EASY Faux Swiss Meringue Buttercream | Hand Mixer Friendly

This is Swiss Meringue Buttercream, but made the EASY way! It’s kind of the cheaters way to do it, that’s what makes it FAUX, however it doesn’t compromise on the gorgeous creamy, buttery flavour of traditional Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

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I love Swiss Meringue Buttercream or otherwise known as ‘SMBC’ to the dedicated lovers of this creamy delight. I am one of those people, this buttercream is my absolute FAVOURITE!

It is less sweet than American Buttercream, a dream to work with, doesn’t crust and I also think classic SMBC with vanilla, taste just like Vanilla Ice Cream! It’s pretty much perfect!

“So what makes this Faux Swiss Meringue Buttercream easier, rather than making traditional Swiss Meringue Buttercream?”

It can be a huge pain to make traditional Swiss Meringue Buttercream, a lot of trial and error! Trust me, I know, I’ve been there! That is until now! Great I have your attention!

Welcome to your new favourite recipe EASY Faux Swiss Meringue Buttercream!

Normally to make traditional Swiss Meringue Buttercream you need a stand mixer, the process of heating the egg whites to 71C (160F) to pasteurise them along with dissolving the sugar. Well, with Faux Swiss Meringue Buttercream none of those steps are necessary, and you can still keep the silky smooth, super creamy, delicious taste characteristics of traditional Swiss Meringue Buttercream. You REALLY NEED to try this recipe!

Firstly, I have to give credit where it is due: This buttercream is based on the recipe by the fantastic cake decorator Lauren Kitchens, check out her website, she is seriously talented! I have had a play around with the recipe quantities, tweaked it in a few places and ended up with the cheaters version of SMBC.

So What’s In This Creamy Dreamy Buttercream?

Pasteurised Liquid Egg Whites & Icing Sugar

This is the big difference!

Normally classic Swiss Meringue, uses raw egg whites and granulated sugar. Since raw egg whites are not pasteurised, the egg whites and sugar needs to be heated over a Bain Marie, until all the sugar has dissolved and it reaches 71C (160F).

By using pasteurised liquid egg whites and icing sugar, you can bypass the heating stage, since the eggs are already pasteurised and you don’t need to dissolve the sugar.

There is also another big bonus, if that didn’t sound good enough already! If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use a hand mixer to make this glorious buttercream! It’s a win, win situation!

Butter

You can use either salted or unsalted butter. If using unsalted butter you may want to leave out the extra salt in this recipe. My preference is always unsalted butter, by using unsalted butter, you can control how much salt is added.

Soft butter cut into cubes is required - The key here is to have the butter still cold, but it will take the imprint of your finger when gently pressed, that’s when you know the butter is ready. Those who want to use a thermometer, the temperature of the butter should be around 22C (72F).

Salt and vanilla

The salt and the vanilla adds flavour to the buttercream. Remember if you are using salted butter, then skip the addition of salt in this recipe.

Try to use the best vanilla flavouring you can. Vanilla extract has a much nicer flavour profile than vanilla essence. Some vanilla essences also unfortunately have a bitter taste, so be careful how much you use in your buttercream (or other recipes).

Once everything is mixed, your buttercream is complete. See EASY right! Your Faux Swiss Meringue Buttercream is ready to be used in whatever way you please!

How To Make Faux Swiss Meringue Buttercream

I always like to recommend before beginning the process of making meringue, to wipe your bowl, whisk or beaters with vinegar, this helps to ensure there is no fat residue present, that will hinder you from whipping up a lovely, light and fluffy meringue. So this is an important step.

1. Pour the pasteurised liquid egg whites into a clean grease free bowl, add the icing sugar. So you don’t have a great cloud of icing sugar, when you start mixing, use the whisks of your hand mixer, gently stir the icing sugar into the egg whites, before starting the hand mixer.

2. How quick the pasteurised egg whites and icing sugar will get to the meringue stage, will depend greatly on the speed of your hand mixer. However, I do advise that you whisk for at least 10 minutes, until the mixture is thick, white and fluffy. Make sure you reach meringue stage before adding the butter.

3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl before gradually adding the cubes of soft butter. Mix the butter in well after each addition, before adding the next amount of butter.

   DO NOT be tempted to add the butter all at once. It will result in a soupy mess. It can be saved, however by taking your time to patiently add the butter, will avoid the frustrating step of trying to save it.

4. About half way through adding the butter, you can proceed to add the salt (if you are using unsalted butter) and the vanilla extract. Mix them in thoroughly.

5. Continue to gradually add in the remaining butter. Beat for up to 10 minutes, as you whisk, the buttercream, will become thicker, creamier and fluffier in consistency ready to fill, cover a cake or use for piping.

How To Obtain White Buttercream

With butter being yellow, it will naturally have a yellow tinge to it. So, I have added this extra step, since there have been times when I have needed a whiter or the base of the buttercream to be lighter in colour before adding any gel colours. Just think of the times when you’ve added blue gel colour to buttercream only to obtain a shade of green (Blue + Yellow = Green! It’s a no brainer!)

