The smoothest, most buttery and delicious frosting you'll ever make.
This luscious buttercream is made with a Swiss meringue technique. Swiss meringues, different than Italian meringues, mixes the sugar and egg whites together over heat, dissolving the sugar, then whipping it into a fluffy meringue. Add softened butter a little at a time and you end with the most dreamy, melt-in-your mouth frosting you can imagine.
Here I've included a double batch recipe. My single batch, here, is just the same but makes about 5 cups instead of ten! You'll need ten cups for my Party Rainbow Cake and other large creations.
📖 Recipe
Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients
- 10 large egg whites
- 2 ½ cups sugar
- 8 sticks (4 cups) unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Whisk together egg whites and sugar in a heatproof mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water until sugar has dissolved, about 5 min. Test by rubbing the mixture between your fingers - you shouldn't feel any sugar crystals.
- Transfer bowl to the mixer with a whisk attachment or use a handheld mixer and beat on high until it cools and stiff peaks form, 10 to 12 min.
- Reduce speed to medium-high and add butter a few tablespoons at a time. (Buttercream may curdle but will become smooth as you continue to beat it.) Add Vanilla
- Use within a few hours or refrigerate for u to a week. Buttercream can be frozen for up to a month. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat on low until smooth.
Notes
Nutrition
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Tara Teaspoon
I’ve been in food publishing for over 25 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television, food brands, & advertising. With two cookbooks under my belt and thousands of my recipes at your fingertips, I hope you'll be inspired to spend more time in the kitchen!
Mary Bench
So beautiful!
Maddie
Wow this recipe turned out amazing! I’ve made a lot of batches of Swiss meringue buttercream before but never a double batch, and I was a little nervous how it would turn out or if it would fit in my stand mixer haha, but this recipe worked great and actually I think it was the silkiest smb I’ve made yet!
Lolo
Hi there, I absolutely love this however I wanted to ask how you get your colours so vibrant?
Tara Teaspoon
Hi!! I believe I mention this in the post, the colors intensify if the colored icing sits overnight. The color almost doubles in intensity. Then simply stir the buttercream to smooth any air bubbles and use! It can sit at room temp. The sugar acts as a preservative for a night. Thanks, Tara
Chloe
Does the double batch fit in a standard kitchen aid stand mixer?
Tara Teaspoon
Hi! I’m pretty sure it fits in a 4.5 qt flip top, but if you have a newer flip top they are now 5 qt so it will fit. I have an old crank top 5quart kitchenaid and it fits! Tara
Chloe
It did fit but just barely. It totally covered the paddle attachment and made me very nervous while adding the last stick of butter.
I used this for a big birthday party where I covered a double layer 1/4 sheet cake and 10 cupcakes. I got so many compliments! Everyone LOVED this frosting! It puts store bought frosting to shame. Thank You 😀
Tara Teaspoon
Awesome! I’m so happy it was a hit.
Kitchenaids are resilient so that’s good! If you want to next time you can half the recipe and make it twice, or if you don’t want to do the math my regular Swiss meringue recipe on the blog is half the double batch.