Italian meringue buttercream frosting
Silky, smooth, light, fluffy and addictive Italian meringue buttercream frosting. This frosting is the best you will ever try.
It took me a while to make this wonderful buttercream and get the right consistency. The first time I made it, it was a complete flop! But I tried and tried until I got a grip of it. As a result I am able to share this fool-proof recipe for this phenomenal buttercream frosting. If you never made it, you should and I can tell you, you will not look back to overly sweet American buttercream.
How to make Italian meringue buttercream frosting
This recipe is a little bit technical, therefore it is important to follow all the steps precisely.
There are two steps to making this recipe. First is making Italian meringue. Second is incorporating butter into meringue.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
- You will be dealing with very hot sugar syrup, so please be careful while making this recipe.
- Use a sugar or a kitchen thermometer as you will need to bring sugar syrup to 118C /235F. If you cook syrup to a lower temperature the meringue will not be stable enough.
- When you combine sugar and water in a pot, stir it and then turn on the heat. From this moment DO NOT stir sugar syrup as it will clump up and you will have to start all over.
- The bowl and whisks have to be completely free of any grease and moisture as egg whites will not whip.
- When you are pouring hot syrup to the meringue, do not pour it on the whisk, pour it on the side of your bowl and pay attention as it will be very hot.
- After adding sugar syrup to your meringue you need to mix on high setting of your mixer until bowl is not warm anymore. It took me about 12 minutes for my meringue to cool.
- Use unsalted butter as it will be easier to control the flavour.
- Use room temperature butter for the best results and add small chunks slowly.
- After you start adding butter you will notice that the meringue will start to deflate and the mixture will split. This is completely normal, do not panic. Keep mixing and adding more butter.
- I used a balloon whisk to make my meringue and when I was adding butter. After adding all the butter I changed balloon to a paddle attachment in order to get this silky smooth buttercream.
- I recommend adding any flavouring and colour at the end.
- If you place buttercream in the fridge and you decide you want to use it, just take it out from the fridge and leave the bowl at room temperature. Next beat the buttercream again. It will split but just keep mixing and it will come together. Follow the same steps if you want to defrost it.
- In order to make buttercream white, you can add a drop of purple or violet food colouring. It will neutralise yellow colour from butter. Add a tiny drop and then increase in order to achieve the desired colour.
Good luck :)
What does Italian meringue buttercream frosting tastes like?
This buttercream tastes heavenly, it is light, smooth and irresistible. It pipes like a dream and is not overly sweet. You can create any flavour you want, for example:
- coffee ,cappuccino just add espresso or cappuccino powder to the mix
- vanilla , like I did, just add a teaspoon of good quality vanilla extract to the mix
- matcha, start small and increase amount in order to control bitterness
- pumpkin spice
- cocoa
- chocolate, just make sure your melted chocolate is cooled completely before adding to the mix
- fruit curd
- the list can go on and on.....
How to use Italian meringue buttercream frosting
As I mention above you can flavour this wonderful buttercream any way you want. It pipes very easily and is perfect for decorating cakes, cupcakes, cookies, macarons, brownies, you name it.
This recipe makes 650g buttercream.
How to store Italian meringue buttercream frosting
You can store it in an air-tight container for up to a week or freeze for up to 3 months.
If you are looking for more recipes for frosting or buttercream, I can recommend you the following:
Coconut and powdered milk frosting
Toasted walnuts buttercream frosting
Goat cheese buttercream frosting
Click this link if you want to see all my frosting recipes
I hope you will make my recipe and if you do, please leave a comment below and let me know your feedback. You can also find me on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Gab and Gettr. Please say hi and do not forget to tag me in if you make my recipe. I love seeing your creations.
Recipe source –my own
Enjoy!
Light like a cloud, buttery and irresistible, the best Italian meringue buttercream frosting ever.
- 200 g sugar (white, granulated)
- 120 ml water
- 4 egg whites (from large eggs, approximately 144-150 g all together)
- 350 g butter (unsalted, room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (or more if necessary)
- 1/8 tsp salt (table, increase salt if you wish)
PLEASE BE CAREFUL AS YOU WILL BE DEALING WITH HOT SUGAR SYRUP
In a medium pot add sugar and water, mix and turn on the heat. From now on do not stir sugar! It will take about 10 - 15 minutes for sugar to reach the required temperature of 118C/244F.
Use a kitchen thermometer or a sugar thermometer to control the temperature. It is important that the syrup reaches 118C/244F as it will stabilize meringue.
While sugar is cooking, place egg whites in a large bowl and start whisking egg whites on a low setting.
When sugar reaches 105C-110C (221F - 230F), start whisking egg whites on high settings as you need to whisk meringue to stiff peaks.
When sugar reaches 118C/244F, turn off the heat and slowly pour sugar on the side of the bowl with meringue. Keep whisking on a medium speed while pouring sugar to the meringue. Once you add all the sugar syrup, increase the whisking speed to high.
Keep whisking meringue until the side of the bowl is cold. If you add butter to warm meringue you will end up with a mess.
When meringue is cold, start adding small chunks of room temperature unsalted butter. While you start adding butter you will notice that meringue will deflate and the mixture will split. Do not panic, just keep adding butter and the buttercream will come together nicely.
After adding all the butter, I recommend changing a balloon whisk to a paddle attachment as it will help to reduce amount of air bubbles and create smooth silky buttercream.
At this stage you can add salt and vanilla extract and beat frosting for another minute. This is when I add any other flavourings as well.
If you want your buttercream white, try adding a tiny drop of a purple or violet food colouring. Increase the amount to achieve the shade you want.
You can store it in an air-tight container for up to a week or freeze for up to 3 months.