Italian Meringue Buttercream

Is Italian Meringue Buttercream the best frosting?

If you could only ever learn to make one type of frosting, Italian Meringue Buttercream should be the one. Ask anyone who’s made it (or eaten it), and they’ll tell you all about how it’s the perfect balance of silky smooth and not too sweet.

Are there other great types of frosting? Of course. Is it a little tricky to learn to make? Yep. But the best things in life don’t come easy. Italian Meringue Buttercream is what I would call the best all-purpose frosting, and that’s why I think you should learn to make it.

It’s the perfect example of why I love baking; you take a few simple ingredients (egg whites, sugar, butter) and with a little technique turn them into something magical. It’s delicious flavored simply with vanilla but can also hold up to all kinds of flavors. Chocolate, coffee, tea, fruit, nut butter – you name it, this buttercream can do it.

Italian Meringue buttercream is also super stable – meaning it’s strong enough to support all kinds of piping techniques and won’t melt as easily in warm conditions.

If you’d like to learn more about mixing and coloring buttercream for piping, check out my post on How to Make Realistic Buttercream Flowers.

Ingredients

Egg whites

I always buy whole eggs and separate them myself. Just be very careful that no trace of yolk gets into the whites, because the presence of yolk (or any fat) will prevent the meringue from whipping up properly.

There are plenty of ways to use up the leftover yolks. Try finding a recipe for creme brulee, ice cream, lemon curd, or yellow cake to use up your yolks. If you’re tired of dessert, try using the yolks up with homemade mayonnaise, classic Caesar salad dressing, or salt cured egg yolks.

I use standard US large eggs, which typically give about 30 grams of white per egg.

Can you use carton egg whites to make meringue? Yes, you can! Just make sure there are no added ingredients in the egg whites.

Sugar

Use granulated or superfine sugar.

Butter

I cringe every time I hear someone say Italian Meringue Buttercream tastes too buttery. It’s called BUTTERcream for a reason! The basic recipe is about 50% eggs and sugar and 50% butter. So taking that ratio into consideration, the quality of your butter is highly important.

I like to use both standard sweet cream butter and high-fat, grass-fed European style butter but for different purposes. If you want the prominent flavor in your frosting to be your flavor additions, then you might want to use a less intense butter. Likewise, if the color of your buttercream is important, using super yellow grass-fed butter will make things more difficult. If, however, you’d like a super indulgent frosting, go for the good stuff.

Tools

To make Italian meringue buttercream you will need a pot, a mixing bowl, a thermometer, and an electric mixer.

Having an instant-read thermometer is important because you will be cooking sugar syrup to an exact temperature.  I love my Thermapen but there are other less expensive thermometers that will work just fine. Avoid using an old fashioned candy thermometer, as they make it difficult to get an accurate temperature reading.

Having an electric stand mixer is also very helpful because making Italian meringue requires pouring hot sugar syrup into your meringue while the mixer is still running. You can still make the Italian meringue with a hand mixer though. You’ll just need to enlist some help to hold the bowl and mixer while you pour the syrup. OR…if you’re very confident and using a heavy bowl on a non-slip surface (like a damp towel), you can pour the syrup with one hand while you run the mixer with the other. I’m going to go ahead and say this should be a last resort, because I don’t want you to have a bowl of scalding hot syrup and meringue slip and spill all over you and your kitchen.

Methods

Italian meringue buttercream has three basic components (whipped egg whites, cooked sugar syrup, and butter) that must come together with the proper technique.

The basic process is to first whip the egg whites while the sugar syrup is cooking. Then, if everything is timed correctly, your sugar syrup should reach its final temperature just as the egg whites are coming to stiff peaks. The syrup is poured into the eggs white, then meringue is cooled, and finally the butter (already at room temperature) is mixed in.

There are a few crucial parts of this process that you’ll want to understand in order for everything to come together smoothly.

Mise en Place

First, its important to have all of your ingredients measured out and tools ready before you start any cooking or whisking. If possible, set your mixer up right next to the stove. Egg whites go into the mixing bowl while sugar and water go into your pot on the stove. Have your thermometer handy.

Whipping Egg Whites and Cooking Syrup

Now the fun REALLY starts! (Note sarcasm). Turn your mixer on medium-low  speed and get the egg whites whipping. Turn your burner on medium-high heat and get the sugar cooking. There is NO NEED to stir the sugar and water mixture. Ok, if you really must, you can stir gently (taking care not to splash any sugar on the sides of the pot) at the very beginning to get the sugar evenly dispersed. However, if you continue to stir the sugar you will end up with a crystallized mess.

