Italian Meringue Buttercream

Italian Meringue Buttercream is a wonderful, silky-smooth frosting with a sophisticated flavor profile that is buttery and not too sweet.

After I discovered Italian Meringue Buttercream for the first time, I vowed never to use American Buttercream again. Meringue buttercreams are on a whole other playing field with their superior flavor and texture. This Italian Buttercream takes on colors and flavorings very easily so it is super versatile. I use it in a lot of my desserts, like my Pistachio Cake, or my Strawberry Cupcakes.

The process varies slightly between different kinds of meringue buttercream, such as Swiss Meringue Buttercream and French Buttercream. Don't be intimidated by the process of this Italian meringue buttercream recipe - it's actually very simple to make once you know what you are doing, and once you've tried it once you will never go back!

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love This Recipe
• Ingredients and Substitutions
• Instructions
• Troubleshooting
• Adding Flavor to Italian Meringue Buttercream
• Equipment
• Storage
• FAQ
• Pairing
• More Frosting Recipes
• Recipe

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Egg Whites - It's best to use freshly cracked egg whites, rather than the carton egg whites as the fresh eggs will whip up better. The carton eggs will do in a pinch though. You can save the egg yolks for another recipe, like my Custard Cake.
  
• Sugar - You want regular white sugar for this, superfine is even better.
  
• Cream of Tartar - This will add stability to the meringue. If you can't find it you an substitute for an equal amount of lemon juice.
  
• Butter - Definitely use unsalted butter for this buttercream as the butter flavor really comes through in the frosting.
  
• Vanilla - To add a delicious base flavor to your buttercream, use pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. You could also swap this for other extracts or flavorings to taste.

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

1. Whip the room-temperature egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer on high speed.
2. Once the egg whites start to froth, take the ⅓ cup (66g) sugar and start gradually adding it to the egg whites, 1 tablespoon at a time, whipping for at least 30 seconds in between each addition.
3. Meanwhile, add the 1 cup (200g) sugar to a small saucepan with the water and put it over medium heat until it starts to boil. If you have a candy thermometer, use it to track the temperature. Do not stir it at all as the sugar dissolves.
4. Once the sugar syrup reaches 240°F, (115°C) it's ready (see notes if you don't have a candy thermometer). By this point, the meringue in your mixing bowl should be at the soft peaks stage.
5. Remove the sugar syrup from the heat and immediately pour into the mixer in a slow, steady stream. Try to avoid hitting the side of the bowl or the whisk as you pour. Also, it's best to turn the mixer down to low speed as you add the syrup - this will keep it moving without splashing the syrup around the bowl.
6. Once the sugar syrup is all into the meringue, the bowl should feel hot to the touch. Continue whipping on high until the bowl feels cool
7. When the bowl feels completely cool, you can begin adding the butter, one small chunk at a time. The butter must be at room temperature or it won't incorporate properly. Keep whisking the meringue on high speed while adding the butter. Let it mix in completely before adding the next chunk.
8. About halfway through adding the butter, your frosting is going to look awful and you will think it is ruined. Don't panic! This is normal, just keep going.
9. Once all the butter is incorporated, add the vanilla and salt, then whip for another minute.
10. You should now have a wonderful, silky smooth, buttery frosting! See the troubleshooting section above if you have any problems.

Troubleshooting

While this is a simple recipe, there are a few things that can go wrong. With buttercream, the issues are usually related to temperature.

-How to fix runny Italian meringue buttercream - If your buttercream is soupy and liquidy then either your butter was too soft when going in or you didn't wait long enough for the meringue to cool before adding the butter.  

Either way, just put the buttercream in the fridge to set up for 20-30 minutes then try again, whipping on high speed for a few minutes.

How to fix curdled or split Italian meringue buttercream - If your buttercream appears curdled or split then your butter may have been too cold when adding it to the meringue.  The two different temperatures can cause it to split.  

Don't worry you can still save it!  Put your bowl of buttercream over a double boiler (put the bowl on top of a medium saucepan with a small amount of simmering water in it, on low heat) and continue to whisk it by hand until it comes together into a smooth mixture again.  

Remove from the heat and put it in the fridge to chill for about 20 minutes, then put it back into the stand mixer and whip on high speed for a minute or two - it should be a lovely smooth buttercream again.  

Adding Flavor to Italian Meringue Buttercream

It's very easy to add different flavors to Italian Meringue Buttercream. Here are a few ideas:

Pistachio - Add a few tablespoons of pistachio paste to make Pistachio buttercream, like in my Pistachio Cupcakes.

Strawberry - Add some strawberry puree to make Strawberry Buttercream like in my Chocolate Strawberry Cake

Coffee - Add some espresso powder dissolved in a splash of hot water to make coffee Italian meringue buttercream, try layering it onto chocolate cake like my Chocolate Espresso Cake.

Equipment

• Stand Mixer with Whisk Attachment
• Candy Thermometer
• Saucepan

Storage

If you aren't using the buttercream right away, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Before you use it, bring it back down to room temperature on the countertop, then whip it for a minute or so in your mixer to bring back the lovely texture before you spread or pipe it.

You can also freeze Italian meringue buttercream in a Ziploc bag for up to 3 months. When you take it out of the freezer, let it thaw out in the fridge or on the counter, then whip it up for a minute before using.

FAQ

Pairing

Try pairing this Italian Meringue Buttercream with some of these desserts:

More Frosting Recipes

If you love glossy frosting recipes, you might like some of these:

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