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
- ½ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- ⅓ cup Bocha Sweet (allulose or xylitol may also work)
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature cut into tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon 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
Jen says
Hi Carolyn, Do you use the granular or powdered Bocha Sweet? Thanks.
Carolyn says
Either works. When I wrote this recipe, there was only the granular.
Sheryl says
I have faith that this is going to work out… So far it has deflated as I added the butter. Should I just keep whipping? It tastes delicious!
Carolyn says
If you read the recipe notes, you will see how to correct things. But that’s exactly what’s supposed to happen when you add the butter. As I wrote in the blog post:
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.
Shannon Hagen says
I want to use this recipe to make a peanut butter or chocolate buttercream. Do you think it would still work? How much coco powder or peanut butter would you add. Thank you!
Carolyn says
You can make a chocolate buttercream (I did here: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/keto-marble-cake/). but I think it will be a disaster if you try to add peanut butter.
Jill says
I am wanting to try making your no churn ice cream cake with this Swiss Meringue buttercream frosting on the outside. I saw where you said it freezes well, but whipped it before putting it on the cake. Can I frost the ice cream cake and freeze it together. Will the erythritol recrystallize? If you think I can use this frosting for this type of cake, how long should I have it out of the freezer before serving it?
Carolyn says
Because the Swiss Meringue has BochaSweet in it, it should not recrystallize.
Katherine Faddis says
Wow, that changes everything! Thank you!
I needed the extra advice but it worked great, not too sweet, fluffy and silky.
Made 1/2 recipe and was just enough for a small cake.
Marnie says
I’m not a fan of the cool effect I seem to get from xylitol but that’s all I have besides the Swerve. How prevalent is the cooling sensation in this recipe for those of you who have tried it with xylitol? Thanks for the recipe Caroline and thanks to all the modification testers who share their experiences good and bad.
Carolyn says
I don’t experience it but we all taste these things a little differently.
Mindy says
Not sure why, but I simply could not get this recipe to come together. I almost exclusively make Swiss Merengue Buttercreams so was not anticipating having issues, but it became a soupy mess and stayed that way. I had been trying to make my birthday cake keto and had to just make a normal SMB since I only had enough Swerve Confectioner’s left for the one batch. One thing I noticed is that when whisking up the egg whites and dissolved sugars it never got that sticky marshmallow texture I’m used to, and I thought maybe that could be the issue? I assumed maybe it just wouldn’t with the alternative sweeteners so just went by the temperatures listed.
Carolyn says
It absolutely should become voluminous and marshmallow-like before you add the butter. Did you use only Swerve Confectioners?
Amy says
I loved this recipe, and though I needed the tips to rescue my mistake, it turned out perfect! I too would love a chocolate version
Carolyn says
Can I say… I’ve never had it work perfectly from the start? I always need those tips too!
Colleen says
How would you choc-lify this frosting to a rich chocolate flavor and look?
Lisa says
i am getting married October 9th and making my own keto wedding cake. I’m trying to decide what frosting recipe to follow. Will this work well for stacked tiered cake. I assume so since you said it sets up well without getting overly crunchy from the sweetner. I want to make my cake the day before. Is it fine to leave a room temp for a couple days?
also I want my color off white so I was thinking of adding a little espresso powder. do you think that would work ok? any other suggestions? I have no idea how much I need to make either. I’m doing a double layer 12″, double layer 10″ and double layer 6″.
Carolyn says
Espresso powder will be great. And it should work for any cake. But I would definitely refrigerate it! Prepare the cake, and frost it, and then refrigerate until 1 to 2 hours before the wedding.
Lesley says
Is it possible to make this with a handheld mixer?
Carolyn says
Yes, but it’s going to take a while so be prepared!
Dena says
Just wondering, you use powdered erythritol and granulated xylitol? Or do you use powdered xylitol??
Carolyn says
You can use granulated or powdered xylitol.
Anita Bellefeuille says
The only thing that I am allergic to is Erythritol. I usually substitute xylitol or allulose. That does not appear to be an option here. Any suggestions?
Carolyn says
Well, I haven’t tried with just one of those… Allulose will make it overly soft, I suspect. So I’d use xylitol or BochaSweet. https://amzn.to/3OvTBJN
Alexandra says
Bom dia. Gostaria de saber qual é o tamanho e o tipo do bico de confeiteiro que está usando nesta receita.
Carolyn says
I used one like this: https://amzn.to/3MzwMU6
A says
Have you ever done this with 1/2 cup of BochaSweet and 1/3 cup of xylitol? Or all of either instead of splitting it up? I hate the cooling effect of erythritol.
Carolyn says
I don’t recommend this… it will likely make it overly soft and goopy. But you’re certainly welcome to try!
Sue says
How did you get the cream to look so ‘white’ in colour? Mine was yellow due to the butter.
Carolyn says
That’s just how it came out! I used organic butter but now that I think of it, it’s probably was not grassfed. Grassfed butter has a deeper yellow hue, so that would like cause deeper tinge in your frosting.
Catherine says
I am not a baker but I so wanted a creamy frosting that didn’t have cream cheese. When read this recipe I thought it sounded good but was I up to making it! I waited until a day I had free time and decided to tackle it. It came out just perfect! My daughter thinks it was even better the next day! I definitely will be making it again.
Carolyn says
I am thrilled to hear it!
Kathi King says
FYI – when I click the BochaSweet link, it goes to a Swerve Amazon listing. Is BochaSweet not available right now?
Carolyn says
Try their website directly and see. I honestly can’t say.
Valerie says
Has anyone tried this with pasteurized egg whites from a carton?
Carolyn says
Yes and it doesn’t work as well. The buttercream is much more dense and heavy, not as silky.
Fran T. says
Help!! I think I’m following the recipe perfectly. That is until I added coloring. 1st time I thought it was because I used gel coloring. So I bought and used powdered color. Still the same issue. The color separated and dribble down the cake.
Carolyn says
Sorry I don’t think I can help. I’ve never tried adding color to mine. I have added raspberry puree and that was fine.
Bernadette says
LOVE this recipe. Has anyone tried this yet with allulose? My bocha bag is almost empty, but I’ve got an allulose stash…