Italian Meringue Buttercream Recipe - Gretchen's Vegan Bakery (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between buttercream and Italian meringue buttercream? ›

Italian meringue buttercream frosting is sweeter than French or Swiss, but not as sweet as American. To prepare it, pour a hot sugar syrup over whipped egg whites and whip until the mixture cools off. Then, add in butter one tablespoon at a time, beating until you have an airy frosting.

If your Italian meringue buttercream is too soupy or runny, there are a few things you can try to fix it: Chill the mixture: Place the bowl of soupy buttercream in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes to cool it down. Then, beat it again using a stand mixer or hand mixer until it becomes smooth and fluffy.

If the buttercream splits and looks curdled, like cottage cheese, it means the mixture didn't emulsify because the temperature of the butter was either too cold or the meringue was still too warm. There's a few different ways to fix this: Remove a few spoonfuls of the buttercream and place it in a heat safe bowl.

As far as margarine goes, as long as you don't use reduced fat margarine, you can sub in margarine one for one in any buttercream recipe.

ITALIAN BUTTERCREAM

Pros – It is soft, smooth and not too sweet. It also gives you those sharp edges on a cake – it is just not as easy to smooth as the Swiss. Cons – It takes a while for the eggs whites/sugar mixture to cool down in the mixer. But you can just leave it running and go do other things.

Swiss meringue buttercream is probably the most standard buttercream for pastry professionals. It is incredibly smooth, making it an extremely popular choice for icing cakes. Compared to American buttercream, it has a much stronger butter flavor, but is considerably less sweet.

To avoid over-whipping, keep your mixer at medium-high speed, rather than going full speed ahead. Once the sugar syrup has been added to an Italian meringue, it will become much more stable, and overbeating will be less of an issue.

When the frosting's temperature drops below 69°F (21°C), its butter content will stiffen, bit by bit, until the frosting breaks into a curdled mess. But between those extremes, when the butter is pliable but cool, the frosting will be silky and light—perfect for spreading over your favorite cake.

Chilling it may help. You can just put the bowl in the fridge for 30 minutes or if you're using a hand blender you can set the bowl in a larger bowl with some ice. You can also try adding more butter a tablespoon at a time once the meringue has cooled. Butter should be cool but malleable, not too soft.

Which is more stable Swiss or Italian meringue buttercream? ›

Choose Italian meringue Buttercream if you:

need the stability to hold up very large layer cakes or intricate designs. This one performed very well in my heat and humidity tests. want a melt-in-your-mouth buttercream that is sweet with a lingering butter flavor.

If the butter looks like is separating and looks greasy- it could be because it's too warm so place the bowl in the fridge for 10-15 minutes then start mixing again. Once you have a smooth buttercream add the vanilla bean paste and mix again until fully incorporated.

There's no reason not to lower the sugar amount, but keep in mind that if you put in less dry ingredient, you may also need to lower the liquid a little bit.

Swiss Meringue buttercream is silky smooth and light. It's perfect if you're looking for a slightly less sweet buttercream. It is, however, more time consuming to make than American buttercream. Italian Meringue buttercream is the least sweet of the three.

Classically there are four main types of buttercream: Italian, German, French & Swiss.

Since Swiss buttercream is so soft, it's better used for frosting cakes rather than piping or decorating. Make sure mixture is cool before adding butter, otherwise your butter will melt.

This frosting is perfect for sweet cakes or cupcakes since the taste of this frosting is buttery not overly sweet like you would find an American Buttercream. The flavor of Italian meringue buttercream is so buttery and creamy.

Italian meringue buttercream is similar to Swiss meringue buttercream (SMBC) except the sugar is cooked 240ºF before being added to the whipping egg whites. The cooked sugar syrup results in a more stable and silky smooth buttercream.