Swiss meringue buttercream (SMBC) is a super smooth, stable buttercream that is not too sweet! This makes it a great alternative to American buttercream which some people just find a little too sweet. For the chocolate version, check out my chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream recipe.
What is Swiss meringue buttercream?
Swiss meringue buttercream is what we call a meringue based buttercream. It’s made by whipping cooked egg whites and caster sugar together into a stiff meringue, followed by your butter and flavourings. It is less sweeter than American buttercream and is one of the easiest meringue based buttercreams to make. This makes it a popular option for many bakers!
My top tips for success!
SMBC is a little harder than making a traditional American buttercream, BUT it’s totally achievable! Below are a list of my top tips to get your SMBC right the first time around 🙂
– Make sure there are no fats/oils on your bowls or spoons. Any fat residue can prevent your meringue from whipping up properly. Ensure all bowls and utensils used in this recipe are washed properly. You can also wipe your bowl down with a touch of lemon juice or vinegar to ensure there are no fats left behind from a previous bake 🙂
– Make sure your butter is at the right consistency. Your butter should be soft enough that you can make an indent in it with your fingers, but should still be relatively firm and hold it’s shape. Check out the recipe video below for a visual on this.
– Cook your egg whites and sugar over a bain maree on a very low heat. If the heat is too high, you’re going to overcook your egg whites and have scrambled egg buttercream!
– Whip your meringue to stiff peaks. If your meringue is too soft, it’s not going to be as stable and hold it’s shape as well.
– Let your meringue cool before adding in your butter. When you whip your meringue it should take about 15 minutes to reach the stiff peak stage. By this point it should be cool enough to add in your butter. If it still feels warm, then pop your bowl into the fridge for 10 minutes or so and then add in your butter. If your meringue is too hot, it’s going to melt your butter and you’re going to end up with soupy SMBC! But not too worry, if this happens you can totally fix it! Check out the troubleshooting tips below.
Help! What’s wrong with my SMBC?!
– Why is my buttercream soupy?! – If your buttercream is soupy it’s most likely because your meringue was too hot when adding in your butter. You can easily fix this by popping your soupy SMBC into the fridge for about 30 minutes, and then rewhip it.
– Why is my SMBC curdling? – Don’t panic, this is TOTALLY NORMAL! When adding your butter to your meringue, you need to give it time to incorporate into the meringue. It may look like it’s curdling, but just let it do it’s thing and it will eventually come together. You want to let it whip for at least a few minutes after the butter is added in.
– Why does my SMBC taste like butter? – SMBC does taste more buttery than American buttercream, but it shouldn’t taste like you’re eating butter! Firstly, check the quantities you have used carefully. Secondly, make sure you’re whipping your SMBC long enough after adding in the butter. If you don’t whip it long enough, it won’t lighten up the frosting and you’re more likely to have that intense buttery taste.
– Why is my SMBC grainy? – This would be because your sugar wasn’t completely dissolved into your egg whites. Check that you can’t feel any sugar granules between your fingers before whipping up your egg white/sugar mixture.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
- 1⅔ cups (400 g) unsalted butter - room temp, cut into small cubes
- 5 large (150 g) egg whites - see note 4
- 1½ cups (320 g) castor sugar - regular white sugar okay - see note 3
- 1 tsp vanilla extract/essence
Instructions
- If this is your first time making SMBC, I would recommend watching the demonstration video below. This will help with understanding what things should look like at each step 🙂
- Begin by separating your egg whites from your egg yolks (if using fresh eggs). Make sure there are no yolks in the whites, otherwise this will prevent the whites from whipping up properly when we make our meringue.
- In a heat proof bowl, whisk together the egg whites and caster sugar, and gently heat the mixture over a double boiler. Keep gently mixing the mixture so it heats evenly. The goal is to get a smooth texture without over-cooking the egg whites. After a few minutes, check the mixture by rubbing it in between your fingers. If you can't feel any sugar granules then it is done. If you're not using pasteurised egg whites, then ensure the mixture has reached 75 °C so that it is safe to eat.
- Transfer the mixture into a stand mixer (see note 1). Using the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites and sugar on medium-high speed (speed 8 on KitchenAid) for 10-15 minutes until the mixture is cool and stiff peaks have formed.