Next you reach the somewhat tricky, but mostly boring part of simultaneously watching the progress of your egg whites and your syrup. You are aiming for egg whites at stiff peaks and sugar syrup cooked to 244° F.  Use your thermometer to keep a close eye on the temperature of your sugar syrup. When it gets to about 230° F, crank up the speed on your mixer to high.

Continue to watch the temperature of your sugar syrup closely. The time it takes to reach your desired temperature will depend on how much syrup you are cooking, the size and type of pot you use, and how hot your burner is. The hotter the syrup gets, the faster the temperature tends to increase. You can choose to stop cooking at 238° -240° (soft ball stage) if you like. I prefer to cook to 244° (firm ball stage)  for a more stable buttercream. Keep in mind that there will be a bit of carryover cooking even after you turn off the heat.

Remember next that the timing of reaching stiff peaks and sugar temperature doesn’t have to be exact. What you don’t want is your syrup to overcook because your egg whites haven’t reached stiff peaks yet. Instead, the egg whites can reach stiff peaks a bit early. Once they reach stiff peaks, just go ahead and turn down the mixer speed down to low so that they don’t over-whip.

Alright, so now your egg whites are at stiff peaks and your syrup has reached 244°. If you haven’t already, turn your mixer speed to low. Carefully and slowly drizzle the sugar syrup into the running mixer, aiming for where the meringue meets the side of the bowl. You want to avoid syrup hitting the whisk.

Once all of your syrup is mixed in, continue to mix on low until the bowl is cool to the touch (The meringue should be somewhere around 75° F). This can take upwards of 15-20 minutes, so be patient. If you’re impatient like me, you can hold ice packs on the outside of the bowl or whisk the meringue over an ice bath.

Adding the Butter

Finally, it’s time to mix in the butter! Your butter should also be room temperature, about 75° F. Do not attempt to add the butter before the meringue is cooled! This will create melted butter soup instead of beautiful fluffy, buttercream. Add the butter in about a tablespoon at a time, whisking until the mixture is evenly incorporated. At this point you can add vanilla and salt to taste or any other flavorings you’d like!

Temperature Issues and Fixes

I’d like to emphasize again how important temperatures are in the final stages of mixing buttercream. Most problems with buttercream can be easily remedied by a temperature change.

If your buttercream looks too thin and soupy, it’s probably too warm. Pop the whole bowl in the fridge for a few minutes, then re-whip. Continue chilling and re-whipping until the buttercream is no longer soupy.

If your buttercream looks chunky or curdled, it’s probably too cold. Scoop out a small portion, melt in the microwave for 15-30 seconds, then whip the melted buttercream into the original mixture. Alternatively, you can hold your mixing bowl over steaming water to gently heat the buttercream OR if you’re fancy and have a blowtorch, you can torch the outside of a metal bowl while the mixer is running. Continue gently heating by the method of your choice and whipping until the buttercream becomes smooth and shiny.

Storage

You can use your buttercream immediately, but it also keeps extremely well in the fridge or freezer. I like to make big batches of plain buttercream, then portion them out into 2-3 cup containers for the freezer. This allows me to always have a backup of buttercream to pull out whenever the urge to bake and decorate strikes!

If you do refrigerate or freeze your buttercream, you will need to bring it back to room temperature and re-whip it before using.

Print Recipe

Italian Meringue Buttercream

(170 votes, average: 3.59 out of 5)

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Serves: About 7 Cups

Silky smooth and not too sweet, Italian meringue buttercream is perfect for all of your cake frosting and decorating needs!

Ingredients

• 200 grams egg whites
• 400 grams granulated sugar
• 100 ml water
• 600 grams unsalted butter, room temperature (about 75° F)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1

Place the sugar and water in a medium-sized saucepan (do not stir). Turn the heat on to medium-high. Using a digital thermometer, cook the sugar to 244° F.

2

While the sugar is cooking, whisk the eggs on high in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, until a stiff peak has formed.

3

Once the sugar had reached 244° F and the egg whites have reached stiff peaks, turn the mixer speed down to low and very slowly pour the syrup down the side of the bowl into the egg whites.

4

After the syrup is completely incorporated, continue to mix until the meringue comes to room temperature, approximately 15-20 minutes.

5

Once at room temperature, slowly begin incorporating the soft butter on medium speed. Once all of the butter has been added, add the vanilla and salt.

6

Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. Bring back to room temperature and re-whip before using.