Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
This easy Swiss meringue buttercream is made with fluffy, whipped meringue and has the perfect balance of sweetness and richness!
Over the years, I’ve found that I prefer mine with slightly less butter than most Swiss meringue buttercream (SMBC) recipes call for.
How to Make Swiss Meringue Buttercream
While half the battle of SMBC is having a good recipe, the other half is how you make it!
Let’s walk through everything you need to know to make the smoothest, fluffiest Swiss meringue buttercream!
Step #1: Separate the Egg Whites
I recommend separating the eggs when they’re cold. It makes it way easier, and they’ll be heated before being whipped, so there’s no need to bring them to room temperature ahead of time.
Be careful as you do this, because they won’t whip up properly if any yolk gets into the mixture!
If you’re not quite sure what to do with the egg yolks you’ll be left with after making this frosting, here’s a great post with loads of ideas for using up leftover egg yolks.
Normally, I’m a huge fan of using egg whites out of a carton, but that’s when I’m adding them into a batter.
But they do not work well for Swiss meringue buttercream. The pasteurization process weakens the proteins in the egg whites and makes them so much harder to whip up.
However, you can use them to make my hybrid buttercream frosting.
Step #2: Heat Up the Egg Whites & Dissolve the Granulated Sugar
Heat and whisk the egg whites and granulated sugar over a double boiler to 160°F/71°C.
The easiest way to ensure the mixture gets hot enough is to use a digital thermometer. This helps you know exactly when the egg whites are warm enough and prevents you from overheating them.
If you don’t have a digital thermometer on hand, you can test the mixture by rubbing a tiny bit between your fingertips. The sugar should be fully dissolved, and it should feel super smooth and hot to the touch.
If you do feel sugar granules, I suggest heating the egg white/sugar mixture a bit longer, then testing it again to make sure it’s smooth.
It’s very important that the sugar is fully dissolved before you make the meringue, or else your frosting can end up with a grainy texture.
Step #3: Whip the Swiss Meringue to Stiff Peaks
Once the sugar is fully dissolved and the mixture is smooth, it’s time to whip the meringue until it has stiff peaks. This takes quite a bit of time!
It usually takes me about 10 minutes with a stand mixer and whisk attachment on a medium-high speed.
While the meringue whips, I like to add something cold around the base of my bowl.
I find the meringue stays quite warm while it whips up, and placing a bag of frozen veggies around the base of the bowl helps cool it back to room temperature. This can prevent your buttercream from becoming soupy in the next step.
You can also make this Swiss meringue buttercream with a hand mixer, but it takes forever!! Making it with a stand mixer is much easier and quicker.
Once the meringue has stiff peaks, it should look like the photo below. The meringue should be able to stand up on its own when flipped upside down, and it should be nice and shiny.
It can be hard to tell when the meringue reaches this stage just by looking at your mixing bowl, so feel free to take breaks and test it by removing the whisk attachment and flipping it upside down.
Step #4: Adding in the Butter, Vanilla Extract, and Salt
Once the meringue has stiff peaks, it’s time to mix in the unsalted butter.
After all that mixing, you’d think your bowl would have fully cooled off, right? But you might be wrong! At this point in time, I like to feel the bottom of my bowl with my hand.
If it feels pretty much room temperature, then I add in the butter. If it still feels warm, I’ll either wait another 15 minutes to add the butter or pop my bowl into my fridge for 5 minutes to help it cool down.
Usually, by making sure the meringue and bowl have cooled to room temperature, you can prevent your Swiss meringue buttercream from becoming too thin or soupy.
When I do start to add in the unsalted butter, I add it in one stick at a time. This gives your meringue time to incorporate the butter and helps it come together more easily.
As you add the butter, it’s super important that the butter is room temperature. This does NOT mean soft to the touch or greasy.
It should be soft enough for you to press your finger into, but firm enough that you have to apply a bit of pressure to do so.
The time it takes for a stick of butter to come to room temperature can vary based on the type of butter you use and the temperature and humidity of your kitchen.
In my kitchen, it usually takes 1-2 hours (1 hour in the summer, 2 hours in the winter).
Once the butter is mixed in, add the vanilla extract and fine salt and mix until combined.
Step #5: The Attachment Switcheroo
When all the ingredients are mixed in, it’s time to swap out your whisk attachment.
While we want our buttercream to be fluffy and light in texture, we also want it to be smooth.
Whether you plan to spread your frosting onto a cake or pipe with it, the frosting needs to be smooth and free of air bubbles.
I find that mixing the finished buttercream on a low speed with a paddle attachment for a few minutes makes a world of difference. It makes it so much easier to smooth onto cakes!!
Swiss Meringue Buttercream Troubleshooting
Two of the most common issues people run into when making this type of buttercream are curdled or soupy frosting.
While it might seem terrifying to watch your frosting seem to fall apart, fear not. Both problems are actually pretty easy to fix!!
How to Fix Curdled / Broken Swiss Meringue Buttercream
A lot of different things can cause SMBC to break or curdle.
Maybe your butter was too cold, or your kitchen was too chilly. Maybe you were thawing a batch of buttercream made in advance, and it hadn’t fully come to room temperature before you started mixing it.
