Of all the buttercreams in the world Italian meringue buttercream might just be my favorite! It’s light, silky, not too sweet and it pipes beautifully!! It needlessly intimidates way too many home bakers so I’m here to help and provide that little bit of encouragement and know how to help you make this amazing frosting!
Italian meringue buttercream is a revelation! Silky, perfectly sweet, super-versatile, and it pipes like a DREAM! I’ve had so many questions about Italian buttercream that I made a step-by-step video to show you all my tips and tricks! Scroll down to check it out. Did you know Italian meringue (same recipe without the butter) is incredible on tarts and baked Alaska! I know it’s a bit finicky BUT this buttercream adds a silky, not too sweet, touch to your cakes; it also pipes beautifully!
Pro Tips for making Italian Buttercream
- It’s important to use room temperature egg whites and butter.
- Clean the bowl of your mixer really well, fat is the enemy of meringue.
- Monitor the temperature of your sugar syrup closely, you don’t want it to get too hot.
- Add your pieces of room temperature butter in slowly.
- You’ll need to give the buttercream a quick whip to bring it back to life if it’s not getting used immediately as it will lose consistency quickly.
- Don’t panic when you add the butter to the meringue and it turns to soup, just keep adding the butter and it will work out.
Want some tips on how to use this buttercream when decorating a cake? Check out my How to Decorate a Cake post, it has lots of helpful tips and a full how to video.
How your meringue should look before adding butter
- After adding in the 240F sugar syrup your meringue will look very silky, white and it will feel marshmallowy, and not warm when you touch it. As soon as you add the butter in the consistency will change and it will deflate a bit. Don’t worry, that’s fine! Just keep adding all of the butter in and whip. If it’s still soupy you can pop it in the fridge or freeze to cool down a bit maybe 10 minutes, then keep whipping and it should be fine!
- I love flavoring my buttercreams with a high-quality vanilla extract, but there are so many more flavors to choose from. Orange blossom water, rose water, fruit reductions (make sure they’re strained and cooled before adding), and of course chocolate (melted and cooled).
My brown butter orchid cake is decorated completely with Italian meringue buttercream. You might not be able to taste how good it is but I hope you can see the smoothness and detail possible with this frosting.
Common Problems:
If your buttercream is “soupy,” just pop it into the fridge for a couple of minutes, then beat it. It should thicken up. I find consistency problems arise mostly from the meringue being too warm when the butter is added. Chilling it will help improve the consistency.
If you’re adding flavorings (i.e. chocolate, fruit, etc). to your Italian buttercream, I suggest doing this as the very last step.
Can you make Italian Buttercream without a candy thermometer?
While it’s definitely preferable to use a thermometer when making Italian meringue you can do it without. The sugar needs to reach the softball stage 235-240F before it gets drizzled in. You van use a Glass of cold water and an attentive eye to make to this.
When the sugar is approaching the softball stage you’ll notice the bubbles will start getting bigger and bubbling more slowly. Use a soon to drop some of the how sugar into the glass of cold water.
Soft Ball Test
- If the sugar dissolves it’s not hot enough.
- If the sugar forms a soft ball that feels like sap in your fingers it’s ready!
- If the sugar forms a hard ball in the water it got too hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cream of Tartar for?
Cream of tartar is added to help stiffen the egg whites. It’s an acid so if you can’t get your hands on it sub in an equal amount of white vinegar or lemon juice. I’ve made it without and the recipe turned out fine by the way.
What are the three types of buttercream?
The three most common types of buttercream are Italian meringue buttercream, Swiss meringue buttercream and American buttercream. French buttercream, which uses egg yolks for a custard-like frosting, and German buttercream are also delicious options I would urge you to try out.
What is the difference between American buttercream and Italian buttercream?
Italian buttercream is meringue-based and very light, creamy and less sweet than American buttercream. American buttercream is sweeter but has the advantage of being quick, easy to make, and sturdy.
