For a stable and silky smooth buttercream that pipes like a dream, you need to try this Italian meringue buttercream recipe (IMBC). It’s deliciously rich from the butter but still light and airy from the meringue. It’s not too sweet, and you can flavor it in so many ways!
While the sugar syrup may seem intimidating, this IMBC recipe is worth making. It’s such a smooth and creamy frosting that will melt in your mouth. It’s super versatile and is perfect for frosting cakes, cupcakes, piping roses, and other decorations.
Did you know Italian meringue (same recipe without the butter) is incredible on tarts and baked Alaska! So, if you can make Italian meringue, you’re only a step away from this delicious buttercream!
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Eggs — I highly recommend using fresh eggs instead of carton egg whites for this buttercream recipe, as it whips up much better. Save your egg yolks for another recipe, such as my easy lemon curd recipe!
Sugar — make sure you use regular granulated sugar for the sugar syrup. It also has to reach 240F to ensure that the sugar is stable enough to be whipped into the meringue buttercream.
Butter — Make sure to buy unsalted butter, not salted. The butter must be at room temperature as you’ll end up with lumps of butter that you cannot whip out if the butter is cold.
Cream of tartar — Cream of tartar helps stiffen the egg whites and gives the egg whites more volume as it whips up. If you do not have any, you can try to substitute an equal amount of white vinegar or lemon juice. However, if you would like to omit it entirely, I’ve done so, and it’s turned out fine as the sugar syrup helps stabilize the Italian buttercream as well.
How to Make Italian Buttercream
1. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites.
2. Beat the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, then slowly add in ⅓ cup of sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form.
3. While the eggs are getting whipped, add the remaining sugar and ⅓ cup of water into a medium pot over medium-low heat. Stir until sugar melts and becomes clear and maintain at medium-high heat until temperature reads 235-240F.
4. Drizzle the sugar into the mixer immediately. At this point, the meringue should be at the soft peak stage.
5. Run the mixer until the meringue is cool.
6. Switch to a paddle attachment and add room temperature butter into the running mixer one tablespoon piece at a time. Add the salt and vanilla if using and beat until butter is combined and the mixture has reached a silky consistency.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- Eggs are easier to separate when cold, but egg whites whip up easier when closer to room temperature. I recommend separating them in advance if you have the time. In addition, allowing the egg whites to sit gives them a chance to relax, which improves their elasticity during the whipping process.
- It is essential to have a clean and dry bowl for whipping the egg whites. The egg whites cannot contain any egg yolk whatsoever. If the bowl is not completely clean or yolk-free, it prevents your meringue from setting up.
- If your equipment or bowl has grease on it, wipe down everything with lemon juice or vinegar.
- Monitor the temperature of your sugar syrup closely, you don’t want it to get too hot.
- Make sure you are using a medium pot as the sugar mixture will bubble as it heats up and will overflow out of a small pot.
- If you loved how my IMBC looked in my brown butter orchid cake, check out my how to decorate a cake post for lots of helpful tips and a full how-to video on decorating!
Frequently Asked Questions
How should my buttercream look?
After adding the 240F sugar syrup to the mixture, your meringue will look very silky, white, feel marshmallowy, and not warm when you touch it. As soon as you add the room temperature butter into the mixer, the consistency of the buttercream 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 freezer to cool down for 10 minutes, then keep whipping, and it should be fine!
How does this taste?
Italian buttercream is less sweet but more buttery compared to American buttercream frosting! You can always add more sugar syrup to your meringue to sweeten it a bit further.
What flavoring agents can I add?
I love flavoring my buttercreams with a high-quality vanilla extract, but don’t feel limited to vanilla. Orange blossom water, rose water, fruit reductions (make sure they’re strained and cooled before adding), other extracts, and chocolate (melted and cooled) make for great flavoring agents. When adding flavorings to this Italian buttercream recipe, I suggest doing this as the very last step.
Can I make this Italian buttercream without a candy thermometer?
While it’s much easier to use a thermometer when making Italian meringue, you can make it without a thermometer. You can use a glass of cold water to check if your sugar’s temperature is hot enough. This is called a soft ball test.
When the sugar is approaching the softball stage, you’ll notice the bubbles start getting bigger and bubbling more slowly. Use a spoon to drop some of the hot sugar into the glass of cold water. If the sugar dissolves, the mixture is not hot enough. If the sugar forms a hard ball in the water, the mixture is too hot. If the sugar forms a soft ball that feels like sap in your fingers, it’s ready to be added to the buttercream!
What’s the difference between buttercream and Italian meringue 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.
Can I make this ahead of time?
You can! This Italian buttercream lasts a week in the fridge. You can even freeze it for up to 2 months. Due to the butter in the buttercream, you will need to bring it to room temperature and re-whip it before using it.
