Swiss Meringue Buttercream
What is the best part of every cake? The icing of course! (or should be) But not just any icing; that not too sweet creamy goodness of Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
Where I am from this is the icing (or some variation) that is used in the bakeries that everyone loves and is the house icing at my bakery. When I first started to look for that ever elusive not so sweet icing I found many many different recipes for both Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Italian Buttercream. While the taste is very similar the mix methods are very different and I find that I gravitate Swiss Meringue Buttercream out of habit.
Now, before I get into my recipe let me tell you that many people say that both the Swiss Meringue Buttercream and the Italian Meringue buttercream are difficult or finicky to make. Do not let this discourage you. What I found is that with a little practice, it is just as easy as any other buttercream and well worth it in the end.
Swiss Meringue Recipe
The recipe as written will give you enough to fill and ice a standard 8” double layer round cake. I found that it can easily be doubled in a 5 quart stand mixer.
5 large egg whites (approx ¾ cup egg whites)
1 ¼ cups granular sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 cup powdered sugar
1 lb of unsalted butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
Step 1
Make a double broiler out of a large stainless steel mixing bowl over top of a sauce pan with about an inch of water for steam. Heat the water to bowling.
Step 2
In the large stainless steel mixing bowl, add sugar, salt and egg whites. Put over top of the sauce pan of boiling water and continuously mix. This mixing will ensure that the egg whites heat and properly combine with the sugar and salt but do not cook. Heat mixture to approx. 160°F on a candy thermometer and remove from heat while continuing to whisk.
Step 3
Move heated mixture to the stainless bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk on a high speed until very firm peaks have formed. This part is very very important!! It is the base of the structure for your icing so if the egg whites are not firm enough your icing will not come together properly. You will know that your egg whites are firm enough when you can lift the whisk out and firm peaks are formed and stand on their own without falling back into the mixture. This takes approximately 5 to 10 minutes of whisking on a high speed. Once you have achieved firm peaks Congratulations you have made Meringue!!!!!
*** While it is not mandatory and the same end result can be achieved with a hand mixer, a stand mixer will make the process of making this icing much easier.
Step 4
Once you have achieved firm peaks in your meringue add the powdered sugar. (If you have trouble with your Meringue, get a Meringue Fairy as shown below to help) Add your powdered sugar while your mixer is turned off. Once added start by pulsing your mixer so that you do not end up splashing your sugar out of the bowl. Once it is incorporated mix again on a high speed until the outside of the bowl has cooled to slightly warm to the touch.
*** This is the point at which you will be able to make more or less sweet. Feel free to play with the amount of powdered sugar that you use to adjust the sweetness to your liking.
Step 5
Change the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment. Warm butter so that when you press firmly on the butter it indents slightly under the pressure but is firm and slightly cool to the touch. Cut each stick of butter into 4 parts. Once all of the butter is cut, turn your mixer on low and add all of the butter. Once all of the butter parts are in the mixer, turn the mixer on a high speed and let mix.
With this step your mixture will go through a few different phases before turning into buttercream.
Lumpy Stage In this stage the butter is just starting to incorporate and you are able to see the lumps of butter mixing around in the Meringue…..Keep Mixing….
Liquid Stage In this stage the butter has melted into the meringue and has a smooth liquid texture and looks similar to pudding or whipped cream.
The transition between the liquid stage and buttercream stage is where most people run into a panic.The liquid stage should only last approximately 3 to 5 minutes before it transitions into buttercream. If the liquid stage is not firming up do not panic all is not lost!!Stop mixing and put the entire bowl into the freezer for 5 minutes.After 5 minutes take the bowl out and start mixing again.If it still does not come together return it into the freezer for another 5 minutes and then mix again.
Buttercream Stage You can actually see and hear the mixture turn from a liquid and start to come together into the creamy not too sweet awesomeness of Swiss Meringue Buttercream!!!!
Step 6
Add your flavoring!!! Every flavor starts with vanilla as the base. Start with 2 teaspoons of vanilla and then add more or less to taste!!!
It is at this point that you will add extracts, crushed or pureed fruit, pie fillings or just about anything else that you want to use to flavor your buttercream. The only thing you will want to watch for is to NOT add too much of anything that has a lot of liquid. The Meringue buttercream can handle some liquid but not large amounts so just add slow and you will be fine!!!!
Do not be intimidated by the length of the instructions!!! You will find that I give a lot of detail but this is only to equip you with an arsenal of problem solving on your own. Once you have successfully finished your first batch and taste the creamy goodness of Swiss Meringue Buttercream you will never want to go back to your old standard buttercream!!!
If you run into a problem with the recipe, feel free to ask in the comments below and I will help to clarify anything that you may be having difficulty with or any questions that you may have!!!
