Buttercream Dreams

When I first started making cakes, I knew nothing about buttercream/frosting/icing and just how many different types there are. My first batches of cupcakes were frosted with *cringes* those cans from the grocery store of Pilsbury and Betty Crocker frosting. I hate to admit that I loved it then, but I won't even let that stuff touch my lips anymore. Then for a little while I was making American Buttercream (powdered sugar + butter), it was simple and typically found on pastries at bakeries in my area, so very relatable. My problem with American BC was that it wasn't easy to frost cakes with and I often found it to be sickeningly sweet due to how much powdered sugar is needed to make it stiffen. Now the only type of frosting I make and use on a regular basis is Swiss Meringue Buttercream (often referred to as SMBC). It's just as light and fluffy as those chemical filled cans with a million times more flavor, but not too much sweetness, and probably a million less carcinogens. And it is SO simple to make with only 3 ingredients that are usually on hand in my house--sugar, egg whites, and unsalted butter! 

My first experience with meringue buttercreams was a couple of years ago when I tried another baker's cake in a competition I had entered in. I was completely amazed by the deliciously light flavor and texture paired with the cake. When I asked what kind of frosting they used, the baker responded with "Italian Meringue Buttercream". I immediately went home and researched what this mythical substance was made of and how I could recreate it for myself. Upon doing some digging and research I found that there were actually a few methods for making the meringue besides the "Italian" method. The Italian method involves heating a sugar syrup and then whisking it into the egg whites while it is boiling hot. Not being a huge fan of working with hot sugar (a handful of small burns was enough for me at this point), I found that the Swiss method of meringue seemed much safer while still achieving the look and texture I was going for!

Italian meringue method -- heating a sugar syrup.

The Swiss method for meringue involves heating the sugar and egg whites together in a double boiler until all of the sugar melts and forms a nice thick syrup with the egg whites. Heating the egg whites also ensures that they are pasteurized and that any bacteria has been removed. After the sugar-egg white syrup has been made, it gets removed from the double boiler and whipped (hopefully in a stand mixer, GO YOU if you've got the arm strength to do it manually) until you reach nice stiff glossy peaks. 

Stiff, glossy Swiss meringue

As the meringue is being whipped you'll want to chop up the sticks of unsalted butter into "bite-sized" or about 1 tbsp sized chunks. One of the first recipes I read suggested that they be "bite-sized" pieces and I nearly hurled imagining biting into a stick of butter, but it's actually a very accurate size description. You can chop them up and pile them into a bowl and stick that bowl back into the fridge if the meringue isn't stiff enough yet. Basically you want the meringue and the butter to both be as chilled as possible when you go to combine them. The meringue will cool down as it gets whipped and should be around room temp but the time you've reached stiff peaks. If the meringue is still warm enough that you fear it will melt the butter, let it sit to cool for a little longer before you start to incorporate the chunks. You can check the temp by placing your palm on the bottom of the mixer bowl. 

Your buttercream will look like this when you first add the butter to the meringue. Don't worry, it's normal!

This is the part where everything can get really scary. If the meringue or the butter are too warm when you start to combine them you will end up with a soupy curdled-looking mess. BUUTTTT even if you get this mess, the buttercream can still be saved!! My first attempt did not go so well because I did not realize that this step could be part of the process and not just an utter failure on my part. I ended up dumping out my first batch of SMBC because it looked absolutely disgusting and I had it going on my stand mixer for WAAAY longer than any recipe talked about. If only I had researched more and seen that all I needed to do was chill it and whip it for a bit longer. My two rules of SMBC are now; make sure it's completely chilled, and JUST KEEP MIXING. Seriously, I don't think it's possible overmix the buttercream once you've combined the meringue and the butter so if it's looking soupy, CHILL and JUST KEEP MIXING!

The end product should be a delightfully creamy and rich yet still light and fluffy buttercream. It is absolutely AMAZING for piping and decorating cakes with. It holds up in warm temps longer than any buttercream I've ever seen and it stiffens up PERFECTLY when refrigerated, no crust or crispy bits involved! It's also very easy to flavor and holds gel food coloring wonderfully, two problems that I've often encountered with an American Buttercream. Following is the full list of steps with ingredients needed to make enough buttercream to generously frost a 3-4 layer 9" cake. I can't really say that this is "my recipe" but more-so my preferred ratio for making the SMBC. You can experiment with more/less meringue or butter to find what works for you, but for me I like the BC to be VERY light and fluffy so that's what you should get if you follow this recipe!

SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
Ingredients

• 10 large egg whites
• 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 lbs unsalted butter

Materials

• Medium-sized sauce pan
• Stand mixer with whisk and paddle attachments (I recommend this paddle)
• Small glass, ceramic, or metal mixing bowl
• Paper towel soaked with a splash of lemon juice or white vinegar
• Whisk
• Candy thermometer
• Cutting board
• Knife
• Medium-sized mixing bowl
• Rubber scraper

 

1. Fill a medium sized sauce pan a little under 1/3 of the way with water and place on stovetop at Med/High temp. You are creating a double boiler with this pan so you want to make sure that the water doesn't touch the bottom of the mixing bowl that you will be placing on top of the pan. It's okay if the water splashes up a bit but the bottom of the mixing bowl should never be submerged. 
2. Take the paper towel and wipe down the entire inside of your small mixing bowl, the stand mixer's bowl, whisk, and whisk attachment. This will remove any fat that may have been lingering that could cause your meringue to not fluff up properly.
3. Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Crack/separate the eggs individually over the smaller mixing bowl and then dump them one by one into the stand mixer's bowl. This will help ensure that no yolk or egg shell gets mixed in with the whites.
4. Once all egg whites are separated into the stand mixer's bowl, whisk in the granulated sugar until fully combined.
5. Place stand mixer bowl on top of pan with boiling water to create double boiler. Continue whisking THE ENTIRE TIME that the egg mixture is being heated. This will ensure that none of the egg sticks to the bowl and gets cooked as the sugar melts.
6. Use a candy thermometer to check the temperature of the egg white mixture. Once it gets up to 160° F any bacteria that was in the eggs will have been cooked off. If the sugar is completely melted at this temperature, remove the bowl from the sauce pan and attach it to your stand mixer with the whisk attachment. The sugar may need another minute or two to melt, if that is the case, continue whisking over heat until the syrup is no longer grainy. You can test this by taking a pinch of the syrup and rubbing it between your fingers, try not to do this too many times though, as the natural oils on your fingers can ruin the meringue.
7. ​Once your egg white syrup is nice and smooth and you've got the bowl and whisk attachment on your mixer, start whipping at med/high speed until you reach stiff peaks. The meringue will be glossy and start to pull away from the sides of the bowl when you've achieved optimum texture. When you pull the whisk out of the bowl you should be able to hold it upside down with a glob of meringue on top of it and have the meringue not move/melt off at all (see photo above for reference).
8. As the meringue is whipping, get your sticks of butter out of the fridge and start chopping them up into approximately tbsp sized chunks. Place the chunks into the medium sized mixing bowl and place bowl back in the fridge if the meringue hasn't finished.
9. Once the meringue has reached stiff peaks (and has cooled completely) you can turn the mixer down to the lowest or 2nd lowest setting and start tossing the chunks of butter into the mix. Wait until each piece is covered with meringue before tossing another in.
10. Once all of the butter chunks have been incorporated into the meringue you can turn the mixer off and remove the whisk attachment. Attach the paddle in it's place and turn the mixer back up to med/high speed. If you do not have a paddle attachment with the rubber scrapers on the edges I HIGHLY recommend purchasing one. Your SMBC will end up much smoother and fluffier (in less time) than the traditional paddle attachment. It's also great for cakes and really anything that requires the paddle. 
11. The buttercream will probably look weird and lumpy/soupy and kind of gross for a couple of minutes when you first put the paddle on. This is normal, just let the mixer keep doing it's magic and you'll soon see everything start to bond together and fluff up. If you get to a point where it's coming together but still looks somewhat lumpy, keep on mixing! You really can't over-mix this stuff I promise.
12. At this point you should have perfectly fluffy and creamy SMBC on your hands (well, in your mixer bowl) ready to be flavored. I typically flavor mine with vanilla and almond extracts to start and then go from there. A tsp or two of each is usually enough for a batch this size but feel free to add more or less to taste. You will need to mix the BC for another minute or two every time you add liquid flavoring to get it to combine properly, it should fluff right back up!

If you want to color the SMBC I recommend only using gel food color. The color will be much more vivid as it sets in the buttercream so start at a pastel tone and add color slowly from there.

To make a chocolate SMBC, melt down 1/2 c. to 1 c. your favorite chocolate and mix it in once it has cooled but is still liquid. (I highly recommend using a chocolate that is meant for melting and flows nicely when melted. I found that thicker, cheaper chocolates can harden and leave unwanted hard chunks in your BC.)

PLEASE let me know if you try this recipe and how it goes for you! I'd love to hear any and all feedback and I hope you enjoy this buttercream just as much as I do!

Stay sweet,
​KP