Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Swiss meringue buttercream is the silky smooth queen of the icings. It is more buttery and less sweet than “normal” or American buttercream, also referred to as butter icing. The smooth texture makes it a perfect choice for piping flowers.
Swiss meringue is more time consuming to make than butter icing and the recipe cannnot be scaled up but the end product is worth the trouble. The icing is quite sensitive to heat to keep it cool while working.
Icing can be stored for a week in the fridge and 3 months in the freezer.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
The perfect silky butter cream to make perfect piped flowers
Equipment
- Electric mixer
- Thermometer (optional)
Ingredients
- 6 egg whites
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 350 g butter cold and cut into 1cm blocks
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Place a pot of water on the stove to heat. This will be used for the bain marie to heat the egg whites. It should reach a gentle simmer. Select a heatproof glass bowl that fits on the pot without touching the water.
- Place the egg whites and sugar in the bowl and mix with a wooden spoon or whisk. Place it over the simmering water and mix all the time (without whipping it up) until all the sugar has dissolved. It should reach 71°C (if you don't have a thermometer, that will be hotter than you can hold in your hands comfortably) Check that all the sugar has dissolved by rubbing a little of the mixture between your fingers. Careful it is hot!
- Switch to the electric mixer and whip until stiff peaks form. I use a hand mixer so I can just mix it directly there over the bain marie, but you can transfer it to a stand mixer. Set aside to cool before adding the butter.
- Once it has cooled to about 20°C or when it feels cool to the touch. Beat in the butter a little at a time (3-4 blocks at a time), until all the butter is added. If it starts to look curdled in the bowl warm your bowl over the pot for a few seconds. If it looks very soft and not keeping its peaks, place the bowl in the fridge before continuing to add the butter.
Notes
Can be stored in the fridge for 1 week or in the freezer for 3 months.