This swiss meringue buttercream is silky smooth and perfectly pipe-able. It is hands down the best sugar free frosting I’ve ever made and is worth the effort. Up your keto baking game with this amazing vanilla buttercream recipe. And it’s virtually carb free!
It’s January and you are all doing your best to get on track, stay on track, and avoid temptation. I totally respect that. I really do.
So why am I posting a recipe for something as decadent as Swiss Meringue Buttercream? Because, my friends, this is hands down the best sugar free frosting you will ever make, bar none. Silky, creamy, so easy to frost keto cakes and other goodies, and it holds its shape for days.
And even if it’s January and you are trying to be good, you deserve a sweet treat once in a while. Especially when it’s sugar free and keto-friendly!
I am a recent convert to Swiss Meringue, having made the American-style frosting all my life. While swiss meringue definitely requires a little more effort, both the flavor and consistency are worth it. It’s less tooth-achingly sweet but it’s silky smooth and the flavor is rich and buttery.
Heretofore, I despaired of making this gorgeous frosting because I knew that erythritol based sweeteners would re-crystallize too much. But having recently discovered that adding a little Bocha Sweet to my recipes helps keep them softer, I decided I wanted to tackle a sugar free Swiss Meringue recipe.
It. Was. Amazing. I felt like I had just won the keto dessert lottery. And conquering a sugar free frosting like this made me feel like I was ready for the big leagues.
What is Swiss Meringue Buttercream?
Swiss meringue is perhaps one of the most beloved frosting of professional bakers. It has an incomparable silky consistency and sweet buttery flavor, without being as tooth-achingly sweet as the standard American frosting.
It’s called “meringue” because it involves using egg whites to get a lighter, fluffier consistency. They are combined with sugar (or in our case, sweetener) and then gently warmed over a double boiler until the sweetener dissolves. Then they are whisked to stiff peaks.
You then add cubes of room temperature butter, which deflates the egg whites. For once, you actually want to deflate the egg whites so don’t panic! Once the whites and the butter are full combined, you truly have the most amazing silky frosting which pipes and spreads so well.
It also uses far less sugar or sweetener. A typical American buttercream will use upwards of 2 cups of powdered sugar, just to have the right structure. In many of my sugar free frosting recipes, I’ve gotten around this by using a little cream cheese to give it some structure without copious amounts of expensive sweeteners.
But this recipe for keto Swiss meringue buttercream uses less than a full cup of sweetener in the whole batch. And it’s enough to frost a 9 inch layer cake or about 18 cupcakes!
Sugar Free Frosting Research
Since Swiss meringue is a little trickier than your standard American buttercream, I knew I need to get the best tips and advice. I turned to some trusted dessert blogs and websites to learn just how to make it properly.
I found the instructions for Swiss Meringue from Handle the Heat to be clear and straightforward and so I followed those most closely.
I also read a great deal on what to do if it doesn’t come out right, which sometimes (often?) happens. My first batch curdled and I managed to rescue it based upon the tips provided on Serious Eats. The article was written by Stella Parks, of BraveTart and her advice was spot on.
Turns out that when it curdles, it may end up being fine if you keep whipping it. But if it won’t come back together, then it can mean that your butter was too cold. All you need to do is re-heat the whole mixture just a bit to bring up the temperature. Then you can keep whipping until it smoothes out.
Worked like a charm, thank you, Stella!
The second time I made it, I watched the temperature of my whites carefully, both while I was heating them and while I was cooling them. And I got perfect sugar free buttercream frosting from the start.
Advantages of Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
Yes, it’s definitely trickier and more time consuming to make than standard buttercream. But it’s so so worth it.
I’ve already mentioned the incomparable taste and texture and the fact that it uses far less sweetener. But it holds up so well at room temperature and it doesn’t get overly greasy. It also doesn’t get crusty in the fridge and with the combination of Swerve and Bocha Sweet, it won’t recrystallize at all.
It can be made ahead and refrigerated for a day or two and can be frozen for up to 2 months. To make it smooth and creamy again, just let it come to room temperature and beat it on low until smooth.
Yes you can add other flavors and additions. I have yet to try that though but I will report back when I do!