These 2 steps solves that problem and helps you to achieve it in a simple process.

1. Use a very small amount of purple colour paste (gel colour), to mix into the buttercream. This may seem like a strange colour to use, but the purple offsets against the yellow and brightens the colour. Mix it through the buttercream, before proceeding to the next step

   Note: You only need a teeny tiny amount of purple.

2. Next add a few drops of white colour paste and mix through, until you reach your desired colour.

It’s that simple and now you have a whiter, brighter shade of buttercream!

Before and after adding small quantity of purple and white colour paste to lighten the buttercream.

Storage For Faux Meringue Buttercream

If you are in a cooler climate, then this buttercream can be keep at room temp for about 2 days. In warmer/hotter climates then I highly advise you store it in the fridge.

In an airtight container it can be kept in the fridge for up to one week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

From the freezer allow the buttercream to thaw out to room temperature and re-whip to bring it back to that lovely creamy consistency.

What Can You Do With This Buttercream?

This buttercream is great for filling and covering cakes, it also pipes beautifully. Piped swirls looks great with colourful sprinkles added on top.

You can make chocolate buttercream by simply adding cocoa powder or for a richer, chocolatey taste, add melted chocolate instead.

This buttercream is great at taking other flavours such as almond, mint, lemon and many others, so feel free to change it up.

Top Tips

• Wipe your bowl, whisk or beaters with vinegar, to get rid of any fat residue that will stop you from whipping up a lovely, light, fluffy meringue.

• Add the cubes of butter gradually, so your buttercream does not go soupy.

• Use good quality vanilla extract, to achieve the best flavour buttercream.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you make it, please remember to tag me - #arisecakecreations - @arisecakecreations on Instagram or Facebook, so I can see how you use this dreamy, creamy delicious buttercream.

Yield: 3 - 4 cups

Author: Sarah G. Brown

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Easy Faux Swiss Meringue Buttercream

This is Swiss Meringue Buttercream, but done the EASY way! It’s kind of the cheaters way to do it, that’s what makes it FAUX, however it doesn’t compromise on the gorgeous creamy, buttery flavour of traditional Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 20 Min

Ingredients

This is enough to fill and cover a small 6inch cake

• 85 ml (1/3 cup + 1 tsp) Pasteurised Liquid Egg White
• 350g (3 cups) Icing sugar (powdered sugar)
• 350g (1.55 cups) Unsalted butter cut into cubes (room temperature)
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp Vanilla extract*
• *Other flavourings can be used instead of vanilla such as i.e. lemon extract, strawberry, mint flavour etc. Optional for making buttercream lighter or brighter - Small amount of Purple & white gel colour paste

Instructions

How To Make Faux Swiss Meringue Buttercream

1. Pour the pasteurised liquid egg whites into a clean grease free bowl, add the icing sugar. So you don’t have a great cloud of icing sugar, when you start mixing, use the whisks of your hand mixer, gently stir the icing sugar into the egg whites, before starting the hand mixer.
2. How quick the pasteurised egg whites and icing sugar will get to the meringue stage, will depend greatly on the speed of your hand mixer. However, I do advise that you whisk for at least 10 minutes, until the mixture is thick, white and fluffy. Make sure you reach meringue stage before adding the butter.
3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl before gradually adding the cubes of soft butter. Mix the butter in well after each addition, before adding the next amount of butter.
4. DO NOT be tempted to add the butter all at once. It will result in a soupy mess. It can be saved, however by taking your time to patiently add the butter, will avoid the frustrating step of trying to save it.
5. About half way through adding the butter, you can proceed to add the salt (if you are using unsalted butter) and the vanilla extract. Mix them in thoroughly.
6. Continue to gradually add in the remaining butter. Beat for up to 10 minutes, as you whisk, the buttercream, will become thicker, creamier and fluffier in consistency ready to fill, cover a cake or use for piping.

How To Obtain Whiter | Brighter Buttercream

1. If you want your buttercream to be whiter / brighter, follow these 2 simple steps:
2. Use a very small amount purple colour paste (gel colour), to mix into the buttercream. This may seem like a strange colour to use, but the purple offsets against the white and brightens the colour. Mix it through the buttercream, before proceeding to the next step.
3. Note: You only need a teeny tiny amount of purple.
4. Then add a few drops of white colour paste and mix through, until you reach your desired colour. It’s that simple and now you have a whiter, brighter shade of buttercream!

Notes

Top Tips

• Wipe your bowl, whisk or beaters with vinegar, to get rid of any fat residue that will stop you from whipping up a lovely, light, fluffy meringue.
• Add the cubes of butter gradually, so your buttercream does not go soupy.
• Use good quality vanilla extract, to achieve the best flavour buttercream.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

1473.46

Fat (grams)

101.13

Sat. Fat (grams)

61.05

Carbs (grams)

139.69

Fiber (grams)

0.67

Net carbs

139.02

Sugar (grams)

132.94

Protein (grams)

5.10

Sodium (milligrams)

319.67

Cholesterol (grams)

273.85

Total serving

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