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Swiss Meringue Buttercream is delicious, versatile, and the BEST frosting to use for layer cakes. Learn how to make it with this Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe and photo tutorial!
I use Swiss Meringue buttercream in my cake recipes a lot. I used to be an Italian Meringue girl (more on the differences between these below) but in the past few years I’ve migrated almost entirely to Swiss Meringue.
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Since I do feature Swiss Meringue recipes so often, I regularly get comments, question, and troubleshooting requests. I don’t think Swiss Meringue is hard, but it’s definitely more labor-intensive (and less familiar) than your typical butter-and-powdered-sugar American Buttercream. So I thought it was time to do a full photo tutorial, showing how to make Swiss Meringue buttercream. If you’re just here for the recipe, there’s a printable recipe card down below, so please scroll down for that. If it’s your first time making Swiss Meringue, or if you’ve had a traumatic Swiss Meringue experience in your past, I hope you find this tutorial helpful. Here we go!
What Is Swiss Meringue Buttercream?
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream refers to a specific type of frosting made from egg whites, sugar, and butter. The egg whites and sugar are whisked together and heated up, then whipped into a meringue. Once the meringue cools, butter is added to make the buttercream. Ta-da! There are a few other types of buttercream you’ve probably also heard of:
- Italian Meringue Buttercream is similar to Swiss Meringue, but instead of heating the egg whites and sugar together, the sugar is combined with water or other liquid, and cooked to soft-ball stage. Then the hot sugar syrup is streamed into the egg whites, and the rest of the recipe is similar to Swiss Meringue. Italian Meringue is actually the most stable of the meringue buttercreams, and it used to be my go-to. But it’s a little more finicky, and I’ve come to prefer the convenience of Swiss Meringue in most instances.
- French Meringue Buttercream is prepared with egg yolks instead of egg whites. As a result, it is really rich and luscious. It’s often a little rich for my taste, but when it’s combined with the right components, it can be amazing.
- German Buttercream is a bit of a hybrid beast! It’s made with a pastry cream base, meaning it has egg yolks, milk, and starch (often corn starch) in addition to the usual sugar and butter. It makes a great cake filling, but doesn’t hold up as well as the others when piping.
- American Buttercream is the stuff kid dreams are made of. It’s what I grew up eating on birthday cakes: powdered sugar, butter, and a touch of milk. It’s very sweet, and it does form a crust as it dries, which can be good or bad depending on your decorating goals.
How Do I Make Swiss Meringue Buttercream?
The basic ingredients of a Swiss Meringue Buttercream are egg whites, granulated sugar, and butter. I always add a bit of salt and a flavoring extract, but at heart, these 3 ingredients are all you need. You’ll also need a mixer–ideally, a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. In a pinch, a hand mixer with whisk attachments will work as well.
The egg whites should be at room temperature, and the butter should be cool but softened. What I mean by this is that when you press into a stick of butter, your finger should be able to make an indentation, but it should still feel cool-ish to the touch. If it’s very soft, warm, and greasy, it will be harder for your buttercream to come together in the end. For sugar, I always use pure cane sugar in all of my baking and candy making.
Begin by separating the egg yolks from the whites, and place the whites in a clean, dry mixer bowl. Egg whites don’t whip up properly if they come into contact with fat, so it’s important that the bowl be clean from all grease, and that there are no bits of yolks in the whites. You can save those yolks to make custard, ice cream, or French meringue!
Add the granulated sugar to the egg whites in the bowl.
Whisk, baby, whisk! Give the two a good mixing so that there are no dry spots of sugar.
Fill a saucepan with at least an inch of water, and place the pan over medium heat. Bring the water to a simmer, then place the mixing bowl over the pan of simmering water. Ideally, you’ll use a pan/bowl combination where the bowl can tightly fit over the top of the pan, without the bottom of the bowl touching the water in the pan. You can also use a bain marie to heat the egg whites and sugar, then transfer the mixture to your mixing bowl. I just like to use the bowl whenever possible, to prevent dirtying an extra dish.
