Swiss Meringue Buttercream

What is Swiss Meringue Buttercream? It's the stuff God probably eats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Seriously, it's like eating a sweet cloud. It's fairly easy to make and is great to work with, it stores and keeps very well...so why do most people NOT make this frosting? I think it's because people have this misunderstanding that it's too hard to make. It does take time but really, it's not hard at all. Other than fondant, this frosting is used, almost exclusively, by wedding cake and celebration cake decorators (minus major grocery stores and some others that use cheaper ingredients). This will take your cake from amateur to professional, trust me on this one. 

First of all, there are four different types of buttercream:

American Buttercream: Powdered sugar, butter or shortening, milk, and vanilla.
This is what you find on those grocery store bought cakes. They usually use shortening instead of butter because shortening has a higher melting point and it's much cheaper. This one is the easiest to make but my least favorite. It's usually very sweet and hardens when cooled.

French Buttercream: Egg yolks, cooked sugar (simple syrup), vanilla, and butter.
This is a slightly rich, creamy frosting. French buttercream is delicate in that it melts easily and is very light. This frosting is great, in general, but it does have a yellow tint which makes it hard to add color and with it being a bit delicate, I don't use this frosting at all.

Italian Buttercream: Simple syrup, egg whites, cream of tartar, vanilla, and butter.
This frosting is very much like Swiss Buttercream, the difference being the method. Italian buttercream is made by making the simple sugar and whipping the egg whites separately. You pour the cooked sugar into the whites as they are whisking, then add butter.

Swiss Buttercream: Egg whites, sugar, vanilla, and butter.
This one is the easiest of the traditional butter creams and tastier than the American. Not only is it easier to make but, I think, it tastes better. It comes out pure white so adding colors is very easy.

*No matter which buttercream you make the key to making a tasty frosting is freshness. Make sure your eggs are fresh, and even more importantly, that your butter is super fresh. It's one of those things, with only a few key ingredients, freshness is top priority.

The finished Swiss Buttercream 

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

This recipe makes about 10 cups, enough for a triple layer cake with decoration and then some!

Ingredients: 

10, large egg whites

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 cups good quality unsalted butter cut into cubes and cooled (not too cold, not to warm)

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Directions: 

Whisk egg whites and sugar in a bowl over simmering water (not boiling). I used a double boiler, but just find a bowl that fist over the top of a pan, making sure the bowl does not touch the water at all. Whisk continuously, but gently until the temperature reaches 160 degrees on a candy thermometer. If you do not have a candy thermometor, just make sure that all of the sugar is dissolved by sticking two fingers into the whites and rubbing them together, it should be smooth and make sure the water is very warm, like really warm bath water.

Add the whites to a mixing bowl fitted with a whisk attachment. Make sure you wipe the bottom of the bowl that the egg whites were in to wipe off any condensation before pouring into the mixing bowl. You don't want any of that water to get into the bowl that the egg whites are going in, it could mess up your meringue! Whisk until the meringue is thick and glossy and the bowl is cooled. You do not want to add the butter until the bowl is, at least, room temperature, this can take a while. I, actually, wrapped a cool, wet towel around the bowl to speed this up. I don't know if it worked, but it made me feel better. By the way, you just made meringue. Stop here and slap this on a pie or tart and torch or bake it, bake it into mushrooms for your buche de noel (possibly a future post), eat it, whatever, if you have never made a meringue, well...you just did. Congrats. 

Switch to a paddle attachment and, with the mixer on low, add the butter cubes one at a time until all are incorporated. Now, let the mixer do it's magic! This, again, is a waiting game. It may look like soup or curdled at first, but I promise it will come together. DO NOT throw it out if it looks clumpy, just keep mixing until it comes together and becomes thick and silky smooth. Again, please don't panic, it took a good 10 minutes for mine to come together. Add the vanilla and the salt, keep mixing on low until incorporated. At this time, you can add other flavors, purees, colorings, etc. 

*This stuff keeps well, you can keep it for about a week in the refrigerator, in an airtight container. Just bring it to room temperature and whip it for a few minutes before use. 

You can freeze it too. It'll keep in the freezer for about 6 weeks. Thaw overnight and whip before use. 

160 degrees is the goal temp, don't go over or you'll have scrambled eggs! 

I ran a dish towel under cold water and wrapped it around the bowl to speed cooling.

WooHoo! This is the finished meringue. Still needs butter to be a buttercream, but you can eat the heck out of this stuff too! 

                           

                                       

You can add color very easily to customize your cake.