Whatever the reason, your frosting looks chunky, dense, watery, and greasy.
But don’t worry, your frosting isn’t ruined! There’s an easy workaround that will bring the frosting back together.
Simply place the bowl over a hot water bath / double boiler until the frosting around the edge of the bowl has melted. Then give it a good mix on a medium speed for about 5 minutes.
The melted, warm buttercream around the edge of the bowl will mix with the frosting that’s too cold.
This will bring the overall temperature of the buttercream up to the right temperature and allow it to become smooth again.
How to Fix Soupy Swiss Meringue Buttercream
On the other hand, if your frosting is too warm, it might become a soupy, runny mess. This can happen if the meringue is too warm when you add the butter, if the butter is too warm, or if your kitchen is too toasty!!
If the buttercream isn’t sturdy enough to keep its shape, you need to cool it down. To do this, just pop the mixing bowl and whisk right into the fridge.
Chill the bowl for 10-20 minutes. At this point, the center might still be a bit soupy, but the buttercream along the sides of the bowl should be firmer. Then mix the buttercream for a few minutes to see if it comes together.
If after 3-4 minutes of mixing, it still looks too soft, chill the bowl for another 10 minutes before mixing it again. That usually does the trick!
Coloring Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
The last thing I want to touch on is coloring Swiss meringue buttercream frosting.
This type of frosting is a bit more difficult to color than American buttercream. To make it bright and colorful, gel food coloring is a must.
My favorite gel food coloring is Americolor, and it’s the only food coloring I use.
Even with gel food coloring, I have to use quite a bit to get my colors really vibrant.
If you want to make deep or really intense colors, I highly recommend making your frosting in advance. The color of the frosting will deepen over time!
You can also use the microwave method to deepen the color.
To do this, scoop 1/2 cup of the finished buttercream into a microwavable bowl. Add additional gel food coloring and mix until the frosting reaches the desired color.
Then microwave the frosting for about 15 seconds. The frosting should be runny but deeper in color. Mix this back into the full bowl of frosting, and you should achieve a deeper color.
If you end up using this method, let your frosting sit for about 30 minutes before you use it to allow it to thicken back up.
How Much Buttercream Does This Recipe Make?
One batch of this recipe makes about 7 cups of frosting. This should be enough to fill and frost a seven- or eight-inch layer cake, or frost 2-3 dozen cupcakes (depending on the size of your swirls).
This recipe can be halved, but I don’t recommend doubling it unless you have a commercial-size KitchenAid (8 qt). Otherwise, it can be really difficult to whip up the meringue to stiff peaks.
Tips For Making the Best Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
- Make sure your butter is actually at room temperature and add it in gradually (1 stick at a time).
- When in doubt (if the frosting breaks/curdles), just keep mixing!! It should come back together with the help of your stand mixer and a little more time.
- Mix the finished buttercream on the lowest speed with a paddle attachment for a few minutes to make it super smooth. This pushes out any excess air and will make it easier to smooth onto a cake.
- If you want to make different flavors of SMBC, check out my lemon SMBC, strawberry SMBC, and lavender SMBC recipes.
Making This Swiss Meringue Frosting in Advance and Storage Tips
Make this frosting ahead of time or save any leftover frosting! It can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Be sure to give it a good stir once it thaws to room temperature to get the consistency nice and smooth again.
A frosted cake can last in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month. The buttercream locks in all the moisture, keeping the cake fresh and delicious!
If you cut into the cake and have leftovers, use any remaining frosting to cover the cut section to keep it moist and store it in the fridge for up to a week.
Let Me Know What You Think!
If you try this recipe for easy Swiss meringue buttercream, I’d love to hear what you think of it! Please leave a rating and comment below.
Tag me @chelsweets and use #chelsweets so that I can see your amazing creations on social media!
Easy Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
Equipment
- Whisk Attachment if you use a stand mixer
- Paddle Attachment if you use a stand mixer
Ingredients
- 8 large egg whites, room temperature 240g
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar 500g
- 2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature 452g; 1 lb. box
- 2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 8g
- 1/2 tsp fine salt 3g
- gel food coloring if desired
Instructions
Easy Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
- Before making this frosting, be sure to thoroughly clean your mixing bowl. If there’s any grease it can make it difficult to whip up the meringue.
- In a medium sized pot, add about 1 inch of water and bring to a simmer.
- Add 8 egg whites and 2 1/2 cups of granulated sugar into a large metal bowl.
- Place the bowl on top of the pot filled with simmering water. The bowl should create a seal over the pot. Make sure the water isn’t actually touching the bottom of the bowl, or it can cook the egg whites.
- Whisk the mixture constantly for about 3 minutes, until it reaches 160°F/71°C. You can test the mixture to see if it’s ready by rubbing a tiny bit between your fingertips. The sugar should be fully dissolved, and it should feel super smooth and hot to the touch.
