Brown Sugar Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Add depth and cozy flavor to Swiss meringue buttercream by making a simple swap using brown sugar instead of white! This buttercream works fantastic as a base for fall flavors in particular. Follow this simple recipe for brown sugar Swiss meringue buttercream to frost and fill cakes, macarons, cookies, and more.

Brown sugar is one of the easiest swaps to make in baking! Here are a few notes to keep in mind when swapping in brown sugar…

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Tips for Swapping Brown Sugar for White Sugar in Recipes

• Brown sugar contains molasses, which adds moisture, caramel notes, and rich flavor.
• Brown caramelizes slower than white sugar.
• In baked goods, brown sugar can increase the chewiness and moisture.
• Brown sugar can alter the color of your final product, making it darker or more brown.

Brown Sugar Swiss Meringue Buttercream Ingredients

• Egg whites (fresh, not boxed/carton)
• Brown Sugar (of course)
• Unsalted Butter
• Salted Butter (I do a blend of the two to balance out the salt level)
• Vanilla Extract

If you’re interested in doing a deep dive on Swiss Meringue Buttercream including troubleshooting and frequently asked questions, head over to my Swiss Meringue Buttercream Post and Recipe!

Equipment

To create a Swiss Meringue Buttercream, you’ll need a few key equipment items including…

• Medium/large heat safe mixing bowl (Tip: you can use the metal KitchenAid bowls but NOT glass)
• Sauce Pot large enough to hold the mixing bowl comfortably on top (for the double boiler step)
• Whisk attachment for an electric mixer
• An electric mixer (stand mixer is preferable but a hand mixer will also work)
• Paddle attachment
• Silicone Spatula

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Process

1. Set Up a Double Boiler

To begin, a double boiler is used to cook the egg whites and sugar together before whipping it into a meringue. This process cooks the egg whites to a safe temperature, and also dissolves the sugar.

To create a double boiler, fill a medium sized sauce pot with about an inch of water, and bring to a boil. Choose a medium/large sized bowl and place on top of the pot of water. (Important: Do NOT use glass bowls. I learned the hard way that it will crack or shatter your bowl. RIP Kitchen Aid Glass Bowl) Make sure the water is not touching the bowl.

The bowl of egg whites and sugar should be large enough to rest on top of the boiling water sauce pot, creating more gentle indirect heat to cook the whites gently to avoid scrambling them.

2. Cook Egg Whites and Brown Sugar

Whisk the egg whites and the sugar together and cook in the bowl over the double boiler. In the beginning you can stir occasionally, but once they start heating up you’ll want to continuously stir the mixture to avoid any hot spots overheating and cooking the egg whites. If you’re new to SMBC, I recommend playing it safe and whisking frequently/continuously the whole time.

Cook until the mixture reaches a minimum of 160 degrees Fahrenheit (check with a food thermometer). I prefer to cook to 170-175 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure maximum stability. You’ll also notice at this stage you can rub the egg white mixture in between your fingers and will no longer feel any grittiness from the sugar because it has dissolved.

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3. Whip Egg Whites and Brown Sugar Into Meringue

Next, transfer your egg white mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer (or like I mentioned earlier, use your KitchenAid Metal bowl!) and whip using a whisk attachment.
Whip until a glossy meringue has formed with stiff peaks. When you flip the whisk up the peaks should remain pointing up. You also want to allow your meringue to cool down a bit so it doesn’t melt the butter in the next step.

TIP: Sometimes when I make smaller batches, (2 egg whites or less), the meringue does not get as stiff during this step. However, I didn’t find it to cause issues and reached the normal texture after whipping in the butter. Just something to keep in mind if you’re doing a small batch!

At this point, you’ll want to start mixing in your softened butter. Make sure your butter isn’t too cold or it will not incorporate as well to your meringue. Whip the butter in until lightened in color and fluffy in texture.

If your meringue was still too warm when you added the butter in, your mixture may become soupy. Keep whipping and see if it comes back together. If it doesn’t, pop it into the fridge to chill for 10-20 minutes and try again.

Sometimes the buttercream can look curdled at this step due to differences in temperature as well. The solution is to keep whipping, or try the chilling step.

Proper whipping time can also reduce the “buttery” flavor in SMBC. Some people have beef with Swiss Meringue Buttercream because it’s TOO buttery tasting. Whipping long enough is a way to combat this.

4. Add in Flavorings

This recipe uses classic Vanilla extract, but Swiss Meringue buttercream is incredibly versatile when it comes to flavoring! Here are a few ways to add flavor to your Swiss Meringue Buttercream…

• Extracts
• Concentrated Syrups
• Jams or preserves (thickened)
• Citrus Zest
• Freeze Dried Fruit Powder
• Espresso Powder
• Cocoa Powder
• Nut Butters/Spreads
• Melted Chocolate
• Cream Cheese
• Finely Crushed Cookies or Graham Crackers

Another option that works extremely well with butter forward fillings like SMBC is to steep things like tea or herbs into the butter itself and then straining it out and bringing to room temperature before adding in to the meringue!

Tip: Avoid flavoring SMBC with ingredients that have a high liquid content. Adding too much liquid to your Swiss Meringue Buttercream will make the consistency too runny.

5. Switch to Paddle and Beat on Low Speed

To knock out air bubbles, switch the mixer attachment to a paddle and run on a low speed for a few minutes. To speed up the process, take a small amount of buttercream out and microwave it until melted, and then pour it back in while mixing on low. I have a paddle attachment with a silicone scraper on the edges that I highly recommend.

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After trying out a few different methods to remove air bubbles, running the paddle on the low speed with the tempering (melted buttercream) method, is the most effective in my opinion.

Applications

Swiss Meringue is an ideal option for filling and frosting desserts such as…

• Cakes
• Cupcakes
• Macarons
• Entremets
• Cookies

Be sure to check out the batch guesstimate chart in the notes of the recipe to see how much you’ll need for your baking projects!

Itching to use this recipe? Try out these macarons and fillings that use Brown Sugar Swiss Meringue Buttercream as their base!

Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Salted Caramel Snickerdoodle Macarons

Cinnamon French Toast Macarons

Brown Sugar Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Easy and delicious Brown Sugar Swiss Meringue Buttercream to frost and fill cakes, macarons, cookies, and more.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Servings 4.5 cups

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 185 grams egg whites 185ml or roughly 6 egg whites
• 320 grams brown sugar sugar 1 ½ cups plus 1 tbsp
• 230 grams salted butter softened but not squishy 1 cup
• 230 grams unsalted butter 1 cup
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

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 small 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, and whip until thoroughly combined. If adding the tiny touch of violet food coloring for whiter buttercream, add now using a toothpick.
• 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. Repeat if needed. 

1 Batch makes 2 lbs (4.5 cups) of buttercream and is roughly enough for…
Frosting and filling 1 6″ 3 layer cake
Frosting 14 Cupcakes (taller frost)
Frosting 24 Cupcakes (rosette frost)
Filling 8 dozen 2″ Macarons

Keyword brown sugar, Buttercream Sugar Cookies, Easy, Fall, Silky, Smooth

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!