Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream

It’s officially Fall bakers! To kick things off, I’m sharing this salted caramel version of my Swiss meringue buttercream recipe. It strikes a delicious balance between the sweet and warm tones of caramel, salty flakes of fleur de sal, and the classic silky smooth texture and creamy flavor of Swiss meringue buttercream. Whether you’re frosting a show stopping celebration cake for the holidays, or simply adding a decadent touch to your favorite treats, this buttercream is guaranteed to be a hit.

Let’s start with the ingredients!

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Ingredients

• Egg Whites (make sure to use fresh, not boxed)
• Brown Sugar (using brown instead of white deepens the flavor and reinforces the caramel tones)
• Butter (Room temp, I typically use a blend of salted and unsalted to balance flavors)
• Vanilla Extract
• Thick Caramel Sauce (Go homemade if possible! It truly makes a world of difference. I don’t have my recipe up yet but use something fairly similar to Sally’s Baking Blog if you need a recommendation, but skip the salt because we’ll add that in later!)
• Fleur De Sel (The large flakes create the perfect pops of salty flavor throughout your buttercream! If you don’t have fleur de sel, use whatever large flakey salt you have access to)

I’m going to give a quick run down of the process, but if you want a more in depth guide to making Swiss Meringue Buttercream including my recipe and trouble shooting guide, check out my post, Swiss Meringue Buttercream!

Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe

Process Overview

Make the Meringue

Cook the egg whites and brown sugar over a baine marie, otherwise known as a double boiler, until the mixture reaches 165-170 degrees and the sugar has dissolved. Hint: Save a dish and use the bowl of your electric mixer if it’s heat safe! (Something like a kitchen aid stainless steel, NOT glass)

Transfer to Electric Mixture, and Whip Until Stiff and Glossy

Using a whisk attachment and an electric mixer, whip the cooked whites and sugar until stiff and glossy. This process can take several minutes, but the way the egg whites turn into a glossy gorgeous meringue is just magic.

KitchenAid 5 Quart Ceramic Bowl for all KitchenAid 4.5-5 Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixers KSM2CB5PSS, Speckled Stone

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If making a regular batch, it should be easy to bring it to stiff peaks, but if making a smaller batch (particularly in relation to the size of your bowl) the meringue may have a hard time getting to that point. If it doesn’t get to super stiff peaks, you can try using a hand mixer so the bowl size isn’t a problem. As long as the peaks aren’t super soft though, it should stiffen up once you beat in the butter.

You also want to let the meringue cool down a bit so when you add the butter it doesn’t melt and turn into soup

Add in the Butter

Once again, don’t do this when the meringue is piping hot. Once the mixture has cooled down a bit, add in the room temperature butter a bit at a time, and whip until light and fluffy. Some bakers prefer to switch to a paddle at this point, but it’s a matter of preference.

Add in Vanilla, Caramel, and Salt

We’ve reached the flavor portion of the recipe! Add in the vanilla extract, along with the caramel sauce and the salt.

Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract for Baking and Cooking, 4 Ounce Bottle

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As mentioned before, I REALLY recommend using homemade caramel sauce if possible. It does need to be a thicker recipe so it doesn’t create too much liquid in the buttercream making it runny.

I don’t have my recipe up quite yet, so if you need a caramel sauce recommendation, try out this one from Sally’s Baking Recipes, but leave out the salt! The consistency is perfect for this recipe and isn’t too runny or firm when at room temperature. Make this far enough in advance so it has time to cool before you add it in to the buttercream!

For salt, the best option is Fleur De Sel. I’ve been using this for several years and the flakiness is just *chefs kiss. Start by adding 3/4 tsp, and then add more to taste if desired.

Le Saunier De Camargue | Fleur De Sel | French Finishing Sea Salt, 4.4 oz

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And that’s it! It’s really a delicious recipe that will be the perfect companion for all of your fall baking this season. I hope you enjoy it and would love to hear what you think if you try it out!

Looking for more fall baking ideas? Check out these recipes and tutorials!

Soft Snickerdoodles

Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Silky-smooth swiss meringue buttercream combining sweet caramel with a touch of flakey sea salt for an irresistible topping to cakes, cupcakes, macarons, and more.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Servings 5.25 cups

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 185 grams egg whites 185ml or roughly 6 egg whites
• 320 grams brown sugar 1 ½ cups plus 1 tbsp
• 230 grams salted butter softened but not squishy 1 cup
• 230 grams unsalted butter 1 cup
• 3/4 cup thick caramel sauce homemade if possible, cooled to room temp, see notes for recipe recommendation
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 tsp fleur de sel or other flakey salt

Instructions

 

• Using a medium size sauce pot, bring an inch or so of water to a boil.
• In a medium heat safe metal bowl that is large enough to rest on top of the sauce pot, whisk together the egg whites and brown sugar. (Use a kitchen aid metal mixing bowl and whisk attachment to save a dish later.)
• Place bowl on top of the pot with boiling water and continue whisking. Cook until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture reaches 165-170 degrees Fahrenheit and no longer feels grainy from the sugar. Immediately remove from heat to avoid overcooking the egg whites.
• Remove bowl from heat, and use an electric mixer to whisk the mixture until a stiff glossy meringue forms.
• Once the meringue cools down to roughly room temperature, cut the butter into several pieces and add it into the bowl one piece at a time.
• Beat for another few minutes until the buttercream is light and fluffy, and the butter flavor becomes less prominent. (Buttercream may look curdled at first but will come together when mixed long enough)
• Add in the vanilla extract, caramel sauce, and fleur de sel, and whip until thoroughly combined.
• To lessen the air bubbles in the buttercream, switch to a paddle attachment on your mixer and mix on low for 5-10 minutes. To speed up the process, see notes for “tempering” your buttercream.

Notes

TIP: For smoother buttercream with less air bubbles, try the “tempering” method.
Tempered Buttercream
Remove a small portion (about 1/3 cup) of the buttercream from your mixing bowl and put it in a heat safe bowl.
Melt the buttercream in the microwave until liquid.
Pour the melted portion of buttercream back into the main bowl of buttercream and mix on a low speed until combined and smooth.

1 Batch makes a little over 2 lbs (5.25 cups) of buttercream and is approximately enough for…
Frosting and filling 1 6″ 3 layer cake
Frosting 14-16 Cupcakes (taller frost)
Frosting 24-26 Cupcakes (rosette frost)
Filling 9 dozen 2″ Macarons

Keyword Buttercream Sugar Cookies, caramel, Fall, Salted, swiss meringue

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!