, I beat thick caramel sauce with vanilla buttercream. You can use my recipe for Thick Caramel Sauce, or homemade or store-bought dulce de leche. This is the buttercream I used to make my Twix Cake.

LEMON SWISS BUTTERCREAM

I’m partial to lemon flavor when it comes to desserts. And to make lemon buttercream, I like to add Lemon Curd to Vanilla Swiss Buttercream. Lemon curd can be homemade, and I have a lovely, easy recipe here on my blog, or you can also use a good-quality store-bought lemon curd instead. Lemon Buttercream pairs nicely with Vanilla, Chocolate, Coconut, or Blueberry cake.

STRAWBERRY SWISS BUTTERCREAM

• To make strawberry or other fruit buttercream, you can use:
• Good-quality jam and add it to vanilla buttercream.
• Or you can prepare cake filling using my Raspberry Cake Filling Recipe and add that instead of jam.
• Fruit puree will also work, just make sure it’s thickened.
• Pulverized freeze-dried (lyophilized) fruit can also be used to flavor buttercream with a variety of fruit flavors.

CAKES DECORATED WITH SWISS BUTTERCREAM

• Rainbow Scratch Art Flower Cake
• Pumpkin Wreath Cake
• Mason Jar Cake
• Willy Wonka Giant Cupcake Cake
• Monarch Butterfly

IS SWISS BUTTERCREAM GOOD FOR PIPING?

Swiss Buttercream pipes beautifully on cakes and cupcakes. And it’s a joy to work with. You can use it to pipe flowers, borders, swirls, or ruffles. Use it with your favorite piping tips.

HOW MUCH BUTTERCREAM DO I NEED FOR A CAKE?

These are approximate amounts I use. I prefer less buttercream for the filling. If you plan on making additional decorations such as flowers, and piping borders, and such, calculate that you’ll need a little more buttercream for decorations.

Cake Size	Filling	Frosting	Cake Layers
6-inch cake	2 1/2cups	3 to 3 1/2 cups	3
8-9 inch cake	3 1/2 cups	5 cups	2

TROUBLESHOOTING & FAQ

THINGS YOU NEED

• Shop tools in my Amazon Shop
• Stand Mixer or Handheld
• Heat safe bowl
• Whisk
• Kitchen Scale
• Measuring Spoons
• Vanilla Extract
• Cream of Tartar
• Glass Bowls
• Stainless Bowls

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I originally published this post on December 3rd, 2010. On July 21st, 2021, I updated this recipe post with new step-by-step photos, text, and a video.