- Once it reaches this stage, lift the bowl away from the pot and dry the bottom with a towel. Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on a medium-high speed with a whisk attachment. Mix for about 10 minutes, or until you have stiff, glossy peaks that stick straight up. While the meringue whips, I like to add something cold around the base of my bowl. I find the meringue stays quite warm while it whips up, and placing a bag of frozen veggies around the base of the bowl helps cool it back to room temperature. This can prevent your buttercream from becoming soupy in the next step.
- Mix in 2 cups of unsalted butter at a medium speed, 1 stick at a time. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. The frosting should have a thick, whipped consistency once all the butter is mixed in. If it looks lumpy or broken, keep mixing until it looks fluffy and thick. If it doesn't seem to come together after an additional 10 minutes of mixing, check out the troubleshooting section in the post above.
- Once the consistency is right, swap out the whisk attachment for a paddle attachment and add in 2 tsp vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp fine salt. Continue mixing on a low speed for a couple of minutes to make the frosting extra smooth.
- Then comes the fun part! This buttercream can be used to frost everything from cakes to cookies!! It pipes like a dream and is also great for filling layer cakes. It can sit out at room temperature for up to 2 days or be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Video
Notes
Tips for Making the Best Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Wipe down your tools with lemon juice or vinegar to make sure they’re grease-free. Traces of grease in the mixing bowl can prevent the meringue from forming stiff peaks!
- Separate the eggs when they’re cold! It makes it way easier, and they’ll be heated before being whipped, so there’s no need to bring them to room temperature.
- Heat the egg white/sugar mixture to 160°F/71°C and check to make sure all the sugar is dissolved before removing it from the double boiler.
- Whip the meringue until your peaks are stiff enough to defy gravity.
- Make sure your butter is actually at room temperature and add it in gradually (1 stick at a time).
- When in doubt (if the frosting breaks/curdles), just keep mixing!! It should come back together with the help of your stand mixer and a little more time.
- Mix the finished buttercream on the lowest speed with a paddle attachment for a few minutes to make it super smooth. This pushes out any excess air and will make it easier to smooth onto a cake.
- If you’re not quite sure what to do with the egg yolks you’ll be left with after making this frosting, here’s a great post with loads of ideas for using up leftover egg yolks.
Making This Swiss Meringue Buttercream in Advance and Storage Tips
Make this frosting ahead of time or save any leftover frosting! It can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Be sure to give it a good stir once it thaws to room temperature to get the consistency nice and smooth again. A frosted cake can last in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month. The buttercream locks in all the moisture, keeping the cake fresh and delicious! If you cut into the cake and have leftovers, use any remaining frosting to cover the cut section to keep it moist and store in the fridge for up to a week.Nutrition
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Awesome recipe
Thanks Yolandie 🙂
Hi Chelsea! I was wondering can i add more flavour to this frosting, Like caramel or peanut butter or both as i was thinking of making your snickers cake but instead of American buttercream use this SMBC
Hi Dina,
You can totally add in other flavors into this frosting!! Adding in PB or caramel would taste amazing 🙂 I’d recommend adding them in after you’ve mixed in the butter. Hope that helps, happy baking!
I did it and it was incredible, thank you so much for this amazing recipe.
So happy to hear that Dina!! Thank you for sharing 🙂
I tried this recipe and it was impossible to get smooth no matter what I did
Hi Elizabeth,
So sorry to hear that, hopefully we’ll be able to troubleshoot together. When you say you couldn’t get it smooth, do you mean it was curdled? or it had air bubbles in it?
I was wondering if I can use this recipe for in between the cake layers and as frosting?
Hi Aaryah,
You totally can! This swiss meringue buttercream is wonderful for filling and frosting cakes 🙂 Happy baking!
I just made this frosting and it was so good! I have never made any buttercream recipes before and your instructions were spot on. Your tips were so helpful since I totally made mine a little soupy but after a few minutes in the fridge it was perfect!
Will fondant decorations stick to Swiss meringue buttercream or will they slide off?
Hi Teresa,
They should stick if the cake is slightly chilled! This frosting doesn’t crust like ABC though, so it won’t be quite as locked in place as that.
@Teresa Edwards, did the fondant stay on your cake?
Thank you so much for your thorough instructions and great recipe! It turned out perfect in my first attempt. I used it for frosting on your small batch funfetti cake recipe! I am so excited! Thank you!:)
I am so happy to hear that Sara, that’s wonderful!! Sounds like a delicious combo! 🙂
What happens if I use a liquid Colorant?
Hi Stanciu,
You can use liquid coloring, but it won’t give you a very vibrant color! You also have to be careful how much you add! If you add too much liquid into the frosting, it can break :/
Is there a big different in taste/texture between this recipe and the “faux” Swiss meringue from the matcha cake? Mainly wondering because I have an entire carton of pasteurized egg whites and trying to decide which recipe to use.
Hi Meg,
There is a slight difference in the taste and texture, but not much! The faux swiss meringue is also a lot easier to make 🙂
@Chelsweets, I use carton egg whites (because I sell my cakes and prefer the egg whites to be pasteurised) all the time and I have no trouble at all making SMBC. I’m in Australia though, maybe ours are a bit different.
Thank you so much! Butter cream is my nightmare!
Np!! Hopefully this will make it less of a headache 🙂 Happy baking!!
