I’m sharing how to make Italian buttercream (A.K.A Italian meringue buttercream) step-by-step so that you can make it at home successfully.
Although the steps to make Italian buttercream are pretty simple, they can go wrong if you fail to follow some crucial tips. You may get some troubles such as:
- The syrup to make Italian meringue 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 that 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!
Jump to:
📌 What is Italian buttercream?
Italian buttercream (Italian meringue buttercream) is a mixture of Italian meringue and butter. It's that simple! 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; which results in a stable and stiff buttercream as well!
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 itself is made by heating egg whites and sugar in a water bath and then whipping it.
📌 Frequently Asked Questions
Store in an airtight container for up to five days in a fridge or a few months in the freezer.
When you stored it in the freezer, move it to a fridge to thaw. And take it out from a fridge ahead to make it soft which usually takes about four to five hours (at 77F | 25C). Adjust the time depending on the room temperature and the temperature of the fridge.
You do not need to whip it just like my French buttercream or swiss buttercream recipe.
When your finished buttercream is loose, there are two reasons I can think of:
One is the temperature of the syrup to make meringue.
When the temperature is lower than it should be, your meringue is going to be loose which results in more loose buttercream.
And another biggest cause is butter.
If your butter was super soft or partially melted, of course, it results in a loose buttercream. And also, when you don't wait for enough and add the butter to the warm meringue, your butter melts. So always check the temperature of the meringue before you add butter.
I can also think of two reasons: Syrup and butter.
If the temperature of the syrup is way higher than it should be, it cannot blend in the egg white because it is too thick. It'll harden quickly and leave tiny tiny pieces of sugar in your meringue.
Also, it could be because your butter was too cold and it didn't blend in the meringue well. The tiny pieces of butter remained. - Try to mix them when the consistencies and the temperatures are about the same!
📌 What's In Italian buttercream?
The 4 ingredients:
- Unsalted butter (Soft) 453 g | 16 oz (4 US sticks)
- Egg white 113 g | 4 oz
Syrup
- Granulated sugar 226 g | 8 oz
- Water 75 g | 2.6 oz
One batch of this recipe is enough to coat a simple 8" cake.
📌 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 118-119C | 244-246F. Brush the side with water at least one time 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 or is very slightly warm.
- Add all the soft butter and whip until it gets smooth and even. As an option, whip more if you want more airy buttercream.
📌 Tips for Italian Buttercream
Now, let me share detailed tips on each step that 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. With them, the syrup might get crystallized and they also prevent egg whites from whipping up well. And for the same reason, when you separate egg yolk and egg white, make sure that yolks are not mixed in the egg white because yolks contain natural oil.
Syrup
- Before you heat the pot, make sure that the sugar is completely wet. It's important so that the sugar is not getting crystallized later. If you see any sugar attached to the side, wash it off with a brush. (Or cover a pot with a lid as it's heated for the same effect.)
- In the beginning, don't shake a pot or touch the syrup at all because the sugar might get crystallized by doing it.
- Heat it to 118 to 119 celsius which is 244 to 246 Fahrenheit to make a stable and stiff meringue.
Meringue
- By the time the syrup is heated enough, you want the meringue to get whipped up very fluffy. The timings are very important, so pay close attention to both of them. When the meringue is not fluffy enough at this point, your Italian meringue becomes looser.
Italian meringue
- Add the syrup while it's still very hot. As it cools down, it starts getting thickening and getting stuck to the pot.
- 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.
- In the beginning, continue whipping at high speed to make the very fluffy Italian meringue. At this point, the ball is very hot.
- When it cools down to warm, turn down the speed to medium speed and when it feels gently warm, I turn it down to medium-low speed.
- And when it doesn't feel anything or is very slightly warm, stop whipping. It'll slowly lose the volume if you continue whipping after it's cooled down.
Buttercream
- Add butter right away 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 up the bowl, whisk, and a spatula at least a few times as you mix to make even buttercream.
- It gets hard in the fridge once it's chilled just like any other buttercream. Pipe right after you serve or leave it at room temperature for some time if you want to enjoy the fluffy texture!
📌 VIDEO: Italian Buttercream
To learn how to make Italian buttercream visually, watch the video!
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📌 The Printable Recipe
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
- 4 oz Egg white
Syrup
- 8 oz Granulated sugar
- 2.6 oz Water
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 to 118-119 C | 244-246 F. Make sure that all the sugar is wet before heating.Brush the side with water at least one time while it's heated.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.
- 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 or very slightly warm.
- Add all the soft butter and whip until it gets smooth and even. As an option, whip more if you want more airy buttercream.16 oz Unsalted butter (Soft)
Video
Nutrition
Also, check out my Swiss buttercream recipe from here! I also shared how to make American buttercream and French buttercream a while ago on Youtube (I'm intending to create blog posts in the future as well!). Check out the videos if you are interested!
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