How do I add color to Italian buttercream?
If you just add food coloring to meringue-based buttercream, the color will not be as vibrant. 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. Then, mix this colored buttercream into the rest of the buttercream. The color will be much more saturated than adding the food coloring directly into the buttercream. I usually use gel food colorings to color my buttercream; they are more concentrated than the liquid ones you get at the supermarket.
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.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this Italian Meringue Buttercream recipe, 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
Video
Equipment
- Mixer
- Medium pot
Ingredients
- 4 egg whites large, room temperature
- 1⅓ cups granulated sugar (267g)
- ¼ teaspoon salt optional
- 16 ounces unsalted butter (454g) room temperature cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract optional (4.9mL)
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar (0.84g)
- ⅓ cup water (79mL)
Instructions
- Beat the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar, slowly add in ⅓ cup of sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form.
- While the eggs are getting whipped add the remaining sugar and ⅓ cup of 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.
Notes
- Eggs are easier to separate when cold, but egg whites whip up easier when closer to room temperature. I recommend separating them in advance if you have the time. In addition, allowing the egg whites to sit gives them a chance to relax, which improves their elasticity during the whipping process.
- It is essential to have a clean and dry bowl for whipping the egg whites. The egg whites cannot contain any egg yolk whatsoever. If the bowl is not completely clean or yolk-free, it prevents your meringue from setting up.
- If your equipment or bowl has grease on it, wipe down everything with lemon juice or vinegar.
- Monitor the temperature of your sugar syrup closely, you don’t want it to get too hot.
- Make sure you are using a medium pot as the sugar mixture will bubble as it heats up and will overflow out of a small pot.
- If you loved how my IMBC looked in my brown butter orchid cake, check out my how to decorate a cake post for lots of helpful tips and a full how-to video on decorating!
Tianna Regan says
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
jkanell says
So happy you liked it!!
Susanne says
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).
jkanell says
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!!
susanne says
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.
jkanell says
OMG so brave!!! Glad it worked out!!
Carolyn says
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.
jkanell says
So happy you enjoyed!
Asmahan Mansour says
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?
jkanell says
A LOT! maybe 75? You can refrigerate the rest or halve the recipe.
Andrea says
Hi John!
Once a cake is decorated with this meringue buttercream, how long does it last in the fridge??
jkanell says
It’s very stable so You could leave it in for 4 days and it will look the same.
Zee Long says
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
jkanell says
Really depends on how much you pipe on each. I think double the batch or triple if your adding a lot.
Caye says
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.
Zee Long says
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!
Tami Hawkins says
I love your decorating! I have never worked with Italian buttercream. Do cakes decorated with this frosting have to be stored in the fridge?
jkanell says
They’re fine at cooler room temperature!
Tami Hawkins says
Thank you. The frosting came out great! I’m going to try French buttercream next?
Angela says
Hi John I’ve recentyl started to try decorating my cakes never cared before.lol I’ve watched a tutorial and did the buttercream one and yes it’s very very sweet.
But I’ve watched your Italian cream video,and thought I should try this as it’s not too sweet and of course being Italian myself makes sense as well thanks ?
Will let you know wha happens Thankyou John your great to watch you explain everything very clearly !,
MABEL s Maynard says
John, thank you so much for this recipe, love that is not as sweet, I just follow the instructions and it came out perfect, I live in Florida and the humidity is a problem when you are baking… I just put it a few minutes in my freezer, whipped a bit and it turned out great.
Tami M says
John, you are amazing in the kitchen. I LOVE your recipes and I LOVE your style. I find that when I’m looking for something to make, I head to Preppy Kitchen first. 🙂
I am a brand new baker, just beginning my baking journey, and the Italian Buttercream is the first ‘from scratch’ frosting I’ve ever made. I was drawn to it because it wasn’t supposed to be sickening sweet like the American Buttercream, which I just can’t eat anymore.
Having never made this before, I watched the video over & over to make sure I wasn’t missing anything, and I think it turned out pretty good; so silky smooth.
My only problem, and it’s a personal preference I think, is that while I tried flavoring it with Raspberry Jam, the flavor wasn’t strong enough and it tastes like eating flavored butter…which has nothing to do with you, John….it’s the nature of the frosting I guess. However, I’m not giving up, and will try & try again until it’s what it’s supposed to be. Thankfully in you, John, I’ve got the best teacher to help me with the learning curve. 😀
If I knew of someone needing to make this frosting, I’ll be sending them right over to Preppy Kitchen.
Rita says
I needed this Italian Buttercream recipe badly as it’s perfectly sweet for me and easy to make by following your amazing tutorial! I dislike overly sweet icings, so your recipe is truly the best one ever! I love how it can be naturally flavored for best flavor and color control! Thank you, John!