Simple Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe

Swiss meringue buttercream is a type of frosting made from a base of Swiss meringue, plus plenty of butter. It's one of several different styles of buttercream frosting used to frost cupcakes and layer cakes, or as a filling for macarons and other desserts.

Swiss meringue, aka meringue cuite, is a type of meringue made by beating egg whites and sugar together in a double boiler (a pan or bowl set above simmering water) until sugar is fully dissolved and the mixture is hot to the touch. It’s then removed from heat and further beaten until doubled in volume. The result is a foam of air bubbles enclosed in egg white and stabilized by sugar.

You can customize Swiss meringue recipes with add-ins in place of or in addition to vanilla extract. For chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream, add melted chocolate. Add lemon curd to the recipe to make lemon Swiss meringue buttercream. Swiss meringue buttercream can also be colored with a tint of gel food coloring.

Different methods of making buttercream yield varying textures and levels of creaminess. Find the best buttercream frosting recipe for your favorite cake recipe or next baking project:

1. 1. French buttercream: French buttercream involves making a sugar syrup, then mixing the hot sugar syrup into beaten egg yolks. Using an electric mixer, slowly add softened butter until the frosting reaches the desired consistency. The egg yolks give this buttercream a rich flavor and yellow color. Traditionally, this type of buttercream fills the layers of dacquoise, a French meringue cake.
2. 2. German buttercream: This style of buttercream starts with making a vanilla custard with whole milk and eggs. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter until it’s light and fluffy. To finish, slowly add the custard to the butter so the milk won’t curdle. German buttercream is a very creamy, rich, dairy-forward buttercream that also makes an excellent base for cream cheese frosting.
3. 3. Italian meringue buttercream: Buttercream frosting is one of the most popular applications of Italian meringue. To make Italian meringue, add hot sugar syrup to beaten egg whites, and turn it into buttercream by simply adding butter. As the most heat-stable of the buttercream frostings, Italian buttercream is ideal for frosting celebration layer cakes, like wedding cakes or birthday cakes that might spend hours at room temperature.
4. 4. Swiss meringue buttercream: Like Italian buttercream, Swiss buttercream starts with making a meringue. To make Swiss meringue, you beat egg whites with sugar over hot water and add the butter bit by bit. Swiss meringue buttercream is relatively quick to make and yields impressive results.
5. 5. American buttercream: The method for making American buttercream, also known as quick buttercream, involves mixing confectioners' sugar (aka powdered sugar or icing sugar) with butter and sometimes milk or heavy cream—no heat, no eggs. Some pastry chefs don't consider this type of frosting buttercream since it is not very creamy.