Aquafaba Swiss Buttercream Recipe - Gretchen's Vegan Bakery (2024)

FAQs

What if I put too much liquid in my Swiss meringue buttercream? ›

To fix this, place the buttercream in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes to firm up the butter, then whip it again with a stand mixer or hand mixer until it thickens to the desired consistency. If it is still soupy, stick it back in the fridge for longer to cool down.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream Success Secrets: Separate your egg whites from the yolks and make sure there are no yolks in the whites. Since SMBC is meringue based, yolks (a fat) can quickly stop a meringue from not forming its stiff glossy peaks as required.

So, whether your buttercream is a veritable soup or just a touch runny, the answer is to cool it down. If the buttercream is thin enough to run off a spoon, refrigerate the whole bowl for 20 minutes, just until the frosting begins to harden around the edges.

It's essential to sieve your icing sugar (aka confectioners sugar) before adding to the softened butter, so do this first. Then you're going to add little by little to the vegan buttercream frosting, beating between additions. This again stops the buttercream from splitting or becoming grainy.

To remedy a soupy buttercream, all you have to do is chill it. I place the entire mixing bowl containing the buttercream including the attachment in the fridge. The timing will depend on the amount of buttercream you're trying to make but start with 5 minutes.

In a KitchenAid mixer, it usually takes about 20-25 minutes to make a good, stiff meringue from start to finish. If you're at the 20-minute mark and the meringue still isn't at stiff peaks, check your temperature. Is it hot and humid in your kitchen? Then a 15-20 minute meringue timeout in the fridge will help!

*Pro tip: If you love the texture and taste of Swiss meringue buttercream but want it a bit sweeter, add ½ -¾ cup of sifted confectioners sugar after the butter is fully mixed in.

But the buttercream should be light and fluffy, not thick and greasy. If yours tastes like you're eating a stick of butter, perhaps your meringue wasn't whipped to stiff peaks before adding butter, or the butter was too cold, in which case it just needs some more whipping. Or you added too much butter.

This can happen for two reasons - the meringue mixture was too cold before you added your softened butter or your butter was too cold before you added it to your meringue mixture. It's not right but the good news is it can be fixed!

Italian meringue is very similar to Swiss, but instead of being cooked with sugar, a sugar syrup is made separately and added to whipped egg whites. Italian meringue is slightly more stable than Swiss, which I'll explain under the Italian meringue buttercream heading.

Does Swiss meringue buttercream need to be refrigerated? ›

Yes. Swiss meringue buttercream is great left covered at room temperature for 1-2 days, but after that, refrigerate it for up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months. If freezing, store in an airtight container, then thaw it at room temperature on the counter.

You don't want it to be too hot or too cold. Also, make sure to not add too much milk. If you find that it does split, place it in the refrigerator for a few minutes before continuing (if the butter was too warm) or let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes (if the butter or milk was too cold).

If you're not adding enough sugar, your buttercream won't be stable enough to hold its shape for long. If you're adding a little plant-based milk to thin the buttercream when frosting a cake, you might be adding too much of it, again, making it too unstable.

Keeping vegan buttercream solid

This vegan buttercream recipe uses a combination of Trex and baking block which keeps it stiff and stops it from splitting easily. If you can't get Trex, or a baking block, you can make a vegan buttercream with plant-based spread and the other ingredients in this recipe.

Here's what you can do: Whisk the mixture longer: One common reason for runny meringue is not whisking the mixture enough. To fix this, continue whisking the meringue for up to 15 minutes. This extended whisking time will help stiffen up the mixture and give it the desired consistency [1].

Most frostings are made with powdered sugar (otherwise known as confectioners' sugar or icing sugar), which contains cornstarch to prevent it from caking. Adding more powdered sugar can be an effective way and the easiest way of absorbing too much liquid to achieve thicker frosting.

Adding too much liquid.

Buttercream needs a little bit of liquid to loosen it up — a splash of milk, a flavored extract like vanilla, or even a touch of liquor – but when you have too much liquid, you may end up with a buttercream that's too thin and soupy to work with.

If the heat is too high, you're going to overcook your egg whites and have scrambled egg buttercream! – Whip your meringue to stiff peaks. If your meringue is too soft, it's not going to be as stable and hold it's shape as well.