Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
This chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream is a silky glossy icing I make from whipped egg whites, softened butter, and real melted dark chocolate. It takes me 25 minutes of active work, and I use it on layer cakes, cupcakes, and filled cookies.
Ingredients
- 6 ounces egg whites, about 5 large eggs
- 12 ounces granulated sugar, 1 ½ cups
- 1 pound softened unsalted butter, cut into 2 tablespoon chunks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled to 85° F
Instructions
- Add 1 to 2 inches of water to a medium-sized saucepot and heat it over low to medium heat until it just starts to simmer.
- Next, add the egg whites and sugar to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Place that bowl over the simmering pot of water. Ensure the bowl completely covers to the pot and do not remove it from the pot until it’s done.
- Whisk the mixture constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved and it reaches 165°F.
- Transfer the mixture to a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and mix on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes. Then turn the speed up to medium-high-high and whisk for 10 to 12 minutes.
- The meringue will be shiny and will form stiff peaks at this point. It will also have come down to room temperature during this whisking time. If the peaks fold over a bit, it is totally fine.
- Turn the speed down to medium and add in 2 tablespoons of the softened unsalted butter at a time. Do not mix the next 2 tablespoons in until the previous 2 tablespoons are completely mixed in.
- Once the butter is mixed in. add in the vanilla, stop and scrape, and then crank the speed up to high for just 10 seconds to mix everything in.
- Lastly, add the cooled chocolate to the mixer and mix on medium speed until it is completely whisked in. Feel free to stop and scrape during this process.
- Once it is done it is ready to use on desserts like layer cakes, cupcakes, or filled cookies.
Notes
If you are new to an icing like this, the best thing I can tell you is to treat the temperature of the meringue as the whole game and let it whip all the way down before the butter ever goes in. That meringue can take a full 20 minutes to hit the peaks you are after, and the bowl of the stand mixer should come down from 165 F to right about room temperature by the time you are done. Add butter into a meringue that is still warm and it melts on contact, and you end up with soup instead of buttercream. Touch the outside of the bowl, and if it is anything warmer than your hand, keep whipping.
Stop and scrape often: Scrape the bowl down several times across the whole process so nothing sits unmixed at the bottom and the icing stays uniform.
Keep the butter cool room temp: Soft enough to dent with a finger, but never greasy or melty, so it beats in seamlessly instead of thinning the icing.
Cool the chocolate to 85 F: Melt it, then let it come down to about 85 F before it goes in, pourable but not hot enough to melt the butter back to liquid.
Use a dark bar: Bittersweet chocolate in the 65 to 70 % range keeps it from getting cloying; save the semisweet and milk chocolate for something else.
Make-Ahead: I make this buttercream up to 3 days ahead for freshness, keeping it covered until I am ready to frost.
How to Store: I cover it and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
How to Freeze: I freeze it covered for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for a full day before using, and if it comes out thick, re-whip it in a stand mixer for about 2 minutes on medium speed to bring it back to a spreadable icing.
Nutrition
Calories: 5987kcalCarbohydrates: 460gProtein: 36gFat: 456gSaturated Fat: 283gPolyunsaturated Fat: 17gMonounsaturated Fat: 121gTrans Fat: 15gCholesterol: 989mgSodium: 3226mgPotassium: 1691mgFiber: 18gSugar: 425gVitamin A: 11449IUCalcium: 266mgIron: 15mg