Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

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Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream, sounds fancy doesn’t it? You don’t need to speak Swiss (fun fact: people from Switzerland don’t speak Swiss) to make it. And even though it sounds fancy, doesn’t mean that it’s that hard. It’s my favorite kind of frosting, and just about the only kind I use on cakes that I make for friends and family.

So what exactly is Swiss Meringue Buttercream (SMB)? And what makes it so special?

SMB starts by making a cooked meringue. You heat egg whites and sugar to 165 degrees, and then whip it into meringue, with stiff peaks. To that meringue, you add room temperature butter and flavoring to make the frosting.

What you end up with is lightly sweet and fluffy like a meringue, that has the flavor, and pipeability of frosting.

So what kind of frostings are there?

• American Buttercream
  • A mixture of butter, powdered sugar, and flavoring mixed until combined.
• Swiss Meringue Buttercream
  • A mixture of eggs and sugar cooked to 165F, whipped to stiff peaks, flavored, and then whipped with butter.
• Italian Meringue Buttercream
  • Egg whites, cream of tartar (and sometimes salt) are whipped to soft peaks, and a sugar syrup heated to 240F is added in, then the mixture is whipped to stiff peaks, flavored, and finally butter is added.
• Ermine Frosting
  • Milk and flour are heated together until pudding like, and cooled. Then it is flavored, and butter and sugar and whipped in.
• Cream Cheese Frosting
  • Butter, cream cheese, flavor and powdered sugar beat until combined.

Many of these frostings are interchangeable, and are a matter of preference. However, some are better than others for piping (Swiss, American, Italian) and some are used for their unique flavor (Ermine, Cream Cheese). But my preference, hands down, is Swiss Meringue.

Swiss meringue isn’t super hard to make, but can be a trouble maker. So if it starts to misbehave you need to know how to fix it.

Troubleshooting:

• Meringue won’t whip up
  • There was likely fat inside the mixing bowl. Make sure it is EXTRA clean, and wipe the interior with lemon juice or vinegar to be on the safe side.
• Buttercream is soupy
  • The meringue was most likely too warm when the butter was added. Put in the fridge in 30 minute bursts, and whip, until it is fluffy and smooth.
• Buttercream is chunky
  • The butter was likely too cold. Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature, and re-whip every thirty minutes, until fluffy and cohesive. A way to speed this up is to blast the bowl of the mixer with a hair dryer on warm, while whipping. But, be very careful, because you don’t want the buttercream to go soupy.

These tips should help you rescue any Swiss Meringue Buttercream catastrophe that you come across. So let’s talk flavor!

Changing up the flavor:

I use one tablespoon of vanilla extract in this recipe, because I like a really strong vanilla flavor to my buttercream. You can keep the buttercream mostly colorless but change the flavor by using various extracts. If the extract you use is brown or another color, the buttercream may take on a slight cast of that color. So be forewarned.

I also advise that you start with a teaspoon full of extract, and add to taste. A tablespoon of vanilla extract makes for a strong vanilla flavor, but a tablespoon of vanilla or peppermint extract may make your buttercream inedible. Remember, you can always add more, but you can’t take it away.

Another way to change flavor is to add spices, try using 1/2 to 1 teaspoons of cinnamon or cardamom. Keep in mind that because the spice is distributed in fat (butter) the flavor will intensify the longer it sits. Use spices carefully.

If you make this vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream, let me know. What did you put it on? (I love to put it on this Gluten Free S’mores Cake.) I’d love to know what you’re up to in your kitchen!