Fresh Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream – tastes like summer.
First things first. Swiss Meringue Buttercream. It’s my go to frosting. There are many reasons but one of the main things is that it is AMAZING to work with. So smooth and silky, soft but it still holds it shape and texture. It glides onto your cakes and beautifully pipes into rosettes with perfection.
But even more important, it is so delicious! I am one of those people who don’t care for super sweet things. So the super sweet, heavy and greasy American buttercream is just too much for me. For my business I tend to bake to my own tastes. So Swiss meringue buttercream was an epiphany when I discovered it. Feather light and super creamy, not overly sweet and on top of that is a dream to work with! Fluffy pillows of sweet bliss!
There are so many ways to customize it’s flavor too. You can add any flavor of extract of course, but I like to get creative. I add a few tablespoons of my homemade lemon curd or salted bourbon caramel sauce. I will add a half cup of classic cream cheese frosting for a lovely, light and fluffy version of cream cheese frosting. Melted chocolate will make a dreamy chocolate buttercream that is reminiscent of a rich and decadent chocolate mousse. Oh, and melted white chocolate is Heaven!
But I think my favorite is my fresh strawberry Swiss buttercream. Seriously the BEST fruity buttercream ever! I do mine differently than I have seen other people doing fresh strawberry frosting because I want a pure frosting without the seeds and bits of strawberry you get when you use macerated strawberries.
My secret… I use my Juicer. 
Below is my base Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe and some wonderful flavor options. I have a whole list of things in my head to try that I will be adding as I experiment. What about something with some wonderful texture like crushed Oreo cookies for a yummy cookies and cream frosting? Or maybe fresh roasted and finely chopped pecans for a luscious, salty butter pecan frosting. Seriously the possibilities are endless!!
Now let’s make some delicious buttercream!
Start with beautiful, ripe (preferably organic) fresh strawberries.
I love to use my Power Juicer to get fresh, pure strawberry juice. This gives you a beautifully smooth buttercream without any specks, seeds or pieces of strawberries. Just pure strawberry deliciousness!
Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup (depending on how strong of a strawberry flavor you want) of the fresh strawberry juice to your prepared batch of Swiss meringue buttercream along with 2 teaspoons Neilson Massey Vanilla Extract. Turn mixer on medium low with the whip attachment and let it mix until fully incorporated. This will take about 5 minutes. There will be a point when your buttercream looks curdled. Don’t panic!! Just keep mixing.
Beautiful!! And oh so delicious! Best use of a juicer ever. Well it might be the only thing I use my juicer for these days anyway.
Now go forth and make delicious Swiss buttercream!!
Have A Sweet Day!!
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 5 minutes |
| Servings |
batch
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- 5 large egg whites
- 1 pound unsalted butter very soft
- 1 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh strawberry juice
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract or see more flavor option below
Ingredients
Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
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- Combine egg whites, sugar, and salt in the heatproof bowl of a standing mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingertips).
- Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low and gradually to medium-high speed, whisk until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy,and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl), about 10 minutes.
- Put mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Continue mixing until the mixture emulsifies and comes together in a beautiful, creamy texture. Note: Do not panic if the mixture looks curdled or soupy at any point. KEEP MIXING! It will come together.
- Juice 1/2 a basket of fresh ripe strawberries in an electric juicer. This is my secret step. It's what makes an ultra pure, smooth buttercream.
- Add fresh strawberry juice and mix on medium low with whisk attachment until fully incorporated. This may take up to 5 minutes and the buttercream may look curdled at some point. Keep mixing! Or add flavorings or extract of your choice instead of strawberry juice and mix thoroughly.
- Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day. After it sits for a while you may get air bubbles in it. Switch to the paddle attachment, and beat on low speed until all air bubbles are eliminated, about 2 minutes.
- Store in fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to a month. To use set out and let it come back to room temperature. Let it get very soft before stirring it. If you try to stir it while it's still too cool it will break and you will need to re whip it.
Hi Shani,
Congratulations on your blog launch! Your cakes are AMAZING and I’m super excited to gain any of your knowledge. I can’t wait to try adding hazelnut syrup to my smb–sounds delicious! I’ll be keeping my fingers permanently crossed until you announce the winner of the printer!!!
Thank you so much Michele! I’m so glad you have joined me, I have a ton of awesome cakey stuff to share! Good luck on the giveaway!!
