Have you ever had issues with Italian meringue buttercream (A.K.A Italian buttercream)? If so, you are in the right place! - In this post, I'm sharing the essential tips and troubleshooting so you can make it successful at home.
Common Troubles With Italian Buttercream
Although the steps to make Italian buttercream are pretty simple, they can go wrong if you don't follow some of the tips. You may get some issues such as:
- The hot syrup got crystallized.
- The Italian meringue was too loose or stiff.
- The buttercream was not stiff enough.
- The buttercream wasn't smooth.
... and so on.
I'm sharing all the troubleshooting so you can make it successful at home!
In this post, you'll learn essential baking tips such as:
- All the tips to avoid sugar crystallization when you make the syrup
- How to make shiny, elastic, fluffy, and smooth Italian meringue
- When to add butter to the meringue and why
- How to store properly
- How to make chocolate buttercream with it
... and so on.
Let's get started! 🙌🏻
Jump to:
📌 What is Italian buttercream?
Italian buttercream (Italian meringue buttercream) is a mixture of Italian meringue and butter. It's that simple!
And Italian meringue is made by adding hot syrup to whipped egg white.
Unlike adding sugar directly to the egg white (French meringue), you can make a more stable and stiff meringue by adding the syrup. ...And that also leads to more stable and stiff buttercream!
How is Italian buttercream different from Swiss buttercream?
Another popular meringue buttercream is Swiss buttercream.
Swiss buttercream is a mixture of Swiss meringue and butter. Swiss meringue is made by heating egg whites and sugar in a water bath and then whipping it.
📌 What's In Italian buttercream?
The 4 ingredients
- Unsalted butter
- Use soft butter to make fluffy and smooth buttercream.
Italian meringue:
- Egg white
- We are making Italian meringue with hot syrup.
- Granulated sugar
- Water
📌 How To Make Italian Buttercream
The 5 simple steps:
- Whip egg white until it gets very fluffy.
- Meanwhile, heat sugar and water in a pot at medium heat until it reaches 118 - 119 C | 244 - 246 F. Brush the side with water at least once while it's heated.
- Add the hot syrup to the fluffy meringue slowly from the side of a bowl as you continue whipping it at high speed.
- Continue whipping at high speed while the bowl feels hot. Turn it down to medium speed when it feels warm and medium-low speed when it's gently warm. Stop it when it does not feel anything.
- Add the soft butter and whip until it gets smooth. Clean the side and bottom of the bowl on the way to make an even buttercream.
🎂 One batch of this recipe is enough to coat a simple 8" cake. (Make more if you are piping a lot on top.)
📌 Aya's Tips for Italian Buttercream
Now, let me share detailed tips on each step, which are crucial for making Italian buttercream successfully.
Preparation
- Use soft buttercream. Leave your butter at room temperature ahead to make it soft.
- Use very clean tools with no dirt, oil, or liquids. They prevent egg whites from whipping up well. Also, the syrup might crystallize with them. For the same reason, when you separate egg yolk and egg white, ensure that yolks are not mixed in the egg white because yolks contain natural oil.
Syrup
- Ensure the sugar is completely wet before you heat the pot. It's essential so that the sugar is not crystallized later. If you see any sugar attached to the side, wash it off with a brush. (You can also cover a pot with a lid as it's heated for the same effect.)
- Don't shake a pot or touch the syrup at the beginning because the sugar might crystallize by doing it.
- Heat it to 118 - 119 C | 244 - 246 F to make a stable, stiff meringue.
Italian Meringue
- Make a very fluffy meringue by the time the syrup reaches the temperature (118 - 119 C | 244 - 246 F). The timings are very important, so pay close attention to both. The Italian meringue can get loose when the meringue is not whipped enough.
- Add the syrup while it's still very hot. It starts thickening and getting stuck to the pot as it cools down.
- Add the syrup to the meringue slowly and let the syrup slide down from the bowl. That way, it gets picked up by a whisk more easily. When you add syrup on top of a whisk, for example, it can scatter to the side of the bowl, or if you add a lot of it at once, it can stick to the bottom of your bowl.
