The frosting mentioned above is chocolate swiss meringue buttercream

This is the best chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream (SMBC) that I ever made, and it is the best chocolate icing I’ve ever tasted! It’s very creamy; it is silky and the chocolate taste is absolutely great.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream first

Swiss meringue buttercream is the frosting method that uses meringue as one of its components. This is achieved by whipping cooked egg whites with caster sugar to stiff consistency to give a thick meringue base, the addition of butter and flavourings. It is slightly less sweet than the American buttercream and belongs to the group of meringue-based frostings. It is very easy to make a chocolate meringue buttercream – just melt the butter and mix with the meringue and cocoa powder!

Tips for Success

Smoothing the icing to make SMBC is slightly a little trickier than making the American buttercream, though. Here are my best tips to help you succeed on your first try:

• Avoid Fat Residue: Ensure that your bowls and spoons you are going to use are cleaned from fats or any type of oil. This is why even a little droplet of fat, which has slid off the egg yolk during beat age, can disrupt the formation of your meringue. Sincerely wash all the utensils then you can also clean the bowl with a little soapy water containing little lemon juice or vinegar to remove fats.
• Check Butter Consistency: It should be soft to the touch – you should press the butter with your fingers, but the mixture should not be wet. See the recipe video for explanation. In this online video, I provide an example of making this recipe.
• Cook on Low Heat: Whisk your egg whites and sugar over a double boiler with minimum heat. But be careful with heat, too high and the egg whites are scrambled egg frosting!
• Whip Until Stiff Peaks Form: If the meringue mixture is too soft it cannot hold a shape of its own and will spread out while cooking. Beat it until it attains the desired volume of stiff peaks.
• Cool Meringue Before Adding Butter: This should ideally take roughly, approximately fifteen minutes to finally get the meringue to a state of stiffness. By then it should be cool enough to add butter. If it is warm, place the bowl into the fridge for 10 min before adding the butter. If the meringue is still warm the butter will become soft thus causing the frosting to be sticky. That is why if that happens you can fix it! Look at the suggestions offered below for troubleshooting.

Why is My Buttercream Runny?

If you find your buttercream is too thin then your meringue was probably too warm when you put the butter in. After that, put it in the refrigerator for approximately 30 minutes and whip it up again.

Why is My SMBC Curdling?

Don’t worry—this is normal! When you want to fold in butter, allow considerable time for it to batter with meringue. If your dough looks a little curdle, carry on with the mixing and it will become smooth later. Wait for the mixture to whip at least for several minutes after adding the butter.

Why does my SMBC taste too butterscotch?

It’s true that SMBC is slicker than the American buttercream but it should not taste like general butter. First then ensure that you used the right amounts in the preparations. Second, remember to whip the SMBC enough after the addition of butter to make it less dense afterwards.

Why is My SMBC Grainy?

This is usually as a result of failure by the sugar to dissolve in the egg whites before doing any other activity. Before whipping the egg white and sugar mixture ensure that there aren’t any grains of sugar that remain on the mixture.

Technique used for making chocolate SMBC is similar to the regular SMBC food combination but the melted chocolate is added at the final stage. You can use any type of chocolate – white, milk or dark but I specifically recommend dark chocolate for the frosting because of three reasons.

Conclusion

Chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream is a versatile silky fluffy frosting, perfect for any cake or cupcake lovers who prefer less sweet frosting. It may be one or two steps longer than the regular frostings, nonetheless, it produces a satiny, stable, and rich buttercream that is simply unbeatable. This impressive frosting is easy to master once you follow simple tips, fix common problems and maybe practice several times. It’s fun and it is great to have a fantastic chocolatey taste at the end of your culinary work!

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