Swiss Buttercream Troubleshooting

[KattyKook93]

i have been trying to make a swiss butter cream. But everytime i make it, it is turns out like a loose whip cream.
One of the times i thought I could cool it for 24hrs and it would be stiff. But it turned out looking like it broke. So it looked lumpy, very small lumps. And still loose. Please help me. I cant seem to get this right.
Here is the recipe i used.
3 egg whites
3/4 sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 sticks undalted butter

I first whisk sugar abd egg whites over a bain marie to melt the sugar down. About 3-4 minutes. Then whip the mixture on high speed until i can turn the bowl upside down and nothing comes out. Then from there i switch to the paddle and beat in a tablespoon at a time of the butter. Once that is all incorporated I add the vanilla.
And result is watery.
My butter is a bit cooler than room temp.
Looking for a better recipe that isnt too complicated and something that isnt overly sweet.
Help! Help! Heeeeellllllllp!
What am I doing wrong?!

 

[Becky]

Welcome to the forum!

I've made buttercream... and I've made Swiss meringue frosting... but I've never made Swiss buttercream! However I can hazard a guess or two.

What is the egg and sugar mixture like before you add the butter? With Swiss meringue you have to whip it until the bowl has cooled to room temperature, which can take a while. It gets to a very glossy firm peak at that point, and I would have thought it would need to be similar for Swiss buttercream. Having your butter at room temperature might help too.

 

[KattyKook93]

Welcome to the forum!

I've made buttercream... and I've made Swiss meringue frosting... but I've never made Swiss buttercream! However I can hazard a guess or two.

What is the egg and sugar mixture like before you add the butter? With Swiss meringue you have to whip it until the bowl has cooled to room temperature, which can take a while. It gets to a very glossy firm peak at that point, and I would have thought it would need to be similar for Swiss buttercream. Having your butter at room temperature might help too.

Thanks for the welcome!!! And its the same thing. So i whipped it until I had stiff meringue peaks. Very stiff peaks.

 

[ChesterV]

I made the same thing when I was a cake decorator/baker.

First two times I attempted making this, it was a disaster. My boss, who showed me how to make it, told me it HAS to be done exactly right or it doesn't work out at all.

This was a LONG time ago.............but if I am remembering correctly, I brought the water to a boil in a bain-marie, then turned it off. I put the egg whites in the bain-marie and stirred gently with a whisk as to not let the egg whites cook. While I whisked and let the eggs heat up, I slowly added the sugar a little bit at a time, letting it dissolve before I added more. Never stop whisking.

Then I add the vanilla and the room temperature butter......again, a little bit at a time, while still whisking. Let the little bits dissolve and incorporate before adding more. When I got all the ingredients whisked together, I think I started whisking very strongly to kind of whip it up. And I whipped it until it got stiff, then I took it off the bain-marie and continued to whisk until it cooled down a bit.

Once it was cooled down a bit, it stiffened up, and I was able to stop whisking when I got it to the stiffness I wanted.

The two main things you have to remember--

1. all ingredients must be at room temperature
2. once you start whisking, you cannot stop for any reason until you are completely through


If you cannot get it working this way, you might try the French Buttercream method.
I will post the French Buttercream recipe.

The French Buttercream method is basically carmelizing the sugar and then adding it to eggs whipped to stiff peaks and then SLOWLY adding the carmelized sugar to that. Then adding the butter to that, and keep whipping until its stiff.

 

[ChesterV]

French Buttercream


Ingredients

1. • 1 cup water
   • 2 cups sugar
   • 2 tablespoons corn syrup
   • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
   • 5 egg yolks
   • 1 whole egg
   • 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
   • 1 1/2 pounds cold butter, preferably European

Preparation

1. 1. In a heavy nonreactive saucepan, add water, then add sugar, corn syrup, and cream of tartar. The last 2 help keep the sugar from crystallizing. (Candy thermometer. Non-negotiable!)
   2. Put the pot on high heat. It's going to be there for a while. Be patient and keep your eye on it. Don't go walking away and watching TV or something.
   3. Put yolks and eggs in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and turn to high. Just let it go! Eggs will triple in volume and go to "ribbons stage." You can't overwhip!
   4. Wait on the sugar—looking for 230°F, aka "soft ball." When it happens, be ready to move quickly. Turn off the mixer and add the xanthan gum, turn back up to medium.
   5. Remove the thermometer from hot sugar. Lift with two hands. Rest the lip of the saucepan on the edge of the mixer bowl.
   6. Slowly tilt and pour sugar in a sloooow steady stream down the side of the bowl. Don't go too fast! If you do there will be chunks of scrambled eggs in your buttercream.
   7. Once sugar is all in, turn the mixer to high. Beat until cool. Gauge this by putting the inside of your wrist to the outside of the bowl. It's more accurate than your hands. Switch out the whisk for the paddle. Next we're adding the butter. It's too heavy for the whisk and you'll end up breaking your stand mixer if you stay with the whisk.
   8. Start cutting the butter into thin pieces—you could shave it with a cheese slicer if you'd like. Add butter piece by piece—pain in the derriere, yes, but we're making an emulsion.
   9. See, if you dump all the butter in at once, the butter and eggs will never combine properly, and you'll have a "broken" buttercream. You'll be able to identify this easily—it'll be a chunky, watery, hot mess.
   10. If your buttercream does break, you can fix it! Turn to medium high, then add a little more butter, piece by piece, until fixed. Or try adding a little guar gum! This is very strong, so add a pinch and beat for a minute, then check.
   11. Once your butter is added, turn the mixer to medium high to add some air—10, 20 seconds at most. Quelle Magnifique! It should be fluffy and make you want to eat it with your fingers.
   12. Once you have your base, there's so many ways to flavor it! Coffee powder! Vanilla beans! Dutch cocoa! Peanut butter! Caramel!

 

[lesleyma]

I make Swiss buttercream all the time and it always turns out perfect. A couple of things are really key: 1) Egg whites and butter MUST be at room temperature 2) You MUST get the egg white/sugar mixture heated to at least 160 degrees Farenheit before putting it in the mixer.
Steps are:
1. Heat 2 - 3 inches of water in a saucepan to boiling.
2. Combine the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer and place it over the boiling water. It should not touch the surface of the water. Mix the contents with a whisk until they reach 160 degrees Farenheit.
3. Place the bowl on the stand mixer and and beat for up to 10 minutes, until it holds firm peaks and is only slightly warm.
4. Add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time as you continue beating on high speed. The mixture will go from thin to curdly to smooth, then it is done.
5. Mix in vanilla or other flavoring. I like adding a liqueur like Grand Marnier, about 1 tablespoon for this size recipe.

A stand mixer makes this process really easy. With a hand mixer it is pretty tiring and a little tricky.

Recipe:
5 large egg whites
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 lb butter
1.5 teaspoons vanilla

This is enough to frost a 2 layer 8 or 9 inch cake.