Hi Chelsey!
I’ve been following you on YouTube for a couple of weeks now but I haven’t tried any of your recipes yet. I’m making a cake and would like to try this Swiss Meringue buttercream to frost the cake with but I would want to add fondant cutouts to it. I don’t have much experience with cake decorating yet so I am not sure if the fondant cutouts will stay on this buttercream or your American buttercream. Please help! Thank you so much I’m advance.
Hi Annabel,
It depends on what size your cut outs are! If you chill a swiss meringue buttercream cake, fondant cut outs should stay in place with a little extra frosting, but my american buttercream does chill firmer and crust, which really keeps things in place. Hope that helps, and that your cake turns out great <3
@Annabel, made the swiss buttercream and turned out perfect from first try. So happy. Thank you
Amazing Recipe! Turned out so tasty!
So happy to hear that Taylor!! 🙂
Hi. I was wondering why your recommend the egg whites to be at room temperature, since we don’t actually whip the meringue until after the double boiler. So they will be hot at that point. I have never let them get to room temperature, and have never had issues with them whipping nicely. Just a thought.
Hi Val,
That’s actually a great point! I guess the temp of the eggs isn’t that important since they will be heated on the double boiler!!
Hermosa receta, quiero hacerla pero tengo batidora de mano, entonces no tiene accesorio de pala, cómo podría hacerla??
Otra duda es, se puede usar margarina??
Hi Vero,
I’m so sorry but I only speak english! ?
@Chelsweets, she has only manual blender and no paddle attachment. Will that work? Also asked if she could use margarine.
@Chelsweets,
Hey, she asked “Beautiful recipe, I want to make it but I have a hand blender, so it doesn’t have a paddle accessory, how could I make it?
Another question is, can you use margarine?”
Hi Amelia,
You can totally make this recipe with just a whisk attachment! Just stir it by hand with a rubber spatula once it’s fully made to make it smoother.
Sadly margarine cannot be used in place of the butter in this recipe :/
Hi, thanks so much for this recipe I love it! But can I double this recipe like use 14 eggs and 4 cups of sugar and 2 cups of butter instead of the recipe listed????? Just don’t want to have to make 2 batches at different times making a bigger cake.
Hi Savannah,
Unless you have a commercial sized kitchen aid, I wouldn’t recommend it! You need a lot of space in the mixing bowl to properly whip your meringue and it’s really hard on your mixer! Sadly I’d suggest making two separate batches :/ It’s more work, but will ensure both batches turn out great and you don’t overwork your mixer!
Hello, I’ve been trying this recipe and everything goes good till I add the butter, I have tried to put it on the fridge but still does not work ? I have tried a couple of times and everything goes wrong as soon as I add the first spoon of butter I even tried to start by adding 1/2 spoon of butter but still does not work (I did check the bowl temperature and was not hot at all also the butter was not soft to the touch or greasy.
Thank you for your time!!
Hi Angeles,
I’m so sorry to hear that! It’s hard to know without being able to see how you make it :/ It sounds like you’re doing all the right things though. What do you mean when you say it goes wrong? Is your frosting soupy, or broken?
I’d suggest maybe trying a different type of butter?? That’s the only thing I can really think of if you’re following all the directions to a T. Sorry I can’t be of more help!
I tried this recipe for a small batch and I noticed that the buttercream had little droplets of water and even when piping, the liquid kept squirting out, where did it possibly go wrong?
Hi Oluwatomi,
When you say droplets, I think you mean that your buttercream had separated! That can happen when the butter in your frosting is too cold. I’d let the buttercream sit out at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then try mixing it again until it’s smooth.
Will it be an issue if I don’t have a whisk attachment for the mixer and just the paddle? Would I need to hand whisk it?
Hi Julia,
Sadly it will be an issue for this recipe. You need to be able to whip up a meringue with stiff peaks, and to do that you really need a whisk attachment :/ You could try doing that with an electric hand mixer, but I think it’ll take quite a while!
Thank you for the great recipe.
I noticed that in the steps, you mentioned that the whisk attachment should be replaced by the paddle attachment BEFORE adding the butter, but in the video, you added the butter while you are still using the whisk attachment.
I know that paddle attachment should be used at the very end just to smooth out the cream as you mentioned in the video, is that right?
Your fan from Kuwait: Safa
Aw thanks Safa!
I’ve made it both ways, and both ways work just fine! The key thing is just that you the whisk attachment to whip up your meringue. I think it’s best doing it at the end, but it’s your call! Sorry if that inconsistency caused any confusion <3
Hi!
Does this buttercream hold up well for decorating cakes (such as for piping flowers)?
Hi Stella,
It does! SMBC is silky smooth, and great for piping!! it’s quite stable!
Thank you for replying!
I have tried the recipe and it was amazing. Couple of questions though..
1. Can the recipe be halved?
2. Can I use the “pre butter adding” phase as marshmallow fluff? Coz it tastes sooo good ?
Safa
Hi Safa,
You can definitely halve this recipe 🙂 And for can use this frosting without butter / just as a yummy meringue! Happy baking!!