- Continue whipping at high speed initially to make the very fluffy Italian meringue. At this point, the ball is very hot.
- Turn down the speed to medium-low speed when it cools down to gently warm.
- And stop whipping when it doesn't feel anything. It'll slowly lose the volume if you continue whipping after it's cooled down.
Buttercream
- Add butter immediately and start mixing while the condition of the meringue is the best.
- How much you whip is up to you: If you want a very airy buttercream, whip more here. I often whip for about a few minutes.
- Clean the bowl, whisk, and a spatula at least a few times on the way to make an even buttercream.
- Once chilled, it gets firm in the fridge, just like any other buttercream. Pipe right after you serve, or leave it at room temperature for some time when you want to enjoy the fluffy texture!
📌 Frequently Asked Questions
Store it in an airtight container for up to five days in the fridge or a few months in the freezer.
Take it out from the fridge and leave it at room temperature to soften it, which usually takes about four to five hours (at 77 F | 25 C). Adjust the time depending on the room temperature.
You do not need to whip it with this recipe; start using it immediately!
When your finished buttercream is loose, there are two reasons I can think of:
* The temperature of the syrup to make meringue:
When the temperature is lower than it should be, your meringue gets looser, which results in more loose buttercream.
* Another possible cause is butter:
When the butter is too soft or partially melted, it produces a loose buttercream.
Also, the butter melts when it's added to the warm meringue. Always check the temperature of the meringue before you add butter.
I can also think of two reasons: Syrup and butter.
The syrup gets too thick when the syrup temperature is much higher than it should be. - It'll harden quickly and leave tiny pieces of sugar in your meringue.
Also, it could be because your butter was too cold. Cold butter doesn't blend well in the meringue. Ensure it is very soft. (about the same consistency as the meringue.)
📌 VIDEO: Watch How To Make It!
To learn how to make Italian buttercream visually and have a deeper understanding of all, watch the video!
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📌 Other Frostings
Discover other frosting recipes, such as:
... and so on!
📌 Printable Recipe
💬 I would appreciate it if you could leave a review here if you tried this recipe and loved it! I always love hearing how you enjoyed it with your friends and family.
Italian Buttercream
Equipment
- Stand mixer with a whisk or a hand mixer and bowl
- Small pot
- Thermometer
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 16 oz Unsalted butter (Soft) 4 US sticks
Italian Meringue
- 4 oz Egg white 3.5 eggs
- 8 oz Granulated sugar 1 ⅛ US cups
- 2.6 oz Water ⅓ US cup
Instructions
- Whip egg white until it gets very fluffy.4 oz Egg white
- Meanwhile, heat sugar and water in a pot at medium heat until it reaches 118 - 119 C | 244 - 246 F. Turn the pot toward the end to get the accurate temperature.To avoid sugar crystalization:* Use a clean pot.* Ensure that all the sugar is wet before heating.* Brush the side with water at least one time while it's heated.* Do not mix or shake it until it starts thickening slightly.8 oz Granulated sugar, 2.6 oz Water
- Add the hot syrup to the fluffy meringue slowly from the side of a bowl as you continue whipping it at high speed. Watch the video tutorial to check the movement.
- Continue whipping it at high speed while the bowl feels hot. 1. Turn it down to medium speed when it feels warm.2. And turn it down to medium-low speed when it's gently warm. 3. Stop it when it does not feel anything or very slightly warm.
- Add the soft butter and whip until it gets smooth and even. Ensure that the butter is very soft to make it successful.Clean the side and bottom of the bowl on the way to make an even buttercream.16 oz Unsalted butter (Soft)
Video
Notes
How to store it:
Store it in an airtight container for up to five days in the fridge or a few months in the freezer. One batch of this recipe is enough to coat a simple 8" cake. (Make more if you plan to pipe a lot on top.) ** For best results, measure ingredients with a scale. All recipes are designed with weighed ingredients using grams/ounces. Cup measurements are provided for your convenience. **Nutrition
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Tiffany says
Thank you so much, this recipe was great the only thing is I'm a little confused about how much to make to frost the cake but otherwise it tastes amazing.
ayacaliva says
I'm so glad you liked it! And thank you for your feedback!