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

  • healthy
Makes12
SkillEasy
Preparation Time10 mins
Cooking Time5 mins
Total Time15 mins
Cost RangeCheap
Nutrition Per PortionRDA
Calories271 Kcal14%
Fat21 g30%
Saturated Fat13 g65%

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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