Aquafaba Swiss Buttercream Recipe - Gretchen's Vegan Bakery (2024)

FAQs

What are the disadvantages of Swiss meringue buttercream? ›

It's essential to sieve your icing sugar (aka confectioners sugar) before adding to the softened butter, so do this first. Then you're going to add little by little to the vegan buttercream frosting, beating between additions. This again stops the buttercream from splitting or becoming grainy.

Also more simply known as Swiss Buttercream, this buttercream is popular amongst the professionals. It is more difficult and time-consuming to create than American Buttercream, but it's silky smooth and light texture makes it worth the extra effort.

Ingredients for the Swiss meringue buttercream

Here's the ingredients you are going to need to make this buttercream: Egg whites – you could use fresh egg whites or the ones from a carton.

Maybe the meringue whipped too long, cooling to well below 75°F (24°C). Maybe the butter came straight from the fridge. Maybe your buttercream was even frozen in advance, but didn't fully thaw. Doesn't matter why—if your Swiss meringue buttercream looks dense and greasy (or even tastes that way), it's simply too cold.

If the Swiss meringue buttercream tastes like butter you definitely have the wrong ratio. The Swiss meringue buttercream ratio should be egg white as the smallest portion, then sugar is a quarter more than egg whites and butter is the double of the sugar amount.

Two good options for this recipe would be Earth Balance sticks and Country Crock Plant Butter (my personal preference). If you have another butter that's at least 79-80% oil/fat though, it should be fine.

How to stop it splitting. If your buttercream starts looking soft and floppy, just stick it in the fridge (or freezer if it will fit) for 15 minutes. You'll see it stiffen up and be able to work with it again.

If you're not adding enough sugar, your buttercream won't be stable enough to hold its shape for long. If you're adding a little plant-based milk to thin the buttercream when frosting a cake, you might be adding too much of it, again, making it too unstable.

Italian Meringue Buttercream

This is considered one of the very difficult methods for making buttercream because the sugar syrup must be cooked to a specific temperature and then, while piping hot, poured into the whipped egg whites.

Which is better Swiss or Italian buttercream? ›

Swiss meringue buttercream frosting is very similar to Italian meringue buttercream in that they both use egg whites. Swiss is preferred by many bakers because it doesn't use the hot sugar syrup and the egg whites are heated to 160 F in a double boiler to remove any salmonella risk.

Swiss meringue buttercream is either soupy or curdled due to the temperature of the butter; it is either too warm or too cold. Both issues can be fixed either chilling or gently heating the buttercream.

Granulated Sugar: Use regular granulated sugar, not confectioners' sugar. Unsalted Butter: Butter turns meringue into meringue buttercream. I recommend unsalted butter because salted butter tastes overpowering. Keep in mind that the frosting will turn soupy and thin if the butter is too warm.

*Pro tip: If you love the texture and taste of Swiss meringue buttercream but want it a bit sweeter, add ½ -¾ cup of sifted confectioners sugar after the butter is fully mixed in.

Yes, you certainly can. Use 1/2 cup water and sprinkle 1/4 cup of meringue powder or dried egg whites on top. Whisk them together until the powder is moistened. Either way, add the whites to the sugar, and add the salt.

SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Pros – It is soft, smooth and not too sweet. SM buttercream is arguably the best frosting in terms of cake decorating because it is the easiest way to get those smooth clean lines. Cons – It is SUPER annoying to make.

Choose Swiss meringue Buttercream if you:

want to level up your cake decorating from traditional American buttercreams (the ones that use just butter/powdered sugar.) Most pro-decorators will likely use this for sharp, clean sides and detailed designs.

The egg whites are cooked, and the buttercream contains a fair amount of butter and sugar, which is generally safe to store at room temperature. If you are uncomfortable with that, feel free to pop your frosted cake in the fridge. The buttercream will get super firm in the fridge (after all, it is mostly butter).

This happens if you add cold butter (or even butter that still holds a chill) to your room temperature meringue mixture. The more butter you add the more 'split' it will look with the butter forming small lumps throughout the mixture.