Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream

I’ve had quite a few people ask about a cream cheese version of Swiss Meringue Buttercream, so I’ve finally put together a recipe! Well, to be honest, it’s a bit more of a ratio and method for how to make cream cheese Swiss meringue buttercream. But there is a recipe at the end!

When you mix cream cheese and Swiss meringue buttercream, the resulting frosting is a lot softer than your standard SMBC. The texture is super soft, a bit more like whipped cream. And the flavor is very cream cheese-y, since the SMBC isn’t too sweet to begin with.

PLEASE note: this frosting is not going to be super smooth in appearance. If you look closely at the picture up top, you can see that the frosting has a lot of texture and is not smooth. However, it is smooth in taste/texture (as long as it’s mixed properly). Basically, this recipe sacrifices some of the silky smoothness you get from Swiss meringue buttercream in order to get that cream cheese flavor!

Since the texture is very soft, you can’t pipe with the cream cheese version like you would with a regular SMBC, but I’ve got a fix for that too. I’ll talk about it more under the mixing method section.

The cream cheese to buttercream ratio

I’ve landed on a ratio of .8:1 cream cheese to Swiss meringue buttercream. So that means I’ll add about 80 grams of cream cheese for every 100 grams of SMBC.

This ratio is about the max amount of cream cheese I’ve been able to add without the mixture getting too clumpy or breaking. And it gives you a really good cream cheese flavor! (If you’re not a cream cheese lover, this isn’t for you!)

You can totally, however, lower the amount of cream cheese if you want less cream cheese flavor OR if you want the frosting to be a bit stiffer. Try a ratio like .4:1 or .5:1 if you think you want less. This will still give you a cream cheese flavor but it will be less intense.

The mixing method

The mixing method is really important for making a cream cheese SMBC! You need to beat the cream cheese with your mixer and get it nice and smooth before mixing in the SMBC.

So I think the easiest way to do this is to just make your SMBC first, and then have it ready at room temperature. Meanwhile, let your cream cheese come to room temperature, then beat it with the paddle attachment for a few minutes until it’s super smooth and creamy with no lumps.

Next, with the mixer running, add your SMBC into the cream cheese a large dollop at a time. Make sure to stop periodically to scrape down your bowl, and just mix until everything is evenly incorporated!

Why I mix in this order:

1. For whatever reason it’s easier to combine the cream cheese if you beat it smooth first, rather than adding chunks of cream cheese directly out of the package. If you try to add cream cheese into the SMBC, it just never seems to mix in completely.

And if you’re thinking, maybe you could beat the butter and cream cheese together first? I think you definitely could, but that brings me to the second reason I mix in this order…

2. I often make my buttercream ahead of time, but I’ve found that once it’s mixed with cream cheese it doesn’t reconstitute as well. So I just make the regular SMBC first, reconstitute that, then mix it with the cream cheese.

3. Finally, my favorite part of the whole cake process is decorating, and I really like to do piped decorations. Well, this cream cheese buttercream tastes great, but it’s not very good for detailed piping. 

The solution then is to make a batch of SMBC and reserve a portion that you’re going to use for piped decorations. Then mix the remaining portion with your cream cheese for the main frosting on your cake!

Storing Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream

As I mentioned earlier, I find that cream cheese SMBC doesn’t reconstitute very well. So while the frosting does need to be refrigerated, I don’t make it ahead of time. Instead, I mix in the cream cheese right before I’m ready to frost my cake.

Once it’s on the cake though, the texture keeps pretty well, even after refrigeration. It’s actually pretty good straight out of the fridge (unlike regular buttercream) because the cream cheese keeps it soft!

Piping with Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream

This cream cheese variation of SMBC is so soft, it’s almost like a whipped cream frosting in texture. It is not good for piping any kind of detailed decorations.

You can use it for some really simple piping, but I mean really simple! Nothing more complicated than some basic dots or a rustic texture will hold. It won’t hold a crisp shape, and will probably droop a little.

As I mentioned earlier, you should reserve a portion of plain SMBC for piping any details rather than trying to use the cream cheese version.

What type of cake pairs well with Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream?

I absolutely love this frosting with a chocolate devil’s food cake or chocolate stout cake, but it will work well wherever a traditional cream cheese frosting is called for. The cream cheese flavor is very strong, so it could also be balanced out well with a strong fruit flavor or filling.

Just keep in mind that this frosting is not very sweet. I know a lot of people really want a less sweet frosting, so this is for those people!