Made this many times and I always have air bubbles or it’s just slightly “bumpy”. It’s not broken or curdled. The sugar was melted too… not grainy just not super soft and smooth when spreading….. any ideas?!
Hi Sharon,
My only suggestion is to give it a really good stir with a rubber spatula. Really work the frosting back and forth to try to push out any excess air. Doing this for a couple minutes usually smooths out my frosting, I hope it helps you too! <3
I want to make your white chocolate raspberry cake with this filling instead of the american buttercream. Do you think adding white chocolate to this SMBC will turn out tasty and stable enough to stack the cake? (For the outside i am going to use the american buttercream as i need it to crust for decorating…)
Hi Divy
For sure! SMBC is very stable. Just be sure to add the raspberry filling first, as it’s quite thick and would be hard to spread on top of this frosting. Hope your cake turns out wonderfully <3
Would I be able to make this chocolate? Or do you have a recipe like this that is chocolate?
Hi Vicky,
For sure! Beat 8 ounces of pure melted and slightly cooled chocolate into the buttercream when you add the vanilla and salt. Make sure you’re using pure baking chocolate (the 4 ounce bars) like Baker’s or Ghirardelli brands found in the baking aisle.
I tried making this and i had the stiff glossy peaks my bowl wasn’t warm anymore but once i added my butter it wouldn’t come back together and get fluffy again. Not sure what i did wrong?
Hi Ericka,
It’s hard to know without being able to see your bowl! Was the frosting separated? Or chunky? Is there a chance your frosting was too cold??
@Chelsweets,
Does this recipe go well with peach/Strawberry fresh fruit Cake?
Please let me know. Thanks in advance.
hi chelsweets!
is it okay to halve the recipe and to use less butter than the recipe actually says?
hoping you would see this ?
Hi Sarah,
You can halve this recipe, and adding a bit less butter should be ok. You’re basically just making a meringue by using less butter, but that should work ok! It will be a bit less silky/rich, but should still work as long as you use some butter!
It was so soupy ?It did end up coming together after 15 minutes of mixing but it still wasn’t as fluffy as yours ? but I’m going try again
Hi Ericka,
If it’s soupy it’s usually because the meringue or your bowl were still a bit too warm when you added in the butter. Hope that helps, and that your next batch turns out great <3
Hey chelsey ! I wanted to use this buttercream for your 6 inch small batch chocolate cake. If I half this recipe, will it still be enough to fill and frost the cake ? Thanks in advance 🙂
When do you swap your whisk for the paddle? In your blog description Part you say after the butter but in the Step by step actual recipe you say before the butter?
Hello Chelsey
I’m planning to make a naked cake ( 2- 6” layers ) and want to use SMBC to frost it on the outside only
Can I half the recipe?
Hello Chelsey!
I tried your recipe my first time trying SMBC and I have a question about the flavor. Is it suppose to taste a lot like butter because mine did. The consistency of the buttercream was perfect it just tasted a lot like butter and not like buttercream or sweet at all. What can I do to fix it in the future?
@Isabela,
I am experiencing the same issue unforunately.
Hi Chelsey!
Can I use pasteurized egg whites and treat them just like regular egg whites to make this frosting. I mean they are pasteurized but I don’t know if I can simmer the egg whites and it will work ok. Thank you!
Can you use meringue powder to substitute the egg whites. If so how much?
I get a lot of requests for a frosting less sweet than BC so I am very interested in trying this for the first time! My concern is, does it pipe the same as regular BC? Hold its shape and color well? And does a cake decorated with SMBC need to stay refrigerated ? Thank you !!! Your recipes are my GO TO!! ???
Hey! When making chocolate Swiss buttercream would you do cocoa powder or melted chocolate? Or does it matter?
Did you add all the butter that the recipe calls for? For me it gets thin/liquidy at first, then it firms up as I add more butter.
This Swiss meringue buttercream is DELICIOUS! First time I’ve ever made it & it turned out fantastic ?? Using for the niece & nephews open house & im sure it’s going to be a huge hit!! Thanks for all the info & helpful tips ?
This recipe (including all your tips) is amazing! Turned out perfectly the first time I did it. And the two other times since!
– the lemon juice tip is great
– I find using the measurements in grams is best
– your description of “room temperature butter” was really helpful
– and I definitely recommend a thermometer, it’s worth the few bucks
Beautiful recipe, can this be used for piping buttercream roses? Can you use margarine? Another question is, would this be stable without the butter?
She said wonderful recipe but she only has a hand mixer and doesn’t have a paddle accessory so what could she use instead. Also, she wants to know if she can use margarine.
Have you worked on any flavored SMBC recipes? I love your strawberry buttercream with freeze dried strawberries and your chocolate (regular and black) frosting, but I’m thinking I want try those out as SMBC since a lot of my family doesn’t like things as sweet as the American Buttercream. Would I have to add anything additional when adding a powder into the buttercream? What about using emulsions? Would that just totally throw off the consistency?
Thanks in advance, you are always so helpful and it is much appreciated!
Hi! I just have a question. Do you think it is ideal to use only swiss meringue as frosting for cupcake? Is it going to hold its shape? Thank you!