Whatever setup you use, heat the whites and sugar together over the pan of simmering water, whisking often. Heat and whisk the mixture until the sugar melts, it becomes frothy, and it is hot to the touch. (Not warm! Hot!)
Place the mixing bowl on your stand mixer, and using a whisk attachment, whip it. Whip it goooooood.
You can use a hand mixer to make this buttercream, but you will be at it a long time. Everything takes longer with a hand mixer, and I imagine this could be a 45-60 minute process. Don’t let that stop you, if you want to give it a try–just know what you’re getting in to!
Whip the egg whites at medium-high speed until they become very thicky, shiny, white, and stiff. You also want them to be room temperature. If they’re still hot to the touch–even if they look white and stiff–they will melt the butter when you add it, and that’s no good. So whip until the whites are cool and gorgeously stiff and shiny. Depending on your mixer and the ambient temperature, this could take 10 minutes, or up to 25 minutes.
Once the whites are room temperature and stiff, add the cool-but-soft butter a tablespoon at a time, while the mixer runs on medium speed. It’s important to add it slowly, to give everything time to emulsify properly. Take your time! Once half of the butter is added, stop the mixer, scrape down the bottom and sides, and continue. As you add more butter, the buttercream will start to get thinner and look more liquidy.
Now, this is the part where you’ll start writing me a mean email in your head. Not infrequently, once most or all of the butter is added, you might see this–a hot mess. The buttercream will be thin, watery, and have an unappealing curdled appearance. This is normal! Delete that imaginary email. Just keep whipping. Repeat after me: just. keep. whipping. 9 times out of 10, turning the mixer on to medium-high and letting it go for 3-5 minutes after all of the butter is added will solve your problem. Sometimes it just needs a good whippin’ to emulsify all the fats and give you a luscious buttercream.
If you’ve whipped it for 5 minutes with no change in appearance, there’s a chance the whites were too warm when you added the butter, or the butter was too warm/greasy. In that case, refrigerate the bowl of frosting for about 10 minutes. You don’t want it to be cold–just chill it a bit, then try whipping again. Unless there’s been a massive measuring or procedural mistake, this will solve your buttercream problems.
And THIS is what you’ll end up with! A gorgeously fluffy buttercream that is stable enough for big layer cakes, but tastes light and fresh.
I like to add flavorings after the buttercream is made. With things like salt and vanilla, that’s less important, but for other, stronger flavors, it can be hard to gauge how much to add before the buttercream is whipped into its final state. So once it’s finished, turn the mixer to medium, add your flavorings, give it a taste, and adjust as needed. Flavoring extracts and emulsions are the most common way to flavor Swiss Meringue buttercream, but I’ve included a few other ideas down below.
Your Swiss Meringue Buttercream is now ready to be used! If you’re not going to use it right away, you can store it in the refrigerator or freezer, in an airtight plastic container or in zip-top gallon plastic bags. If it is refrigerated or frozen, let it sit at room temperature until completely thawed, then re-whip with the whisk attachment until it is once again smooth. This buttercream does become spongy as it sits, so even if you wait a few hours between making it and decorating your cakes, you’ll probably want to give it a quick whip for the optimal texture. If you find that you are getting a lot of air bubbles in your frosting, try running the mixer on low speed for awhile, to make it silky smooth.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe
Ingredients
- 9 egg whites at room temperature
- 14 oz granulated sugar (2 cups)
- 1 lb unsalted butter soft but still cool
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Combine the egg whites and the granulated sugar in the bowl of a large stand mixer, and whisk them together. Choose a small saucepan that lets you fit the base of the stand mixer snugly into the top of the saucepan—this is your makeshift hot water bath. (Alternately, you can use a different bowl or an actual bain marie and then transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl once it’s heated.) Add an inch of water to the bottom of the saucepan, and bring the water to a simmer.
- Place the mixing bowl on top of the saucepan, making sure that the bottom isn’t in contact with the water, and heat the egg white mixture. Whisk frequently so that the egg whites don’t cook. Continue to heat the whites until they are hot to the touch, and when you rub a bit between your fingers, you don’t feel any grittiness from the sugar. Once the whites are hot, transfer the mixing bowl to your mixer and fit it with a whisk attachment.