So are you ready to up your keto baking game and give this amazing sugar free frosting a try?
Sugar Free Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 4 large egg whites
- 1/2 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1/3 cup Bocha Sweet, (allulose or xylitol may also work)
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into tablespoons
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Make sure the bowl of a stand mixer is very clean and set over a pan of barely simmering water. Add egg whites and both sweeteners.
- Whisk gently but constantly, until the sweeteners have dissolved and egg whites are hot and slightly frothy. They should reach about 150F on an instant read thermometer.
- Transfer the bowl to the mixer and attach the whisk. Whip the egg whites at medium high speed until they are thick and glossy and the bottom of the bowl is no longer warm, anywhere between 5 and 10 minutes. The temperature should be about 90F on an instant read thermometer.
- Start adding the butter cubes one at a time until full incorporated and the frosting is smooth and creamy. Turn stand mixer to medium low and add the vanilla and salt until combined.
- Spread or pipe on your favorite keto cakes and cupcakes! This frosting also freezes really well. Let it come to room temperature again and rewhip lightly before frosting.
- NOTE: I know I will be answering this question over and over so let me just say it straight up. You need the two different sweeteners here! A combination of an erythritol based sweetener, such as Swerve, and one that keeps things softer, such as Bocha Sweet, xylitol, or possibly allulose, is necessary to achieve the correct consistency.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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I almost chickened out, but I’m so glad I tried it! I looked through all of the comments to see if anyone had tried carton egg whites but I gave it a go and it worked perfectly! I just hate having to figure out what to do with extra yolks and I hate to throw food away, so I was anxious to see if this would work with egg whites from the carton. Yahoo! Delicious cupcakes for our son’s birthday!
You can make homemade ice cream, vanilla pudding or eggnog with the egg yolks
mmm or French buttercream next time. I freeze my leftover whites or yolks in ziplocks for this
This recipe was a lifesaver for my toddlers birthday party! We don’t let her have sugar, but I still wanted to have a cute birthday cake. We ended up going with a Beauty and the Beast themed birthday party and this icing worked amazingly as the dress swirls for a stand up Belle cake! They also made adorable little red roses for the mini cupcakes I made. I was SO IMPRESSED at how well this frosting worked!! Thanks for saving the birthday party Carolyn!!
Holy crap. Absolutely fantastic. First time making it and I managed to pull it off and I could eat the entire batch with a spoon. I had mine too cold, so I mildly heated it and it whipped up perfectly in seconds. Unbelievable. Granular erythritol and granular xylitol is what I used.
This was a mission and a half, but in the end it all turned out alright! 🙂 The instructions are fantastic and very clear, and I really enjoyed the whole process. although my arm was aching at the end of it (no stand mixer here, just a handheld electric whisk, and no bain marie, so I used a glass bowl on top of a saucepan with simmering water). I have a very trusty instant read thermometer so I thought I was measuring everything carefully, but I think my egg whites and sweeteners may have still been a few degrees too hot when I added the butter, as the result was a bit soupy when all the butter was added in. No matter though, I left it in the fridge for about 30 minutes, but I guess my fridge runs a bit too cold as it came out solid and greasy… oops! Still not one to give up, I put the bowl back on top of my makeshift bain marie and let it melt at the edges and then whipped it again. This time it was perfect! Just the texture I had hoped for, and no graininess or soupiness… phew! I would love to try this as a chocolate flavoured buttercream, but I have no idea where to begin. Thank you so much for this wonderfully written recipe, it was most satisfying to make. I used this frosting in your margarita cake for my husband’s birthday this weekend, and it went down a treat 🙂
If you want a chocolate version, see my marble cake recipe. The thing about SMB is that it is tricky to get the temp perfect from the get-go but you can adjust and it still works out!
Oh my goodness, you mean this one right?
https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/keto-marble-cake/
I will absolutely make this soon, weekend after next – this looks incredible! Thank you so much, you made my day.
And yes, I’m delighted to discover how forgiving SMB is 🙂
Yes, that’s the one!
This is literally the best frosting I’ve ever had. So light and just perfect. I added cocoa powder and a bit of instant coffee and it’s absolutely spectacular. Thank you!