We made this Swiss meringue buttercream,it is fantastic. Thank you.
Help! Every time I make this (or any SMB) it doesn’t end up light and smooth… it is almost always very heavy and not light and fluffy…. I follow the recipe to a tee, I make stiff peaks (I am a pretty experienced baker and do Macarons all the time), I add the butter carefully…. but it always ends up heavy and somewhat greasy… and when I frost the cake, the frosting has a lot of resistance. I always expect it to end up closer to whip cream, or at the very least, smooth and spreadable… but it just ends up heavy… I do EVERYTHING as written and demonstrated… HELP! Why is it so heavy???
I have a question. I understand egg white at room temperature whip up easier. In the recipe if you are heating these with the sugar in the ban Marie why do they need to be room temp? They are no longer room temperature when you begin whipping them. Please clarify if they still need to be room temp in the beginning ? Thanks for clarifying.
First time making this and it turned out great!! Can you alternate cream cheese and butter to get a more traditional cream cheese like frosting for a red velvet cake?
Thank you for this awesome recipe! Initially, I cut it in thirds as a test run for 12 cupcakes. Perfect on the first try!! This morning I made TWO batches of it to frost a 6 layer rainbow cake for my 9 year old’s birthday. I received so many compliments on the frosting. I’m not sure I’ll ever go back to regular buttercream! Thanks!!
This is new favorite icing! You always make things seem so easy. Thanks for the troubleshooting tips too.
Hi!
I have been working with SMBC lately.i have not tried your exact recipe but mine is very similar with 6 eggs and 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter. I have noticed that after a cake is already frosted that the flavor of the frosting changes over the next day or 2. Do you have any thoughts or ideas on why this may be??
Thanks!!
Hi, thanks for this amazing recipe! I failed so many times trying to make buttercream, but your recipe worked out great! I was wondering how your buttercream turns out so white? My buttercream always is slightly yellow 🙁
I love the idea of a less sweet buttercream, if I wanted to make it strawberry flavored would you recommend puréed fresh strawberries or freeze dried for this frosting?
Hi Chelsea! I just wanted to say Thank you! I did your SMBC and it turned out amazing.
Hi,
I was wondering….is it white in color or a tint of yellow?
I’m making a small white wedding cake.
Thanks!
Hey chelsea!
i wanted to ask when can i add melted white chocolate in smbc and how much quantity ?? also i can add gel colour after it right ? i mean white chocolate doesn’t make much difference to the smbc ?
Made a four tiered naked cake for my granddaughters 18 th birthday turn out fab just waiting for the taste results tomorrow
I loved this recipe, I used it for making the wedding cake and cupcakes for my brothers wedding. I was wonder how do you flavor this buttercream? For example what ratio of white chocolate do you need to not mess up the frostings fat content. I am wanting to use this again for my sisters engagment party and I dont want to take a leap of faith when the time comes. It would be a big help if I could know the right amount since she want a white chocolate flavor.
Tried this but mine came out very runny and curdled and this is not my first time making smbc, i just tried your recipe and it failed
Omg what an amazing recipe, I’m new on this cake thing and been afraid of decorating all the time, I’ve tried ABC once and was a success but didn’t like the fact that has to be on the fridge on a hot day, I just followed this SWBC, it came perfect at first try, smells and taste amazing, perfect for my sister in law’s birthday cake, thank you so much
This recipe is so easy and turns out so well!! I love it! It pipes so beautifully and it’s super tasty! I used to be scared of Swiss meringue butter cream but this recipe and tutorial took out the guesswork and it turned out so well!! 10/10 on this!
Hello, does this recipe yield 6 cups of frosting? Thank you
I congratulate you on your marriage and wish for you many years of growing in love and harmony. Thsnkbyou for sharing your can successes, recipe and all. I especially how smoothly and quickly you frost your cakes. I’ve tried other recipes and they work with some glitches. I’ll be trying yours.
Hi!:) Have you ever used half butter and half shortening instead of all butter? I do that with regular buttercream and wonder if it will work with SMBC
Just made this for the first time. Directions were easy to follow and…. Oh my goodness!! Delish!! I added about 3 tsp of maple extract and it was amazing.
Hi Shanda,
I am so happy to hear that! And that sounds absolutely delicious 🙂 Happy baking!!
I am making a wedding cake for August is this less likely to melt than the American buttercream?
Hi Heather,
Summer wedding cakes can be so tricky!! I usually use either my American buttercream or my hybrid buttercream (recipe here: https://chelsweets.com/not-too-sweet-buttercream-frosting/).
I believe both are actually more stable than my SMBC! But if you can thoroughly chill the cake before transporting it and keep it indoors in an air conditioned room during the wedding, any buttercream should work. Hope that helps, and that you don’t have to transport the cake too far <3
I’ve never made this recipe before, but every time I’ve made Swiss meringue I always end up with a soupy product. After whipping into stiff peaks, I refrigerate the bowl, but by the time I’ve taken it out, it’s extremely soupy. Do you have any ideas about how I can remedy this? Thanks.