- Beat the whites on medium-high speed until they are a shiny, stiff, voluminous meringue, and are no longer warm to the touch—feel the outside of the bowl, and make sure that it is around room temperature. Depending on your mixer and the temperature of your environment, this may take 15-20 minutes, or more. Reduce the speed to medium-low and add the softened but cool butter in small chunks, a tablespoon at a time, making sure to wait in between additions. It may separate or look a little gloopy at this point—fear not. Once all of the butter is added, increase the speed again and whip until it comes together and is light and fluffy. If, after 5 minutes, it hasn’t come together, refrigerate the mixing bowl for 5-7 minutes, to cool the mixture down, and whip it again until it has thickened and is smooth and silky. Add the vanilla extract and salt.
- The buttercream can be made in advance and kept at room temperature if you’re going to use it the same day, or refrigerated. If it has been chilled, let it sit at room temperature until completely soft, then re-whip it to get the smooth texture back before you use it.
Nutrition
Flavor variations for Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
The easiest way to flavor buttercream is to add a flavoring extract. Depending on the strength, you can add anywhere from 1 tsp – 1 tbsp to the buttercream. Start conservatively–you can always add more to taste, but you can’t take it back if it’s too strong! You can also add flavoring oils, but remember those are much more concentrated, so use them sparingly. Vanilla, almond, coconut, lemon, orange, and peppermint are all wonderful additions to buttercream.
Chocolate buttercream: melt 8 oz of dark chocolate in the microwave. (I like to use a really bittersweet variety, but semi-sweet will work too). Let the melted chocolate cool to room temperature, then add it to the finished buttercream. Mix on low speed until incorporated, and scrape down the sides well.
Fruity buttercream: add 1/2 cup of good-quality fruit preserves to the finished buttercream. Add slowly, a spoonful at a time, to give it time to incorporate. The better the preserves, the better the flavor of the finished buttercream! You can also pulverize freeze-dried fruit to make a fruit powder, and add the powder to buttercream.
Nutty buttercream or praline buttercream: Add 1/2 cup of ground nuts (pistachios or hazelnuts work very well) or praline paste to the finished buttercream. The oils in the paste will soften the buttercream, so this works best as a cake filling.
Coffee buttercream: Coffee extract works well, but if you don’t have that, you can use instant espresso powder, mixed with just a bit of water, to make a very strong coffee paste, and add that to the buttercream.
I’d love to hear your feedback if you give it a try! Have questions? Suggestions for other pastry photo tutorials I should do? Leave a comment down below!
The Easiest Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
If this recipe seems a little too complicated, you’ve got to try this super-easy variation: The Easiest Swiss Meringue Buttercream!
I have made this several times and it comes out perfect each time. I have been requested to make a cake, but they don’t want it too sweet. If I were to reduce the sugar, would it effect the stability of the frosting?
Thank you in advance!
So mine was great, put it in the fridge over night to use the next day. Got it out. Waited til it was room temp. Started whipping and now it looks like a split mess. What can I do to fix it’s for my daughters first birthday cake tomorrow 🙁
Hi Sarah,
Just keep beating it…really! I would use a paddle attachment (so you don’t incorporate too many air bubbles) and make sure that it is really, truly no longer cold. There’s nothing about chilling and defrosting the buttercream that will ruin it irrevocably, so if it looks broken, the solution is always to mix it until it comes together. 🙂
Can I add just a little more sugar to my egg whites to make it a teeny bit sweeter? It is like eating plain but with a hint of sweet.
I can’t seem to get it very white, I’m using unsalted butter but it still has a very creamy colour, is there anything I can do to get it whiter?
After you frost your cake can you refrigerated overnight until delivery the next day just take it out and let it come to room temperature or should I just leave it out in an air-conditioned room
Just wanted to say thank you for this recipe. It’s the best buttercream I’ve ever eaten and everyone loved the finished cakes. I don’t think I’ll bother making ordinary buttercream again which is far too sweet. This is well worth the effort.
