Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting Recipe

Many people think that making desserts is one of the easiest things to cook. On the contrary, the accuracy, exact quantity of ingredients, and decorative skills is very important while making any kind of desserts. Whether you are baking a simple cake or trying your hand at elegant and gourmet desserts, concentrating on minute details count a lot. Same can be said about making a Swiss meringue buttercream frosting. While making meringue-based buttercream, apart from the Swiss meringue buttercream version, there are two other versions as well - Italian and French. All three varieties are prepared with specific ingredients which makes each versions unique. In this article, we are going to concentrate on the Swiss meringue buttercream recipe and how it is made with precision so the frosting is finger-licking good every time.

Basic Recipe to Make the Delicious Frosting

Ingredients

• 8 large egg whites
• 1½ cups sugar
• 1¼ cups butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

• First, we need to prepare a double boiler. Heat water in a pot (not boiling, just hot) and place another bowl above it, without its bottom touching the water.
• Mix egg whites with sugar in it and whisk properly. Here, it's important that you keep an eye at the temperature as we don't want to cook the egg whites.
• Place a candy thermometer in the bowl and keep whisking the ingredients till the temperature reaches 140ºF.
• Remove the bowl off the double boiler and pour the liquid into a mixer with whisk attachment. Keep the speed on high and turn it on.
• We need to prepare the frosting which is big in volume and wavy in consistency. This step will also cool down the egg white and sugar mixture for the frosting.
• When the temperature of the mixture has cooled down, start adding the butter in. Make sure the butter is room temperature so that it can turn into cream all the way inside the frosting.
• After a minute of whisking, add vanilla extract as well. Here, you also have the option of adding color to your Swiss meringue.
• For chocolate flavored buttercream, add semi-sweet chocolate which has been melted by the double boiler method. You can also make lemon Swiss meringue buttercream frosting. For that, add pure lemon extract but leave the vanilla extract out of the recipe.
• Let the speed be medium-fast, keep whisking properly, and do a taste test in between. Scrape the sides of the bowl and whisk the mixture thoroughly.
• When the frosting is almost done, it will look velvety and there are no air bubbles inside. The frosting will be smooth and fluffy in consistency.
• And voila, your savory frosting is ready. Use a plastic spatula to spread the frosting on cupcakes and cakes. Oh and don't forget to bite into one of them to make sure they taste good.

If you have made excess frosting and aren't going to use it all, don't fret. There's something you can do to save the delicious, smooth, fluffy frosting for later. Take a clean, airtight container and store the frosting in. Keep this container in your freezer and you can use it even after 3 months of storage. Before using it again, just make sure you defrost the frosting (not in the microwave) and whip it properly. It might not have the original fluffy consistency, but there won't be any compromise with its flavor.

I hope that this recipe was simple and properly explained so you can follow it accurately. You can learn to make meringues for other desserts as well. Try different recipes, sharpen your dessert-making skills, and invite family and friends for a wonderfully sweet treat.