How do you store Italian Buttercream?
If you’re not using your buttercream IMMEDIATELY — and it will be sitting for a few minutes — then just keep in mind that you will have to give it a short whip to “bring it back to life” as it loses its consistency quickly. If you want to make the buttercream ahead of time, it can be refrigerated for a few days. Once you’re ready to use it, allow it come to room temperature and give it a short “whip.” For those people that are used to regular buttercream: Italian buttercream is LESS SWEET and more BUTTERY! You can always add MORE SUGAR SYRUP to your meringue to sweeten it a bit further.
How do you Color Italian Buttercream?
If you just add food coloring to meringue-based buttercream the color will not really show. A little trick I picked up is taking a tablespoon of the buttercream and microwaving it in a little bowl with a drop or two of food coloring for 8 seconds. The color will REALLY come alive. Now you can mix this colored buttercream into larger batches and you’ll see much more vibrance. I usually use gel food colorings to color my buttercreams; they are more concentrated than the watery ones you get at the supermarket.
Can you make this with an electric hand mixer?
Yes but it will take a LONG time and your arm will get VERY tired. If you’re going this route I recommend packing the bowl of meringue in ice after the hot syrup us added so it cools down faster.
Steps to Make Italian Meringue Buttercream
1. Separate room temperature egg whites into a bowl one at a time, transferring each to the bowl of a stand mixer as you go. This will contain the disaster if an egg yolk breaks. You can use the yolks to make a custard or French buttercream!
2. Add a pinch or cream of tartar and salt to your egg whites and mix on low. then bring to medium speed. Once the whites have frothed up start slowly drizzling in the 1/3 cup of sugar.
3. In a medium saucepan add 1 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water, mix to dissolve the sugar then place on medium-low heat. You can start heating your sugar at the same time as you begin mixing the egg whites. This way the sugar will be the appropriate temperature when the eggs are ready.
4. once the sugar reaches 235F-240F it’s ready to drizzle into the eggs. Don’t let your sugar get too hot or it will reach the hardball stage and things will get grainy.
5. The egg whites are ready for the sugar syrup when they’ve reached the soft peak stage. They’re somewhat firm and can hold their ridges bur the peak will still flop over when inverted.
6. Slowly pour the sugar into the meringue while the mixer runs on low. Take care with the hot syrup.
7. After adding the hot sugar in you will notice a HUGE difference in the meringue. it has a lot of structure and becomes marshmallowy. This is delicious on it’s own and is a great topping for cakes and pies that you can torch for added flavor and contrast.
8.Run the mixer until meringue is cool/tepid. I often pack the bowl with frozen peas to help cool it down more quickly.
9. Switch to a paddle attachment. Add room temperature butter into running mixer one tablespoon piece at a time.
10. Add vanilla or any other flavors. Beat until butter is combined and mixture has reached a silky consistency.
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT!
If you’ve tried this frosting then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
How to make Italian Buttercream
Ingredients
- 4 egg whites large, room temperature
- 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar 267g
- 1/4 tsp salt optional
- 16 ounces unsalted butter 454g, room temperature cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract optional, 4.9mL
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar .84g
- 1/3 cup water 79mL
Instructions
- Beat the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar, slowly add in 1/3 cup of sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form.
- While the eggs are getting whipped add the remaining sugar and 1/3 cup water into a medium pot and place on medium-low heat.
- Stir until sugar melts and becomes clear.
- Maintain at medium-high heat until temperature reads 235-240F.
- Drizzle the sugar into the mixer immediately. At this point the meringue should be at the soft peak stage.
- Run mixer until meringue is cool/tepid.
- Switch to a paddle attachment. Add room temperature butter into running mixer one tablespoon piece at a time.
- Add the salt and vanilla if using.
- Beat until butter is combined and mixture has reached a silky consistency.
