This Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream is an incredibly stable frosting, starting with a meringue base made from egg whites and granulated sugar. Butter, melted chocolate, and cocoa powder are then incorporated into the meringue, creating a velvety smooth, rich chocolate frosting that you will love.
For years, I avoided buttercream frosting because I always associated it with that greasy, tooth-achingly sweet stuff that no one ever actually eats off cakes or cupcakes. Maybe you can relate. But once I started making my OG Swiss meringue buttercream, everything changed—and I truly hope this version of chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream will change your life too!
✨ Recipe highlights
- FLAVOR PROFILE: rich chocolate flavor from both melted chocolate and cocoa powder with a subtle sweetness.
- TEXTURE: a super stable frosting with an extremely smooth and silky texture!
- EASE: more advanced than American style chocolate buttercream but I will walk you through it with detailed instructions, step-by-step photos and all the tips.
- WHY YOU’LL LOVE IT: its perfect balance of sweetness and the top-notch texture make it hands down the BEST chocolate buttercream you’ll ever taste.
Gather your ingredients
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this chocolate buttercream. You can see the complete list of ingredients with quantities in the recipe card. But I’ll leave you some notes on the key ingredients.
- Egg whites – fresh or carton egg whites both work. A lot of bloggers don’t recommend pasteurized egg whites (in the carton) and there is even a note on the carton to not use it for meringue, but I’ve made my OG Swiss meringue buttercream with both fresh and pasteurized carton egg whites many times and never had any issues with neither!
- Vinegar – vinegar is acidic and helps the meringue whip up and aerate more quickly while also stabilizing it. Without acid, meringue can collapse easily. Lemon juice or cream of tartar are also acidic and can be used in its place.
- Chocolate AND cocoa powder – I used both chocolate (55% cocoa) and cocoa powder (Dutch-processed) to achieve the rich chocolate flavor in this chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream. Due to the large volume of egg whites, sugar and butter, the flavor of the melted chocolate is diluted so adding extra cocoa powder will amp it up. Another tip to intensify the chocolate flavor is to add a little bit of instant espresso powder if you have it.
Tips and techniques
In this section, I share all the details, tips and my personal experience in the kitchen while making this recipe to help you make it successfully. But you can always skip straight to the recipe card.
Prepare your tools
Make sure all of your equipment, tools, utensils are clean, dry and grease-free. Even just a spec of oil, butter or egg yolk can ruin your meringue and it won’t whip up to stiff peaks.
I usually make my buttercream in the metal bowl that comes with my stand mixer, but I will use a heatproof glass bowl to heat the egg whites and sugar first, then transfer it to the metal bowl for whipping.
Heat the egg whites and sugar
If you have a double boiler, you can use it in this step. But it’s not a problem if you don’t have one, I’ve been baking for almost 20 years and I don’t own a double boiler. You just need to place a heatproof glass bowl over a pot of simmering water to make a DIY double boiler.
Heat the egg whites and sugar in this “double boiler” while stirring constantly until all the sugar dissolves and the mixture reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the safe temperature for eggs to be consumed, so it is important your mixture reaches this temperature since you won’t be “cooking” the frosting any further.
If you don’t have a thermometer, you’ll want to heat the egg white mixture until all the sugar has dissolved at the minimum. Dip your clean fingers into the mixture and then rub them together to see if you can still feel the sugar granules. This is also crucial to ensure you don’t end up with gritty buttercream.
Whip up the meringue
Make sure to wipe the bottom of the glass bowl to dry it and transfer the egg white mixture into your stand mixer bowl. You will now beat the mixture on medium speed, while streaming in the vinegar. Continue beating it until stiff peak forms and the meringue is shiny and smooth.
Your meringue should start cooling down while you’re beating it. This is also another advantage of transferring the egg whites to a cool bowl as opposed to keeping it in the same bowl you were heating it with and making the meringue in the hot bowl. You’ll want it to cool down so it doesn’t melt the butter when you add it in the next step.
Add butter slowly
Make sure your butter is at room temperature but not melted. Taking the butter out of the fridge and cutting it into thin slabs or small cubes should be the first thing you do when starting this recipe so it has time to come to room temperature.
When adding butter, you’ll want to go slow, adding just one cube at a time, and allowing it to incorporate into the meringue before adding another.
Your buttercream may curdle
Your mixture may curdle if too much butter is added at once. Or it may break after you added all the butter. This is okay, it’s completely normal, just keep beating until the butter cream comes together!
