Meringue Buttercream Recipes

Staff Picks

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

This all-purpose buttercream has an ultra-silky, stable texture that spreads beautifully over cakes and cupcakes, and can be piped into perfect peaks and patterns.

Italian Meringue Buttercream

Use this recipe to frost your favorite layer cake.

Chocolate Sheet Cake with Vanilla Buttercream

Cocoa powder and melted chocolate give this classic Chocolate Sheet Cake with Vanilla Buttercream deep, well-rounded flavor. Inspired by devil’s food cake, it's a party-perfect dessert that's rich but not overly sweet.

Strawberry Meringue Buttercream

This recipe for strawberry meringue buttercream from "Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook" is the perfect frosting for White Cupcakes.

Berry Layer Cake

A blueberry-studded triple-decker cake is decorated with swirls and rosettes of frosting flavored with black raspberry jam, followed by a tumble of fresh berries.

Lemony Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting

Use this buttercream to frost "Whisk Kid" blogger Kaitlin Flannery's colorful Rainbow Cake.

Coffee Buttercream

Flavored with instant espresso powder, this lively frosting goes especially well with chocolate desserts, whether it's a simple batch of cupcakes or Martha's next-level Chocolate Meringue Cake with Coffee Buttercream.

Martha's Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Famous for its smooth, silky texture and a flavor that is not saccharine, Swiss meringue buttercream is perfect for desserts like layer cakes that need a lot of frosting and could run the risk of tasting too sweet. The finished buttercream will be stable—meaning it won't separate and turn grainy—and is easy to work with: it spreads over cakes like a dream, takes well to food coloring, and can be piped into all sorts of creative designs.

Pink Croquembouche

French for "crunch in the mouth," croquembouche is a tower of cream puffs held together by hot caramel. Martha makes the dessert even more showstopping by turning the pastries pink and filling them with strawberry buttercream.

Sunflower Cupcakes

Piped buttercream forms the petals of these blooming beauties, while chocolate-covered sunflower seeds create the centers.

Fish Birthday Cake

Templates make it easy to build this aquatic creature. Just cut out the parts, assemble them, and frost. When you bring this cake to the table, we guarantee you won't have to fish for compliments.

Quick Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Use this Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe for our Number-Themed Mini Birthday Cupcakes, "Who's Counting?" Birthday Cake, or Pastel Layer Cake.

Inspiration and Ideas

Meringue Buttercream

This meringue buttercream holds its shape particularly well, making it good for decorating. If the buttercream becomes too soft while piping, stir it over an ice-water bath until it stiffens.This recipe can be used to make our Flower Cake.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream for Cupcakes

Praline Buttercream

Swiss Meringue Buttercream for French Almond Macarons

Coconut Meringue Buttercream

Italian Meringue Buttercream for Perfect White Cake

Make-Ahead Swiss Meringue Buttercream

All Meringue Buttercream Recipes

Vanilla French Buttercream

This wonderful vanilla French buttercream should be paired with Butter Lane's Chocolate Cupcakes.

Dog Cake

Raise the woof with this 3-D canine cake, which is baked in two standard 9-by-13-inch baking pans. A pastry bag fitted with a large, plain round tip is all you need to create his curly coat.

July 4th Cupcakes

Tiny blue buttercream stars and red-licorice stripes decorate this patriotic batch of vanilla cupcakes. They're just the right dessert for celebrating Independence Day.

Swiss-Meringue Buttercream for Block and Bootie Cakes

Use this recipe when making our Block Cakes and Bootie Cakes.

Meringue Buttercream Frosting

One hallmark of meringue buttercream is that it spreads like a dream. This versatile version is flavored very simply with vanilla. The Dog Cake, Owl Cake, and Fish Cake each require one recipe of the frosting, although you'll have some left over after frosting the owl and fish. Buttercream freezes well, so save it for another day.

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Use this recipe when making our Gingercake House.

Martha's Sunflower Cupcakes

Martha tints Swiss meringue buttercream a golden yellow, then pipes it into petals atop moist vanilla-bean cupcakes. The best part? Candy-coated sunflower seeds form the flower centers.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream for Mother-Hen Cake

Use this to make our Mother-Hen Cake.

Bug Cupcakes

Clever slicing and colored icing transform simple cupcakes into real delights. Gumdrop heads and licorice antennae may be the first thing picked off and popped into happy mouths. Finally, something from the insect world you don't have to grab out of children's curious hands. You can use either the Swiss Meringue Buttercream or Simple Sugar Icing to frost these cupcakes -- both work equally well.

Flower-and-Bee Cupcakes

Swiss Meringue Buttercream for Meyer Lemon Anniversary Cake

Lemony and bright, this Swiss Meringue buttercream is ideal for adding a bit of citrus to any sweet treat, but especially our Meyer Lemon Anniversary Cake.

John's Almond Swiss Meringue Buttercream

John Baricelli, the manager of the prep kitchen at the television studio, came up with this twist on the traditional buttercream-adding a hint of almond-for Martha's birthday cake.

Gumdrop Cake

Gumdrops stud the surface of this domed cake. Icing is piped out in starburst dots. You can't go wrong -- just start piping at the bottom and work your way up.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream for Sprinkle Cake

This fluffy frosting is the perfect canvas for the Sprinkle Cake's rainbow of tiny candies.

Snowman Cupcakes

Kids can help with every step of these festive cupcakes, from mixing the batter and frosting the tops to creating the snowmen's plump marshmallow figures and affixing their candy eyes, noses, and hats. Set up an assembly line for the perfect afternoon project!

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