Italian Meringue Buttercream Recipe with Video
A few weeks ago I shared how to make Swiss Meringue Buttercream and I got a lot of comments and emails. It seemed like you all enjoyed that recipe and some people asked me to share an Italian Meringue Buttercream Recipe. Well, I heard you and made a little video for you.
I am not sure why we shy away from Swiss and Italian Meringue Buttercream but, my guess is because you have to make a sugar syrup and add it to beaten egg whites while the syrup is hot. Then you have to add butter at the right time. Most of us learned how to make and decorate with a buttercream made from a solid shortening such as with the Wilton recipe. I am here to tell you that the Swiss and Italian Meringue Buttercream frostings taste delicious and they aren’t that hard to make. You just need a little patience, a few pointers.
Supplies for Italian Meringue Buttercream Recipe:
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1 1/2 cups of sugar
1/4 cup of water
6 large egg whites
4 sticks or 16 ounces of unsalted butter at room temperature
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract or your favorite flavor
Begin by mixing 1 cup of sugar with 1/4 cup of water in a saucepan with the heavy bottom on the stove. Cook over medium high heat until the sugar syrup reaches 245°F on a candy thermometer. It should take about 3-5 minutes depending on your stove.
While the sugar syrup is cooking, beat six egg whites in the bowl of a Kitchen Aid mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk on low until frothy and then turn the mixer on high until they form stiff peaks. Be careful not to over mix your egg whites or they will become dry.
Once your egg whites reach the stiff peak stage, slowly add 1/2 cup of sugar and continue mixing. Your eggs will have a shiny appearance once all the sugar is incorporated. (I forgot to add the sugar when I was making the video. Be my friend and pretend I did.)
Once your egg white and sugar mixture has reached the stiff peak stage and the syrup mixture has reached 245°, slowly begin to pour the syrup mixture into the egg whites with the mixer set on low. If you pour the mixture in too quickly, the sugar syrup mixture will cook the eggs, go slow and add a little at a time. Remember to be careful as the sugar syrup mixture is extremely hot and the whisk attachment can accidentally sling syrup out of the bowl and cause you to get burned.
Once all of the syrup mixture is added into the egg whites, turn the mixer on high and continue to whisk until the bowl has cooled off a bit. The temperature should be around 80º but you don’t have to check it with a candy thermometer. Just feel the bowl until it has cooled off enough not to melt the butter. If you add the butter while the egg whites and syrup mixtures is hot, it will melt the butter and make a giant mess.
Once the bowl is cool to the touch it’s safe to add the butter. Cut the butter into chunks and add them one at a time with the mixer on medium. Continue to do this until all the butter has been added. Turn the mixer on high and whisk until there are no butter lumps in the frosting. Add 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract or 2 teaspoons of pure almond extract. You can add any flavor you like.
If you want to tint your frosting, use a food gel such as Wilton or AmeriColor so it won’t make your frosting runny.
Italian Meringue Buttercream Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups of sugar
- 1/4 cup of water
- 6 large egg whites
- 4 sticks or 16 ounces of unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract or your favorite flavor
Instructions
- Begin by mixing 1 cup of sugar with 1/4 cup of water in a saucepan with the heavy bottom on the stove. Cook over medium high heat until the sugar syrup reaches 245°F on a candy thermometer. It should take about 3-5 minutes depending on your stove.
- While the sugar syrup is cooking, beat six egg whites in the bowl of a Kitchen Aid mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk on low until frothy and then turn the mixer on high until they form stiff peaks. Be careful not to over mix your egg whites or they will become dry.
- Once your egg whites reach the stiff peak stage, slowly add 1/2 cup of sugar and continue mixing. Your eggs will have a shiny appearance once all the sugar is incorporated.
- Once your egg white and sugar mixture has reached the stiff peak stage and the syrup mixture has reached 245°, slowly begin to pour the syrup mixture into the egg whites with the mixer set on low. If you pour the mixture in too quickly, the sugar syrup mixture will cook the eggs, go slow and add a little at a time.
- Once all of the syrup mixture is added into the egg whites, turn the mixer on high and continue to whisk until the bowl has cooled to about 80 degrees. It won’t be cold, it will just be cooler.
- Once the bowl is cooled it's safe to add the butter. Cut the room temperature butter into chunks and add them one at a time with the mixer on medium. Continue to do this until all the butter has been added. Turn the mixer on high and whisk until there are no butter lumps in the frosting. Add 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract or 2 teaspoons of pure almond extract. You can add any flavor you like.
- If you want to tint your frosting, use a food gel such as Wilton or AmeriColor so it won't make your frosting runny.
Troubleshooting problems that can occur when making Italian Meringue Buttercream:
- Make sure the bowl and whisk of your KitchenAid mixer are very clean. If there’s any oil residue your icing will not turn out correctly. One tip that I have learned over the years is to wipe out your KitchenAid mixer bowl with a paper towel and vodka. The vodka will evaporate and will remove any oil residue to ensure your icing turns out perfectly.