Hi Izzy,
Do you mean it gets soupy after you mix in the butter? If that’s the case and you made sure your meringue had cooled fully to room temperature, I’d guess that either your butter is too warm or the brand of butter your using is too watery (some cheaper brands of butter have higher water content). Those would be my best guesses!
My buttercream is both soupy AND curdled! ??
Hi Niamh,
Oh no!! Sometimes this frosting can become thinner as it curdles. I’d recommend following the steps listed above to help it warm up a bit! That should help it come together <3 Hope that helps for next time and that you were able to get this batch to work out. Happy baking!
I love this recipe! I have used it numerous times now and it has always come out great! I am just curious though in the youtube video it says 7 egg whites and 2 cups of sugar (the way I do it) but here it says 8 eggs 2.5 cups a sugar is it a typo?
Hi Tiffany,
I recently updated the recipe card to make the recipe yield a little bit larger! I find that when I’m frosting layer cakes I like to have enough to pipe bit swirls on top of cakes and make different colors for decorations, and I wanted to have a bit more frosting and make it be be a touch sweeter. Unfortunately the YT video is from a few years ago and I can’t update it.
Hope that helps, happy baking!
@Chelsweets,
Oh that’s great to know! I always run out right near the very end so hopefully this will help me as well. Thank you so much for your response 🙂
Glad I’m not the only one!! And of course, happy baking!! 🙂
Hi Chelsea!
I was looking at your blackberry mousse cake and I wanted to use a smbc rather than an abc. Do I just add the blackberry jam and lemon juice to this exact recipe or do I need to alter it a bit??
Great question! That is exactly what I’d recommend doing. Add in the blackberry jam and lemon juice with the vanilla and salt 🙂 Hope that helps, and that your blackberry mousse cake turns out great!!
Hi! I notice that this recipe uses less butter than other smbc recipes. Most seem to use 1:2:3 ratio egg white:sugar:butter but yours is more like 1:2:2. Do you find it’s better with less butter? Is the frosting more loose? I can do a side by side experiment but want to save time and ingredients!
Hi Olga,
Good eye!! For me it’s all about the mouth feel and flavor. I do like a bit less butter than the classic ratio. I like it to be a bit sweeter and a little less buttery. The texture is still great for piping and smoothing onto cakes, and feels very similar to the classic ratio when you decorate a cake. Hope that helps, happy baking!
I’m using this frosting for my daughters birthday cake. It tastes AMAZING! however, I’m very worried this is going to fall right off my cake. I beat the meringue with my 5qt lift handle kitchen aid for at least 35min (I timed 25min and pretty sure it has been 10 min before that.) I whipped it at speed 6. It would not get stiff. I had slightly stiff, but my peaks would fall over. My machine was starting to get warm and make noises so I called it.
Anytime I make meringue this happens. Ive made macarons before and they turned out great! But it always takes forever for true stiff peaks to form. Is it my machine? Me? What can I do to have it take 10min like so many people say?
Hi Carol,
So glad it tastes amazing!! My KitchenAid actually gets pretty warm whenever I make meringue too. The size and age of you machine can impact how long it takes to whip up. It also is just a long process! You could try to increase the speed to 8 to try to speed up the process, and that might help?
For macarons you want to beat it on like a six to make sure the meringue is super stable, but for SMBC you can whip the meringue a little faster if you want.
Sometimes I let the egg / sugar mixture sit a bit and cool before I start whipping it up. That might help too!
It could also be your machine. I got a new KitchenAid a couple years ago and it was a total lemon, but my older KitchenAid is still going strong. I would say it’s probably not you, it’s most likely the machine.
Sorry I can’t be of more help!
Hi, so I was weighing out my ingredients, and 7 large egg whites equals out to 250 grams. Should I still add the 8th even though it’s over the 240 grams?
Hi Jessie,
Great question! The weight of egg whites can vary based on the size of the egg and even the size of the yolk, so going by weight is always the best way to go! This recipe would still turn out if you added in the 8th egg white, but I’d say go by weight and use 7 egg whites for it to turn out best. Hope that helps for the future, happy baking!
Hi, thanks for this recipe. I made this yesterday and it all was clear and worked fine but the end result just tasted of pure butter… after a bit of research i found that it must have been as I am in Ireland, using irish butter which has a higher fat content. This is just noted for reference if anyone else ever has this problem! to rectify i just made more of the ‘meringue’ and then added the original buttery SMBC and it turned out great!
Thanks again!
Hi Crystally,
Ahh, that could definitely be it!! Irish butter definitely would have a stronger taste than our watery American butter! It might help to also add in a bit (or a LOT) more vanilla too! Thank you for sharing 🙂 Happy baking!
Hello is this enough to also pipe a border for top and bottom of cake?
Hi Ty,
This recipe makes about 7 cups of frosting, which I generally find to be enough to fill, frosting, and pipe a board onto a 6- or 7-inch cake. It should be enough for an 8-inch layer cake as well, but it depends on how many layers you’re using, how much frosting you use between the layers, and what type of border you pipe around the top and bottom of the cake.
This turned out great! You said not to double this recipe. So do you have a recipe to make a larger amount or do you just make it again.