Hi John –
How many cupcakes would one recipe cover? I’m making 48 cupcakes and want to make sure I get the consistency right.
Thank you,
Zee
Really depends on how much you pipe on each. I think double the batch or triple if your adding a lot.
I used a 2D Wilton tip and swirled from outside inward. Didn’t start on very edge but generously piped on cupcake. Covered approximately 44-46 cupcakes. I was squeezing the bag as hard as I could to frost the las cupcake. I would say 1.5 batches would be sufficient unless you are putting a ton on each. Wish I could post a picture.
I made this delicious recipe for a baby shower in Southern California and it was a huge hit. The temperature reached 85 degrees and not a single drop melted. I was amazed!
For a double batch of the recipe, I was able to cover 55 cupcakes (using a 1M tip) and 1 three-layer 6″ cake (naked iced). This is now my go-to recipe for buttercream.
Thank you, John, for posting a wonderful recipe. It was literally the icing on the cake for the party!
Hi John!
Once a cake is decorated with this meringue buttercream, how long does it last in the fridge??
It’s very stable so You could leave it in for 4 days and it will look the same.
I’ve tried this for my French macarons and it was PERFECT! Macarons themselves are already sweet and regular buttercream is pure sugar. This recipe helped balance it out! My only problem is I forgot about how many macarons this recipe can fill. Any estimate?
A LOT! maybe 75? You can refrigerate the rest or halve the recipe.
So.. You were right! Up until the last 2 minutes I kept thinking “oh man, I did something wrong” (I do ‘wing’ things most of the time in the kitchen so it’s hard for me to REALLY follow things exactly. BUT (I only made a 1/2 batch because I was really experimenting to see if I could do it with an antique candy thermometer and hand mixer) when I put in the third to the last tablespoon of butter it happened! Like magic… it turned to THE perfect consistently. I am so excited. AND, I have a question… does it hold up on a cake? I actually want to decorate a wedding cake… it won’t be sitting for long… a few hours. But I just do NOT like really sweet icing. This is perfect. Thank you SO much! (and so fun to watch… I’m hooked, FYI).
Hi Susanne! I’m SO happy you like it! It does hold up on a cake but it can be much softer at room temp so you sometimes need to chill it as you build it. Happy Baking!!
Thanks, John! The wedding was actually today (made the buttercream for the first time yesterday… that is just the way I roll. i made a big batch this AM (had the cakes done at least) and AGAIN… amazing! The cake was beautiful. I will never make another type of frosting/icing/buttercream again! You’ll see me here again for sure! Thanks for your sharing.
OMG so brave!!! Glad it worked out!!
I made the Italian Buttercream on Thursday for the first time and it turned out beautifully. I was so happy because I was decorating the cake I made for my grandsons birthday. Everything went very well. Thanks so much for the recipe.
So happy you enjoyed!
love love love love! it was so delicious on the cake i made for my friends 18th birthday, and i felt just like a chef making it as well
So happy you liked it!!
I’m so excited to try it with your funfetti cake recipe! I’m using 9in cake pans so I will be tripling your funfetti cake recipe but what about the buttercreams? Do I triple those recipes as well?
Double the buttercream 🙂
Dear John Kanell,
Thanks a lot for sharing a marvelous recipe with very useful tips. I’ve tried it for the first time and am glad it turns out wonderfully.. i dont hv the termometer, with ur tips using the cold water, am very excited when i managed to get the sap of soft ball 😃…
I’ve used my first italian meringue buttercream on my sons’ birthday cupcakes, they just love the buttercream…
Thanks again..
Can carton egg whites be used?
no, they will not whip well.
Hello! How much melted chocolate should I add to make it chocolate flavored
Really up to you. Try 1/2 a cup to start and see how you like the taste and color.
This recipe works with fondant ? I mean it’s ok if I cover a cake with fondant
You can cover in fondant after chilling but cake will need to stay a bit cool especially if it’s a large cake.
