Basic meringue buttercream recipe

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Woman's Weekly's buttercream frosting is creamier topping than traditional icing. For more recipes visit goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes

By
Published In Recipes
  • healthy
Makes 12
Skill Easy
Preparation Time 10 mins
Cooking Time 5 mins
Total Time 15 mins
Cost Range Cheap
Nutrition Per Portion RDA
Calories 271 Kcal 14%
Fat 21 g 30%
Saturated Fat 13 g 65%

This light and smooth Swiss-meringue buttercream gives a creamier cupcake frosting than traditional icing. Use it to make these butterfly cupcakes

Ingredients

  • 3 large egg whites
  • 250g caster sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • Few drops of vanilla extract
  • 300g unsalted butter, softened

WEIGHT CONVERTER

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Method

  1. Tip the egg whites into a bowl and add the sugar and salt. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until the sugar dissolves completely.
  2. Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk the mixture, preferably using a table-top mixer, until it becomes a thick meringue and whisk in the vanilla extract.
  3. Cut the butter into chunks and whisk it in - the mixture may collapse and go runny, but keep whisking it at full speed and it will combine together to give a fluffy buttercream.
  4. Use this buttercream to frost Woman's Weekly's butterfly buns.
Top Tip for making Basic meringue buttercream

When dissolving the sugar in the egg white, put your clean fingers into the mixture to feel whether all the sugar crystals have dissolved.

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