Thanks Debra Nelson
Hi Debra,
So happy to hear you love this recipe!! You can double this recipe if you have a really large mixer like an 8qt/commercial kitchen aid, but otherwise it’s a lot for a regular sized stand mixer to whip up all the meringue. A double batch would fit in a standard kitchenaid, but it would be filled to the brim! I do sometimes make a 1.5 batch in my mixer at one time, or if I need a double batch I usually just make two batches. Hope that helps, happy baking
Wonderful recipe! I used dairy free butter (country crock plant butter) instead. Turned out delicious. I had no trouble with the recipe thanks to your troubleshooting. I will definitely make again.
Hi Patience,
Thank you so much for sharing!! I’m so happy to hear that 🙂 Happy baking!
The video for SMBC said 7 egg whites and recipe says 8. (?)
Also, video 2c sugar, and written recipe 2 1/2c sugar. (?)
Hi Renee,
I increased the recipe a bit because I found I was just a tiny bit short when I used it to make layer cakes! Adding an extra egg white and bit more sugar gives it the tiny bit of additional volume needed to frost an 8-inch layer cake. I also realized overtime that I like it just a tiny bit sweeter. My recipe cards always have the latest and greatest version, so refer to them if there’s any confusion. This video is from a couple years ago and I haven’t had a chance to reshoot it yet (baby sweets has been keeping me quite busy!). Hope that helps, happy baking!
Hi
I know it has been years since you made this post, but I hope you can still see my comment!
I made this and it all turned out fine. As sood as I tried to put on the cake it just slipped off and turned into a curdled mess! I tried everything! When I put it back into my mixer to blend it came back together but then separted again after I strted to use it.
I ended up giving up and throwing the whole thing away and use ABC instead.
Any ideas where I went wrong??
Many thanks
Debbie
Your video and you listed recipe vary. In the video you say 7 egg whites and 2 cps sugar… the writen recipe states 8 eggs whites and 2.5 cps sugar. Can you clarify which is correct? Or more stable? Thank you in advance.
Hi Beth! I made some small adjustments to this recipe to increase its yield! The video is quite old, my recipe cards are always the most up to date!! I need to make a new video and hope to soon, it’s on my list! But in the meantime, please follow the recipe card.
Hi there ! Thank you so much for this recipe. I used carton egg whites and it’s soupy :(. I popped it in the fridge but still soupy. Should I just start over with real egg whites ??? Thank you !!
Hi, how can I make this blueberry flavoured?
Not sure what else to do as I have made this recipe and each time it turns into soup. Tried to set I the fridge but never thickened back up. Never works after adding the butter. What more could I do as the soup tastes lovely.
Hi! How much cups of frosting is this recipe?
Hi Chelsea! I absolutely love this recipe. Any suggestions on how to make the frosting white? The end result is an off white, is it possible to get it white for cake decorating?
Hi Melanie,
I’m so happy you love the recipe—thank you!! And yes, totally hear you on wanting a whiter finish, especially for cake decorating!
Swiss meringue buttercream naturally has that off-white tint because of the butter, but here are a few tricks to brighten it up:
– Whip it longer once all the butter is in—it helps lighten the color!
– Add a tiny drop of purple gel food coloring to cancel out the yellow tones (just the tiniest drop—you don’t want it turning lavender!).
– Try using a lighter colored butter! Some brands have more of yellow-ish color than others.
– Use a touch of white gel food coloring if you want that super bright white finish, especially for weddings or special occasions.
Let me know if you give one of those a try—I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Tried it two different times, first time it turned lumpy when I added the butter. Second time it turned to soup
Hi there,
Totally hear you, this recipe (or really this type of buttercream in general) can be a little tricky because the mixture is really temperature-sensitive. If the butter is added when it’s too warm, it can turn soupy, and if it’s a bit too cool, it can get lumpy. Both are super common issues and nothing you did wrong! I actually have a full troubleshooting section in the post that walks through exactly how to fix each of these problems, so definitely check that out for next time. It’ll help you get things smooth and silky. Hope that helps, happy baking!!
hey, how would I turn this into a chocolate Swiss merengue buttercream?
Hi Ginelle,
Great question! To turn a standard Swiss Meringue Buttercream (SMBC) into chocolate SMBC, you can add 8–14 oz of melted and cooled dark chocolate (70% cocoa) or 3/4 cup sifted cocoa powder. Melt chocolate, let it cool to room temperature, then slowly pour it into the finished SMBC while mixing on low speed until smooth. Or you can mix in the sifted cocoa powder once the frosting is done being made. Hope that helps helps, happy baking!
Definitely had to trust the process. Was soupy and took about a half hour of refrigeration to come together. Piped nicely. Easily spread. Nice flavor. I watched the video and noticed the recipe is different. I followed the eight egg white recipe on your site.
Hi Michelle,
I’m so glad it came together and worked well for you! Yes, the recipe card on the site is always the most up-to-date version. Some of my videos are a few years old, so occasionally they reflect an older version of the recipe if I’ve made tweaks over time. Thanks so much for trusting the process and for sharing that helpful note, I appreciate it 🙂