Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Name: Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Yield: Makes • about 3 cups [720 g]
Ingredients: A few drops lemon juice; 1¼ cups [250 g] granulated sugar; ⅔ cup [150 g] egg whites (from 4 or 5 large eggs), at room temperature; ⅔ cup [150 g] egg whites (from 4 or 5 large eggs), at room temperature; ¼ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar; 2 cups [4 sticks or 455 g] unsalted butter, at room temperature; 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation info

Makes • about
3
cups

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

100 Afternoon Sweets

By Sarah Kieffer

Published 2024

About

This is a basic vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream—with variations—that can be doubled for layer cakes.

Ingredients

A few drops lemon juice
1¼ cups [250 g] granulated sugar

Dessert
Cake
Vegetarian

Method

1) In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring 1 in [2.5 cm] of water to a gentle boil.

2) Pour the lemon juice into the bowl of a stand mixer and use a paper towel to wipe the juice around the inside of the bowl (this helps remove any trace of grease, which can hinder the whites from whipping properly). Add the granulated sugar, egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar and stir gently wi