Garrrrr. Literally made this twice today. First time major curdle, so chucked, second time just not thickening or fluffing.
Alot of eggs and butter ££££
What am I doing wrong.
Hi there
What size eggs are you using please?
Hi Lauren, I use large eggs for this recipe.
Hey, just made it in non-diary version. It’s not that smooth but other than that it works well. I had to add a little more “butter” and sugar as the non-diary version of butter I get here (Czech) doesn’t hold that greatly once used for a frosting. Thanks for the tutorial, I was fed up with our usual vanilla pudding frosting and wanted to try something else (and not the usual buttercream as we don’t like it too sweet).
Hey Adele, that sounds great. I am happy you found it, and i’m glad it worked out. Thanks so much!
I found and tried your recipe. The meringue itself is very good and light. But then I added the butter and the flavor really changed. It tasted really buttery. What did I do wrong?
Same here, mine tastes overly buttery.
Hey Catrina, sorry to hear its not to your taste. Sometimes its a function of the butter you use, or a matter of preference. You can try and add some flavor of extract and see if you like it more. If not, it may just come down to the preference of buttercream. I hope that helps! Thanks!
Help please! Iwould like to make red Swiss buttercream. How do I do this? I bought red oil colors. But you have to add so much the my buttercream is not stuff anymore. Is there a way to fix it? A different way to dye it?
Thank you!!
Hey Shanah, I would suggest adding more powder sugar however there might be an after taste. You could make another batch and mix them together, I will say one brand I like to use for color is Americolor and the color is called super red. Also when adding color into this it will darken over time. Thanks so much!
You need to color the icing with lemon yellow first then add a drop of purple to it and then add red. It will help bring out the red coloring and it needs to be oil coloring not the water based ones.
Can I somehow make this into a hot cocoa Swiss meringue?? If I make a cocoa paste and add at the end??? Thanks!!
Hey Jill, I haven’t tried adding hot cocoa mix I think it would work fine because I have made a paste with unsweetened cocoa powder and that worked fine. Thanks! Let me know how it goes!
Hiiiii!!!! I just made this buttercream for my sisters birthday cake and it had its ups and downs. The step where we have to add the butter was easy but then we had to let it keep mixing until it gets smooth like frosting , but it didn’t work. Then I remembered you said “Just keep whipping :)” and i did but it still wasn’t working . So then i also remembered you said to leave t in the fridge for 10 min and i did so . When 10 min was done I had put it back on the mixer and put in on high speed and i noticed it was getting thick and then it looked all curdled and then i saw the MAGIC happen! I was soooo excited that it worked. By the way I’m a 15 year old girl.
Hey Dana, I am SO happy to hear this. I am so excited to hear that you tried it and it worked!:) I am glad you persisted with the whipping and it eventually did bring the magic. I loved hearing back from you. If you make anything else I would love to hear how it goes! Thanks for following along Dana!
hello, my name is Crystal and I want to try to make a marshmallow Swiss meringue buttercream but I’m not sure how to go about it. any suggestions?
Hi Crystal, do you mind clarifying? I am just wondering if you want a marshmallow flavor or a marshmallow texture. If you let me know I will see what I can do to help! Thanks!
Tried this for the first time yesterday and it turned out perfectly! None of the potential scary things happened. Wonderful taste and texture. Thanks so much for your clear instructions!
Hey Miriam, I am so happy to hear that! Thanks so much for your feedback I appreciate that!
I have mixed and mixed and mixed. Put it in the fridge and still runny. I’ve made two batches and the exact same thing happens. It’s so runny. What could I be doing wrong? Any thoughts or suggestions? My egg whites are room temp when I add the butter and my butter is still cold. I’m following the recipe to a T. Feeling defeated and frustrated
Hi Kayla, I’m sorry to hear that you’re having trouble with the buttercream. Are your egg whites super stiff and shiny and white when you’re adding the butter? And to clarify, the butter should not be cold when you’re adding it. It should be soft and pliable (but not warm and greasy). How long have you mixed it after adding the butter, and how long have you tried refrigerating it then whipping again?