Hi! I love watching you on youtube and your tips nd tricks are amazing, I made my own baking strips out of cloth and now I can’t live without them!
Question, how long does this buttercream last outside the fridge? Say for outdoor events or just unairconditioned areas? I live in the Philippines and it’s so humid here. I made italiam meringue before and it was beautiful but I have to keep it in the fridge most of the time because the last time I didn’t it kinda melted and I think the sugar and egg separated or something.
Well heat and humidity are the worst enemies of buttercream so it really depends on the temp. Technically anything with dairy should be refrigerated after like an hour outside…
I’ve made this recipe a couple of times now and the only differences I’ve made was using coconut extract and a small amount of shredded coconut. I want to make a chocolate version of this, but don’t know how much melted chocolate to fold in & if would I still add vanilla flavoring to it as well?
I would add 1/2 melted and cooled chocolate at the end. Yes to the vanilla but that’s optional.
Why is it best to use fresh egg whites rather than carton ones
It’s about how they whip up.
Love your videos – thank you! I would like to make your chocolate peppermint cake (Italian with butter cream) and freeze it for a few weeks for an upcoming event. Will it freeze well all assembled? I’ve made, assembled & frozen many cakes in the past, but only one Swiss buttercream a long time ago – I seem to recall it did’t look great when I thawed it?
I think it might not look great when thawed 😳
I want to thank you so much for sharing your knowledge! This recipe is amazing and your instructions and tips were easy to understand and follow.
The only thing I’ve struggled with is air bubbles. I’m using a kitchen aid standing mixer. I’ve tried the wooden spoon mixing (after it’s done) and I’ve tried filling my mixers bowl to the top but I can’t seem to figure out how to get rid of the bubbles. Thanks so much in advance!
Paddle attachment?
Hi John!
I cannot wait to try this buttercream, but there are some questions arising first 🙂
1) I am making two three-layer (20cm in diameter) cakes in a few days and I was wondering if two batches of this cream would be enough?
2) I am considering also making some buttercream icing, but I would like to use this to cover the cake from sides and top as well. Does it harden (a little bit at least) so that it won’t stick? And would it work with chocolate that would drip from the top?
3) Can I substitute vanilla extract for vanilla beans? I would like to have that nice dotted texture on the sides of the cakes. Should I melt a stick of a butter a day ahead and put the vanilla seeds in it and have it harden again?
Thanks again, I am literally crazy about trying this!
Best,
Petr
1 yes!
2 yes and yes
3 Definitely, I love the look too. Just add the beans into the meringue and they should mix in. Have you tried vanilla bean paste??
Hey John, I love how easy this frosting is but each time I’ve made this recipe, I end up with a soupy hot mess after refrigerating overnight. The day I make its so fluffy and creamy but the next day is a nightmare for me. Any suggestions?
Plop it back in the mixer and give it a whip. It will be magical. I know what you mean though, it looses all the silkiness if you let it sit for a while.
Hi John – Absolutely love this recipe. I’ve made it twice so far and it turned out perfect. I am making some more for a birthday cake I’m making for my son. I expect I will have some left over. Here’s my question. Can leftover buttercream be frozen and if so, what’s the best way to bring it back to life? Thanks.
Yes! Just let it defrost overnight in the fridge and then bring to room temp. Finally give it a quick whip to restore consistency.
I am in love with this recipe! Not only does it taste amazing but it makes the most beautiful, smooth iced cakes. Never going back to any other buttercream.
Hi Elizabeth, so happy you’re loving IMBC now!!
I just made it and it is amazing, added 1/2 cup melted chocolate and it is so silky…. I was wondering.. In the video you did not change the whisk to the paddle attachment.. What difference does it make? I did not change it either
I’m making a chocolate cake and want to make the Italian buttercream chocolate as well. Can I add chocolate powder to this buttercream?
Can I use pasteurized egg whites? If so how many ounces for this recipe
no