- When separating your eggs make sure there is no yolk in the egg whites. Even a small amount of egg yolk in the egg whites will not allow them to whip up.
- Make sure the candy thermometer is not touching the bottom of the pot while you are cooking the sugar syrup. This will give you a false reading on the temperature.
- People worry about getting salmonella from eating raw eggs. Once the sugar syrup is added, you want to feel the outside of the bowl with your hands to make sure the heat is being distributed throughout the egg whites. We want to cook them with the sugar syrup mixture to get rid of any foodborne illness such as salmonella that can live in the eggs. Since most of the fat of the egg is contained in the yolk, you don’t have as much threat of foodborne illness when using just egg whites. Since we are adding a hot sugar syrup that is 245°, it will cook the egg whites and kill any bacteria.
- When you first add butter to the egg whites the mixture will deflate some and that’s okay. Keep mixing.
- The next thing that might freak you out when making an Italian Meringue Buttercream is that the mixture will look very separated-almost like bad milk once you add the butter. It is okay. Keep mixing.
Another problem that can occur when making Italian Meringue Buttercream is if the butter is too soft it will not work in your frosting. The butter shouldn’t look melted on the sides, but you can indent it with your finger. I strongly suggest sitting the butter on the counter for 30-60 minutes. If you want to speed things up a bit, here are some great tips from Better Homes and Garden on how to soften butter.
Storing Italian Buttercream:
Storing Italian Meringue Buttercream in the refrigerator: It will keep for about a week. I prefer to use it within three days just to make sure. Any longer than a week and it could grow mold. YUCK!
Storing Italian Meringue Buttercream in the freezer: It freezes well. To thaw it out, place it in the freezer overnight and then sit it on the counter to bring it to room temperature. Don’t thaw it in a microwave. I think it would end in disaster by destroying my beautiful frosting. I’d cry!
Italian Meringue Buttercream Video:
Enjoy the video!
I hope you can see that making Italian Meringue Buttercream is not really difficult. You just need to make sure your mixing bowl and whisk are clean. It’s also important that your butter is the right temperature and have a little patience. I’ve tried to list everything I can think of to troubleshoot problems that may occur. Let me know if you have any questions. I hope you enjoy this recipe for many years to come.
More Frosting Recipes:
American Buttercream Frosting
Coconut Buttercream Frosting
Crusting Buttercream Frosting
Swiss Meringue Frosting
Bear hugs,
I have used Italian buttercream for several years now, it is the only icing I use! I first tried it using a recipe from “The Whimsical bake house” cookbook by Kaye and Liv Hansen. With their recipe you just time the sugar/water instead of using a thermometer (7 minutes after the mixture comes to a boil). Then I saw Gale Gant (I think that’s her name), a pastry chef, on tv one day making the icing, only she didn’t wait for the icing to cool down before she started adding the butter. That changed the way I added the butter from then on! I add it straight from the refridgerator (cut up of course) and by the time you are at the last stick, the icing is starting to set up. I also started working with chocolate decorations from their book also. Absolutely loved it…..until one day I saw your website! OMGosh!!! I fell in love with cookies!!!!!! I don’t do cakes anymore, I get my “high” from cookies. You have been an inspiration to me and I am so grateful for your posts. I have learned so much from you! Thank you and I look forward to everyone of your posts!!!
WOW Kathy,
You sure know how to make a girl feel good! Thank you for your kind words. 🙂
in Kathy Price’s comment it is Gale Gand, I know her from the time I spent in Chicago, Gale is so interesting and a great american pastry chef.
But this is what I wanted to share, I found this method about the time I was working at the French Pastry School in Chicago, It was about the only thing I was able to teach the brilliant Jacquy Pfeiffer, He gave me so many “million dollar tips” this was my “million dollar tip”.
When the sugar reaches 245 you can blow bubbles with it! I have used a metal spoon, a whisk and a pizza cutter to blow bubbles with the sugar when it reaches 245. It’s the hole where you hang up the utensil (metal of course). You just dip the end with the hole in the molten sugar, and blow through the hole, it won’t do anything until it reaches that magic number 245 and then viola! a big bubble, like a kids soap bubble!!! I never use a thermometer any more…. I love to show this trick to people, it’s a little bit of kitchen magic!
Amazing!!
🙂
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and creativity – can you believe I haven’t tried Italian Meringue Buttercream? I must give it a try!
You really need to try it Kim. It is so good!
These are really helpful posts!!! I just have a big doubt now, which is the difference between Italian and Swiss Meringue buttercreams? Thank you again!!!
I know what I need to put on my shopping list… a candy thermometer!
Hi Lisa I will be baking this week staring with your sugar cookie recipe they look so good, wish me luck
Hi Laverne,
I hope the cookies turned out! Let me know if you need anything. I’m here to help!