Turn it into chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream
Make sure you melt your chocolate ahead of time, using the same “double boiler” method, and let it cool before adding it to your buttercream. While the melted chocolate sits around, just stir it once in while to make sure the entire mixture cools evenly. Warm chocolate can melt your buttercream.
The final ingredients you need to incorporate are melted and cooled dark chocolate, cocoa powder, a splash of vanilla extract to enhance the chocolate flavor and a pinch of salt to balance out the sweetness. Stir to mix first and then continue beating until you get a light and fluffy chocolate buttercream.
Other problems you may experience
- Buttercream is gritty – did you make sure to dissolve the sugar completely during the heating step? You may try warming the frosting up using the “double boiler” method to dissolve the sugar crystal. Let it cool again and re-whip. If this doesn’t help you may need to start over.
- Buttercream is runny or too soft – your butter may be too soft to start, or the meringue may be too warm when you start adding butter, or your melted chocolate is too warm. Try popping the bowl into the fridge for 15 -30 minutes to set and then beat it again.
- Buttercream just tastes like butter – air beaten into buttercream is what makes it light and fluffy. If you underbeat your frosting, it will be thick and taste like butter.
- More problems? Check out this guide for rescuing your Swiss meringue buttercream.
Storage
This chocolate Swiss buttercream can be kept at room temperature for up to 24 hours. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for 2-3 months. When ready to use, let the buttercream come to room temperature and re-whip until fluffy.
Ways to use this chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream
- Chocolate and vanilla is a classic combination, I paired it with these super soft oil-base Vanilla Cupcakes for a simple treat.
- Chocolate on chocolate is a must for any chocolate lover like me, this 6” mini Chocolate Cake paired with my chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream has so many raved reviews from readers. Try it for yourself!
- Going back to that classic combo, this little Vanilla Cake is perfect for a small birthday celebration.
Hungry for more?
Chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream recipe
Equipment
- Thermometer
Ingredients
- 4 oz egg white, 115 g, a smidge less than 4 large egg whites
- ¾ cup granulated sugar, 135 g
- ¾ teaspoon distilled vinegar or lemon juice, 4 g
- 10 oz unsalted butter, room temperature, cubed or cut into thin pats, 283 g
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 oz dark chocolate, 115 g
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, dutch-processed, 7 g
- A pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- Melt the chocolate in a heat proof bowl over a pot of simmering water just until most is melted. Continue to stir as you take it off the heat until all the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Set aside to cool.4 oz dark chocolate
- Add egg white and sugar to a heatproof glass bowl and place it over a pot of boiling water without allowing the bottom of the bowl to touch the water, reduce heat to keep the water simmering and not boiling over. Whisk the mixture constantly until all the sugar dissolves and the mixture reaches 160°F.4 oz egg white, ¾ cup granulated sugar
- Carefully remove the bowl from the pot and wipe the bottom and side dry. Transfer the egg white mixture into your stand mixer bowl and beat with the balloon attachment on medium speed. Stream in the vinegar or lemon juice, and continue beating until stiff peak forms and the meringue is shiny and smooth.¾ teaspoon distilled vinegar or lemon juice
- Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add the room temperature cubed butter, one cube at a time, allowing it to incorporate into the meringue before adding another.10 oz unsalted butter
- Once all the butter has been incorporated, add vanilla extract, cocoa powder, melted chocolate and a pinch of salt, beat until light and fluffy.½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, A pinch of kosher salt, 4 oz dark chocolate
Notes
- This recipe yields 3 cups of chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream, enough for 15-18 cupcakes.
- Make sure your equipment, tools and utensils are clean, dry and free of grease or the meringue may not whip up.
- Avoid gritty buttercream by making sure the sugar is completely dissolved in the egg white while heating.
- While incorporating the butter, your buttercream can look separated or curdled. Just keep beating, it will come together eventually.
- To prevent soft or runny buttercream, make sure your butter is soft but not melted, the meringue is cool and not too warm before adding the butter, and the melted chocolate is also cool and not too warm before the final step.
- Don’t be shy about beating your buttercream, enough air needs to be incorporated to get that light fluffy texture. If you underbeat your buttercream, it will taste just like butter.
- Store your chocolate buttercream at room temp for up to 24 hours, in the fridge for up to a week, and in the freezer for 2-3 months. Let it come to room temp and beat until fluffy before using.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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