I made this today and I love the consistency but its a little too buttery for my husband and I. Could I eliminate a stick of butter without messing up the icing? Thank you for the thorough instructions and photos. You are right when you say just keep whipping. I had to just turn it up and walk away because it was making me anxious lol.
Hey Heather, I’m so glad you loved it! Yes you can use less butter. It will probably be less stable but just give it a try because if you do that and it isn’t what you want texture wise you can totally play around with it and add more butter little by little. Thanks so much!
Hi I really want to give this a try as I don’t like the sweetness of American buttercream. However, would it be okay to make for someone with a raw egg allergy. Does the egg became cooked in the process as they are allergic to raw eggs but okay with cooked. Thank you
Hey Emma, The egg white gets cooked to 170F I am not too sure what their parameters are within the allergy so I will let you make that call. Thanks!
I’m the fool that tried to make Swiss buttercream with a hand mixer a year ago. It took me a good 45 minutes, so your estimate is spot on. Unbelievably, when I came to take it out of the fridge the next day it had discoloured and smelled absolutely vile – I obviously did something seriously wrong (it’s ok, it was not your recipe I was using)! I now own a stand mixer so was looking for to refresh myself on the technique before I make my first batch – your guide is so detailed. Thankyou.
Hey Jane, I appreciate your feedback. Thank you! I would love to hear how it turns out and if you have any questions!
I made this yesterday using half the ingredients, so as not to waste too much if it all went wrong. After heating the whites and sugar until hot and frothy and mixing until at room temperature, I began to add the butter slowly. Sure enough, it started to split and go gloopy but I persevered. However, by the time I had added all of the butter and left it to mix for about an hour I nearly gave up! It wasn’t doing anything. I placed it in the fridge for about an hour then tried again. It took a further hour or more on a higher speed before it all came together like magic. Not sure I’d want to try it again!
Hey Lena, I am sorry to hear that! I haven’t had it take that long so it does sound like something was wrong. I am happy to hear it managed to all come together in the end! If you want to email me with more details I would love to work through it with you. Thank you for your feedback!
Your recipe is a star!! Thank you for sharing and I made it today – it was awesome.. I kept on whipping and whipping and pop! There’s the miracle!! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ Thank you!!
Hey Jules, I am so happy to hear that. Thank you for your feedback!!
Your recipe has been my go-to icing recipe for over a year. I love how versatile it is (I made a divine caramel variation once). I have two questions, as I’m making a cupcake cake for my daughter’s birthday.
1. When do I add the food coloring as to not mess up the consistency? I’m making at least three colors.
2. Will the frosting become spongy after a couple of hours if it is already decorated on the cupcakes? Or will it be fine to leave the frosted cupcakes out until the party begins?
Hey Kaylyn, I am so glad to hear that! I would suggest adding the food coloring at the end. Also if you want a bright color I would suggest giving it some time to sit so it can develop! Should be great though, as for leaving them out they should be totally fine! Thanks again. I hope it works out well. I would love to see pictures!
This is the first time I have made Swiss Buttercream Icing. I was looking for something not as sweet and chalky as American Buttercream. This recipe is perfect. I added melted cooled chocolate at the end and the icing is a little soft. I have put it in the refrigerator to harden up some. Should I whip it when ready to decorate with it? Will it get stiff again? Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe.
Hey Lynn, yes you should let it come to room temperature first and then whip it so that it can get soft. That should be great! I would love to hear how it goes! Thank you so much for your feedback, I really appreciate it!
Hello. What do you. Do if you don’t have a stand mixer?
Hey Jill, you can definitely use a hand mixer just expect the mixing time to be longer. It may take up to twice as long because it wont be as powerful.
Hi, I have a question — is it okay to use egg whites from a carton instead of separating individual eggs?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Kathryn! Egg whites from the carton don’t whip well and won’t work well for this recipe. If you want to use those, I’d recommend this alternate swiss meringue recipe instead:
https://www.sugarhero.com/the-easiest-swiss-meringue-buttercream/
I followed the instructions and it turned out fine although I thought it reminded me of the texture of butter. What did I do wrong because I really didn’t like it?
