Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Eating Swiss Meringue Buttercream is like eating a cloud... It's light, slightly sweet, and the slightest bit buttery -- not heavy and dense like most other frostings. Even though I've set the difficulty at 2, in the beginning this recipe can feel like a 5. But with just a few key tips, you can master this buttercream! The first thing is to make sure to soften the butter. I usually leave my butter out on the counter overnight. If your butter is not softened, the buttercream will collapse. The other key tip to making buttercream is to make sure you are using all clean utensils, without any soap residue. Leftover detergent residue will prevent the meringue from whipping up nice and fluffy. Other than these two things, follow the recipe below as instructed and you'll be rewarded with a heavenly frosting for your cakes!
TIME
DIFFICULTY
SHARE IT
40 minutes
4 out of 5
RECIPE
1. To a stand mixer bowl, add the egg whites, sugar, and salt.
2. Create a bain-marie set up: Place the mixing bowl over a large pot with 2-3 cups of boiling water. The boiling water should not touch the mixing bowl-- it should only transfer heat to the mixing bowl via steam.
3. Using the whisk attachment of the mixer, constantly stir the egg white mixture until temperature reaches 160ºF or - if you don't have a thermometer - the mixture is hot to touch and sugar is completely dissolved in the egg whites.
Tip: Use your fingers to pinch the mixture and feel for any undissolved sugar crystals. It is important to not to over heat your egg whites (don't want to cook them solid!) and to constantly keep stirring while it is over the steam.
4. Move the mixing bowl over to your stand mixer. Begin whipping at high speed until a meringue is formed (about 5-10 minutes).
Tip: The meringue should be bright white, foamy, and slightly sticky. The meringue is ready when starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and leaves a stiff peak when pulled away from the whisk attachment.
5. Switch the mixing speed to medium.
6. Start adding the softened butter a tablespoon at a time to the meringue.
7. Once all of the butter is added, switch mixing speed to high until the buttercream comes together (about 10-20 minutes).
Tip: After a few tablespoons, the meringue will start to collapse a little. After all of the butter is added, the mixture will look soupy and separated. It will look like a completely ruined buttercream. But this is completely normal! At this point the water content from the butter is separating from the fat. The key is to keep mixing! Keep mixing at high speed until the buttercream comes together. You will notice that the more you mix, the larger the curds will form until eventually it all comes together in one, even, fluffy mixture. If for some reason, after adding the butter, the mixture is not coming together, pop your bowl in the fridge for about 10 minutes and try mixing again.
8. Add vanilla extract and any desired food coloring. Mix for an addition 2 minutes.
FOR CHOCOLATE SMBC:
Melt 18 ounces of high quality dark chocolate either in short bursts in the microwave or over a bain-marie, cool sightly, and fold the chocolate into vanilla swiss meringue buttercream.
INGREDIENTS
6 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
Gel food coloring (optional)