This is the Easiest Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe you’ll ever make! Once you try it, you’ll want to use it to cover all of your cakes and cupcakes.
Traditional Swiss Meringue involves heating egg whites, then lots and lots of whipping. This recipe skips the heating step entirely, and still produces a rich, smooth, ultra-creamy buttercream with the characteristic texture and taste of Swiss Meringue. It’s as easy to make as American Buttercream, but it doesn’t crust over and it isn’t teeth-shatteringly sweet. You seriously NEED to try this recipe!
Swiss Meringue Buttercream is my FAVORITE type of frosting—it tastes delicious, is a dream to work with, doesn’t crust, and isn’t overly sweet or greasy. In short, it’s almost perfect!
The only problem? It can be a big pain to make. I won’t go into all the steps—for that, you’ll want to read my post on how to make traditional Swiss Meringue Buttercream. But the point is, the whole Swiss Meringue shebang has been a necessary evil…until now. Introducing your new favorite recipe, The EASIEST Swiss Meringue Buttercream!
First things first: this is based on a frosting recipe by the amazing cake decorator Lauren Kitchens. If you want to see some real talent, check out her site! The frosting is not technically a Swiss Meringue, because the technique is different, but the ingredients and final product are so close, I have no problem calling this a lazy version of SMBC! I did a lot of tweaking and ended up with some very different ingredient quantities than the original recipe, to find the right balance of sugar + butter for my personal taste buds.
Now let’s get down to the business of buttercream.
This frosting will seriously change your decorating life. I used it as a base for almost all of my cakes. It’s easy to work with, tastes great, and doesn’t crust over. That is gold, people.
FAQ About the Easiest Swiss Meringue Buttercream
What piping tip do you use for these cupcakes?
It’s a closed star tip, Ateco #849. You can get the closed star tip here.
Is it safe to eat raw egg whites? / Do I have to use egg whites in a carton?
I recommend using pasteurized egg whites for food safety reasons. Pasteurizing means the whites have been heated to kill the bad bacteria, so you can safely consume raw whites. If you cannot find pasteurized whites in a carton, look for pasteurized whole eggs, and separate out the whites yourself. If you cannot find either, and you personally feel comfortable eating raw egg whites, then you can use regular whites. OR just use this recipe for traditional Swiss Meringue! The whites are cooked in that recipe, so it is safe to use regular eggs.
🧁More Frosting Recipes
- Cinnamon Buttercream
- Red Velvet Fudge Frosting
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Lime Cream Cheese Frosting
- Honey Buttercream
- Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
- Lick-The-Knife-Clean Chocolate Spread
- Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting
- Butterscotch Frosting
Cookie Dough Frosting
Strawberry Buttercream
The EASIEST Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients
- 6 fl oz pasteurized liquid egg whites (3/4 cup)
- 24 oz powdered sugar (6 cups)
- ½ tsp salt
- 24 oz unsalted butter (3 cups), at room temperature
- 2 TBSP vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine the whites, powdered sugar, and salt in the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix everything together on low speed, until the sugar is moistened and no dry patches remain. Turn off the mixer, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula, then turn the mixer to medium speed. Beat on medium for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, turn the mixer to medium-low and start adding the softened room temperature butter, 1-2 tablespoons at a time. Once all of the butter is incorporated, add the vanilla extract and mix it in. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bottom and sides once more. Turn the speed to medium and beat the buttercream for 10 minutes. At the end, you’ll have a frosting with a wonderfully light and creamy texture. It can be used right away, or stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, or the freezer for up to two months. If you have chilled the frosting, let it come to room temperature and then beat it for several minutes to smooth it out and restore its texture before using it.
- To make chocolate buttercream, chop 12 oz unsweetened chocolate, and place it in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after every 30 seconds to prevent overheating. Once the chocolate is melted, let it cool until it is completely room temperature. Make the frosting as described, and after it is finished, add the melted and cooled chocolate. Mix on low speed until the chocolate is completely incorporated.
Video
Recipe Notes
Measuring Tips
Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.
Want to learn more about baking measurements and conversion?
Nutrition
Want to learn to make traditional Swiss Meringue buttercream? I have a Swiss Meringue Buttercream photo tutorial and recipe right here!
Worked really well. It looked like the eggs and butter were curdled at first but after beating further it all came together really beautifully. I added dulce de leche to make a caramel buttercream and used two cups less powdered sugar to compensate for the sweetness. It is perfect!
Hi Kim! That sounds so delicious. I LOVE dulce de leche. Way to go.
I love this icing. So easy to smoothly Ice cakes! Is there a way to make this into a chocolate buttercream without changing the texture too much?
Hi Dani. So glad you found my recipe and I’m glad you enjoyed it. Here are my tips for making it chocolate flavored:
To make chocolate buttercream, chop 12 oz unsweetened chocolate, and place it in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after every 30 seconds to prevent overheating. Once the chocolate is melted, let it cool until it is completely room temperature. Make the frosting as described, and after it is finished, add the melted and cooled chocolate. Mix on low speed until the chocolate is completely incorporated.
OR
You can use powdered cocoa. Make the buttercream recipe as directed. Use a high quality cocoa powder & start by adding 3/4 cup. You can add a little more if needed but beware that it can dry out the buttercream and/or make the flavor bitter if you use too much. If the buttercream texture seems too thick, you can add a little milk to thin it out. Mix on low speed until the chocolate is completely incorporated. I hope this helps! Good luck!
This Swiss meringue buttercream is fabulous when left at room temperature. It tastes great and smoothes over cakes nicely. The only downside was placing the extra icing in the refrigerator. I had set it back out at room temperature to use on another cake and it completely changed texture. I tried rewhipping it with no help to it’s consistency. I recommend using immediately after making.
Hi Shelby. I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe and really appreciate the recommendations you left for other readers. I’m really sorry that it didn’t whip back up for you the way it should have. I re-whip my buttercream all the time and haven’t had this problem. The only thing I can think of that might have caused a problem was heat from an unexpected source like the room temperature or mixer? Maybe it was too hot in the kitchen? Or, sometimes the mixer gets hot when its been running for a long time and can overheat the buttercream. If you want to test if your mixer is contributing to the problem, try taking a break from mixing. Let the mixer cool down and place the buttercream in the fridge for 10 min or so. Then try whipping again to see if it will re-whip with a cooler mixer and cooler buttercream. Sorry again that you ran into some issues. Let me know if you can think of anything else and I will do my best to help you problem solve. All the best.