Will this hold up without Bocha?
Sure, but it will likely re-crystallize again as it cools. Who wants gritty frosting?
Any chance this would work with granulated swerve (instead of the bocha sweet) with the powdered swerve? I want to make this this weekend, and that’s all I have on hand.. with social distancing, I’d rather not head to the store unless absolutely necessary! If it won’t work though I’d head out. Hopefully you’ll see this in time!
Technically yes it will work… but then it will re-crystallize quite badly when refrigerated. I don’t recommend.
Hi Carolyn,
I’m SUPER excited to try this for a cake I’m planning to make tomorrow (your chocolate mayonnaise cake). I was discussing it with my mom and she asked me if it was like 7 minute frosting and I said no but it seems similar. I ‘dwondered if you’d ever attempted 7 minute frosting and if so, did it work?. I’m wondering if it requires ‘real’ sugar to do its magic. If you haven’t had it, it’s amazing – it’s almost marshmallowy in its consistency. It’s sweet but not cloying.
Thanks,
Linda
This is by far the BEST Keto approved frosting I’ve made and I’ve tried them all! I used Monk fruit and Allulose and it was spot on! It never crystallized, stayed smooth and soooo creamy and held shape beautifully! I will be using this for the frosting on a wedding cake I’m making at the end of the month for my friends! I made a test cake for them using this recipe and they raved over it! Perfection!!! Thank you so much for this amazing recipe….it truly is wonderful!
Yay! Have you checked out the chocolate version that’s on my marble layer cake? So good too!
What is the max amount of time you think this can be left at room temp?
Several hours.
Thank you so much for this recipe and all your work on everything! I know that you put so much more time in it than we can see or even imagine!
Do you use the powdered bochasweet or regular in this swiss buttercream! Please forgive me if you have already answered this.
I made this recipe before BochaSweet came out the powdered, so the regular… but you could really use either.
Made this with 1/2 cup of splenda, 1/3cup xylitol. As I started to add butter it started to have the curdled look so I warmed rest of butter in microwave til warm but not melted and it all came out beautifully. Fabulously pip-able. Everyone was raving about it – even the skeptics. Nicely done and thanks so much!
Glad it worked out! The temp of both the egg whites and the butter are crucial but it’s almost always salvageable!
I used this for my son’s monster smash cake and was really nervous because my local store did not have bocha sweet. I ended up purchasing swerve confectioners and splenda allulose and it worked perfectly! Your tip about the curdled frosting also saved my life as I guess my butter wasn’t quite to room temperature. I made this frosting the night before I was going to use it and forgot to take it out to come to room temperature so it was quite hard when I took it out of the fridge! I’m happy to report that I used the same tip for curdled frosting and placed the bowl of frosting over simmering water until the side started to melt and then I put it back on my stand mixer and it whipped back up beautifully! It was a hit with my 1yr old as well as his 3 yr old brother, 13 yr old sister and daddy!
question! I bought the new blend High Key has out.. it has the trifecta sweeteners and it includes allulose .. Im curious if you think this may work.. like would it be enough allulose to keep it from forming crystals.
I haven’t used it but probably….the whole heating with the egg whites should dissolve it.
Can I use all bochasweet and no swerve/erythritol? Will it work?
I honestly can’t say for sure, but my experience with BochaSweet is that too much can make things overly soft. I have some ice cream in the freezer that is soft-serve consistency because I overdid the BS.
I have made this with every type of keto sweetener out there and not had any issues…even all monk fruits. my fave Is either monk fruit or swerve for the 1/2 cup and then splitting the 1/3 up btwn allulose and xylitol
Wonderfully perfect recipe – the texture is unbelievable! I never thought I could enjoy a birthday cake again, at least without the guilt. I used xylitol instead of the Bocha Sweet, because there was no time to order it. I made it last night and left it out to see what it would do. It was just like it was last night when freshly made. Thank you for doing all that experimenting on our behalf!
Hooray so glad to hear it!
I used to love making Italian meringue buttercream and it’s one of the things I really missed when I went keto. This recipe is exactly the same consistency and just the right amount of sweetness. Thank you for making the keto lifestyle so much easier to stick with!
Glad you liked it!