Recipe
Italian Meringue Buttercream
The most silky smooth, buttery frosting ever!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 160 g Egg Whites (approx 4 large egg whites)
- ½ teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- 1 ⅓ cups White Sugar (caster sugar in the UK)
- ⅓ cup Water
- 3 sticks Unsalted Butter
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Whip the egg whites and cream of tartar in a stand mixer on high speed
- Measure out ⅓ cup of sugar. Once the egg whites start to froth, start gradually adding the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, whipping for at least 30 seconds in between each addition
- Meanwhile, heat the remaining sugar and the water in a small saucepan over a medium heat. If you have a candy thermometer, use it to track the temperature. Do not stir the sugar, just let it dissolve
- Once the sugar syrup reaches 240°F, it's ready (see notes above if you don't have a candy thermometer). By this point, the meringue in your mixer should be at a soft peak stage. Remove the sugar syrup from the heat and immediately pour into the mixer as it continues to whip. Make sure you pour in a slow, steady stream
- Once the sugar syrup is all into the meringue, the bowl should feel hot to touch. Continue whipping on high until the bowl feels cool
- When the bowl feels completely cool, you can begin adding the butter. The butter must be at room temperature or it won't incorporate properly. Keep whisking the meringue on high speed while adding the butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Let it mix in completely before adding in the next tablespoon of butter
- About halfway through the block of butter, your frosting is going to look awful and you will think it is ruined. Don't panic! This is normal, just keep going
- Once all the butter is incorporated, add the vanilla and whip for another minute
- You should now have a wonderful, silky smooth, buttery frosting! Use to decorate your cake/cupcakes right away. If you are making ahead of time, make sure you whip it up again for a few minutes right before using
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Sophia
This frosting looks delicious!
I want make it for my girl’s b-day. ow long in advance I can make this frosting, can it be stored and can food coloring be added?
I know theres a lot of questions at once, but I hope you can help me.
I can’t wait to make it!!
Thank you.
Cori
Hi Jules! I love your site! I've tried this Italian buttercream a few times. Each time (*eye roll*) I've dumped all the sugar in the pot, only to realize later on that you save a third for the meringue. For forgetful people like me, could you add 'separated' to sugar in the ingredient list?
Jules Grasekamp
Hi Cori,
Thank you for the kind words and for trying my recipes. This is really great feedback, I'll put this on my to do list for this week and get it updated.
This post is actually due to have a massive overhaul anyway so I'll be adding much more information to it soon. Thank you for pointing this out!
Jules
Jessica
If I use this frosting on my cupcakes should I put cupcakes in fridge so frosting doesn’t melt or should it be good room temperature?