Hello Shani,
I’m new to your blog and happy to be here. I’m working on building a customized cake business with my daughter. Your Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream sounds and looks amazing! Can carton pasteurized egg whites be used and if so how much? I haven’t made any of the meringue icings and concerned of accidentally cooking the egg whites.
Many blessings,
Ressie
Hi Ressie, I have heard people use the pasteurized egg whites. But the other main reason for heating the egg whites is to dissolve the sugar, otherwise you will get a grainy texture to your buttercream. Give it a shot, once you do it you will see that it’s not difficult at all. Just keep dipping a finger in to check the temp and reassure yourself it’s not getting too hot. It’s won’t take long to heat them up enough to dissolve the sugar. Good luck! You are gonna love the flavor and workability of Swiss meringue buttercream!
Hello shani,
Just found your blog and happy to be here, about the strawberrys how long can the cake be out since they were raw. God bless you! Liz
Hi Liz, glad you joined me, thank you! I keep my cakes refrigerated until delivery but I wouldn’t let the strawberry Swiss buttercream be un-refrigerated fro longer than 24 hours.
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Hi Shani. I’ve used Swiss Meringue for years on my cakes as well, and agree that is it simply the best and most elegant.
You mention above that you refrigerate the cake. I’ve been lucky to always decorate Sat. morning and just deliver, however, I’m in a dilemma and could use your advice.
I’m making a cake for son’s wedding (Yes, I must be insane to do this to myself …LOL). I’m making a very special cake for them at their request.
Can I build/decorate the cake with swiss meringue on a Friday morning — leave out — and then deliver the cake to the hall on Saturday morning? Will it be ok for a 6pm reception?
I’m not adding strawberries for this one. It is just plain swiss meringue.
If that doesn’t work, can I build the cake/decorate (again with the swiss meringue) and put it in the fridge without it falling apart or curdling? Will it be ok if I drop it off Saturday morning?
I’m struggling as to what I should do. Your blog is just amazing. I trust your opinion.
Thank you.
Hello Sue. Thank you so much for your sweet words ? I’m sure you will do a wonderful job with your son’s wedding cake! So, you could leave the cake out if you want, the buttercream will not spoil out of the fridge. But personally I would store the decorated cake in the fridge until you transport it to the venue. The Swiss buttercream does beautifully in the fridge. This gives you the added benefit of having a nice stable cake for transport. I always decorate wedding cakes on Friday, store in the fridge overnight until delivery time and transport the cake cold. I hope this helps! I’m happy to answers any other questions. Happy Caking!
You’re amazing. Thank you so much!! Fingers crossed.
Keep up the amazing job you do on this blog. You are incredibly talented.
To GREAT success,
Sue
You are so welcome Sue! You are going to do great!
Wow! This recipe just screams summer. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Hi Shani, I actually HAD this exact juicer but gave it to my daughter. I am wondering if I could use a Vitamix blender to macerate the strawberries. Love your blog and Youtube vids.
Hi Shirley, I’m so happy you like my tutorials ?. You can use the vitamin and macerate the strawberries but I would then try to strain out the solids if you can. They will definitely give the frosting a bit of a different texture and it will be speckled with strawberry particles. That’s why I like to use the juicer, it makes a pure juice so the buttercream is perfectly smooth and has no specks. Either way though, it will be a delicious fresh strawberry flavor?
I don’t have a juicer, what would be my best other option for the strawberries?
You can use a food processor to macerate them and then strain the juice out of the pulp. Or just mash them the best you can then strain.
Hi Shani,
What about using reduced starwberries or freeze dried strawberries?
Cheers,
Hi Stephanie, you certainly could use either of those. I prefer the strawberry juice because you get a fresh strawberry flavor without adding textures and small bits of strawberry pieces to the buttercream. It stays perfectly silky smooth without seeds or chunks in it.
Hi!
Will strawberry puree work instead of juicing the strawberries? I don’t have a juicer.
Hi Kimberly, yes it absolutely will work and it will be delicious! But it will have flecks of strawberry and seeds in the buttercream so it won’t be clean and perfectly smooth like it would be if you use just the juice. It will still be lovely though. Happy caking!
Hi
This looks yummy. I want to make this for a crump coat on 8 inch cake. with 3 layers. will this be ok. Also how far in advance can I make this. I want the cake for Friday can I make the frosting now. (4days before)
Many thanks Debbie