- Turn down your mixer to a medium speed (speed 6 on KitchenAid) and slowly add in the butter, about a tablespoon at a time (see note 5). It is important to ensure that the butter is at room temperature (soft enough to make an indent with your finger, but not melted or losing it's shape). See note 2
- Once all the butter is mixed in, add in your vanilla and continue to mix your buttercream until it is smooth in consistency, about another few minutes. At some stage it may look like the buttercream is curdling, but this is totally normal! Just let your mixer do it's thing and it will come together.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
57 Comments
If I want to make it a raspberry SMBC, how many grams of dried raspberry powder do you recommend adding?
Hi Kelsey! 🙂 I think start with 1/4 cup (add in at the end) and then taste and add more if needed 🙂
Hi I made this today but the final buttercream was a bit softer than what you had made … any reason for it and how do I fix it?
How well does SMBC take color? Does any particular type work better, like gel color or oil based color?
Hi Alicia! 🙂 SMBC does color well, though it is a bit harder to get deep colors when compared to ABC. I usually use gel colors, though oil based colors may work a bit better with SMBC. Hope that helps!
Hi I just wanted to ask if this frosting is fine to use in winters in Newzealand because what I feel whenever I make this frosting n apply on cakes it is difficult to make the cake smooth .please reply me which frosting is good for winters in Newzealand .thanx
Hi Wajeeha! 🙂 Ahh yes when winter comes around in NZ you’ll notice that anything with butter in it begins to firm up very quickly and isn’t quite as smooth/soft as you’d like at ‘room temp’. What I like to do is heat up the buttercream ever so slightly in the microwave (5 second bursts at a time – mixing inbetween each burst until you have a nice smooth consistency). This will make it easier to smooth the frosting out (and applies to American style buttercreams too). You basically want to increase the temperature of the buttercream so the butter becomes a bit softer. The only other frosting you could use is whipped cream, but it isn’t always ideal for layered cakes. Hope that helps! 🙂
Hi MK,
Can I pre make this a couple days earlier and store in the fridge before decorating on the cake? If yes, how long will it last for and how do I store it?
Thanks in advance !
Hi Ann! Yes you can absolutely make this ahead of time. I would recommend no more than 2 days just to make sure the buttercream tastes nice and fresh, though SMBC itself can stay good in the fridge for upto 2 weeks. When you’re ready to use it, allow it to come to room temp and re-whip it so its nice and smooth 🙂
Hope that helps!
Hie MK thank for the recipe what kind of butter should i use
Hi Chipo! 🙂 You’re so welcome. You want to try use an unsalted butter, and any good brand will do like Anchor, Mainland, Westgold etc 🙂
This turned out so great and so smooth! But it tasted a little too buttery. It’s my first time making SMBC and everything seemed to workout perfectly. My buttercream did not curdle when adding the vanilla. Did I not mix it long enough? It still was light and pipped beautifully. I really want to try half butter and half cream cheese (I just love the flavor of cream cheese icing, but love the consistency of SMBC now). I believe I would need to whip the cream cheese first before adding it to the meringue. Do you have any experience with a SMBC and using cream cheese with it?
Hello Lettie! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe 🙂 yes SMBC does have a more buttery taste than American buttercream, if you feel it is a little too much, sometimes whipping the SMBC for a little longer helps lighten it up and therefore tastes less buttery, or you can increase the sugar in the initial egg white mixture. In terms of the buttercream not curdling, that is totally fine and just means that your butter and egg white mixture were at the perfect temperature! One thing to note though is if the butter is too soft, you won’t be able to whip enough air into the SMBC and it may be a bit more dense, but it seems as though your was still nice and light so sounds like it was fine 🙂 I have made a cream cheese SMBC before but you just have to be careful when incorporating the cream cheese into the SMBC to make sure it doesn’t curdle. I hope to share a recipe soon but what I usually do is make 1 batch of my cream cheese buttercream, and 1 batch of my SMBC and then fold them in together at the end. It makes the most incredible frosting! Hope that helps 🙂
Thanks so much for your response! And mixing the two frostings sounds amazing! What a great idea! I’ll definitely try it.