Hey Deb, I am sorry to hear it wasn’t to your taste. If it came out to a nice creamy texture, was spreadable, and pipable, it sounds like you did everything right. It may come down to just preference of taste in this case. If the texture was off and you would want to trouble shoot, you can send me and email and I would be happy to help! Thanks!
hi there! this was my first time making a swiss meringue buttercream and it was AMAZING!!! It had such a smooth silky texture and wasn’t too sweet, like the american buttercream! I didn’t have any problems and I used 1\2 c less sugar. thanks so much for sharing!
Hey Claudia, I am so happy to hear that it worked out so well! I love that you were able to find something that works for you. Thanks for your feedback!
hi! 🙂
can you plzzz post your Italian Meringue Buttercream Recipe??
i live in a very hot and humid area and unfortunately Swiss Meringue is not stable enough for me.
Thank you,
noa
Hi Noa! Unfortunately I don’t have a stand-alone post with the Italian meringue buttercream, but you can find it here with this strawberry cupcake recipe:
https://www.sugarhero.com/strawberry-cupcakes/#wprm-recipe-container-23268
Hi there! Mine worked great, however it only made 4-5 cups of icing. Any thoughts on what might have happened? Thank you.
Hey Christine, I’m so glad to hear you liked it! I’m sorry to hear it didn’t yield the amount as expected. When beating the egg whites did you let them get to the point where they are really stiff and fluffy? I find this step to be very important to get the right volume of buttercream! If you have more questions or want to trouble shoot it more feel free to email me. Thanks!
My son is allergic to dairy, is there anyway I could use vegan butter like Earth balance to replace the butter ?
Hey Thuy, I haven’t tried it with vegan butter myself. I know for sure that shortening works! If you want a guaranteed recommendation I would say use shortening. However if you wanted to try it out I would suggest making a quarter batch with the vegan butter and seeing how it goes. I would love to hear how it goes if you do try it out! Thanks!
I am addicted and will ALWAYS choose this over American buttercream. SO worth the extra effort, and I feel incredibly proud every time I make it! I topped a “copycat” DQ Ice cream cake with it for Father’s Day, and even after being in the freezer for a few hours it was incredible. Hands down best buttercream ever!
Hey Angela, That sounds amazing! I am so glad to hear you enjoy it as much as I do! Thank you for your feedback!
When yiur done frosting cake can this sit out and for how long or do you uave to refrigerate the cake
Hey Bridget, Yes it can totally sit out. It actually taste better at room temperature so that is great! I usually leave a frosted cake out all day, I typically refrigerate if it’s going to be overnight. It will be totally fine to leave out all day if the temperature of the room is cool though!
Hello! I just finished the recipe and I thought it turned out great! I was putting it in a Ziploc to freeze it and took one last taste… And felt a bit of the granulated sugar. It seemed fine otherwise but I’m mostly concerned about potentially eating and serving raw eggs. Do I need to start over?
Hey Jamie, I am so glad you like the recipe! I totally understand the concerns however I think you are totally fine! I am not a doctor but I personally wouldn’t worry. Considering the chances are pretty low to begin with and they were cooked even if not for as long as preferred I wouldn’t really give it a second thought. I think it should be great!
Made it today and everyone wanted an extra scoop of frosting on their slice of cake!! Awesome recipe. Thank you .
Hey Kavita, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed by so many! Thanks so much for your feedback. I am happy to know you like the recipe!
Liz– I’ve had major success with this in the past and plan to use it to frost cupcakes for a baby shower in a few weeks! How many cupcakes does this usually frost? Here is what i’m planning to do: A thin layer with an icing spatula, dipped into sprinkles, then a dollup using a big star tip- she is having a mermaid theme so I’m dipping into mermaid sprinkles, then dollup of teal frosting, then mermaid tail on top!
Hey Angela, I would say between 18-24 depending on how tall you make the dollup. That sounds adorable, I would love to hear how it goes! So glad to hear you like the recipe, thanks so much!!