Everything you need to know about American Buttercream and Swiss Meringue Buttercream

So many people ask what the difference is between American Buttercream (AB) and Swiss Meringue Buttercream (SMBC).

American Buttercream is one of the easiest and quickest buttercream's to make. It is simply made of Icing Sugar and Butter with a 2:1 ratio. You beat the butter until pale and fluffy and then add the icing sugar and mix until incorporated adding in a small amount of milk to loosen the mixture.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream on the other hand is made with Egg whites, Caster Sugar and Butter. You start off by heating the egg whites and caster sugar until it reaches a temperature of 71c. It's then whipped up to form a meringue, and butter is then added slowly until its fully incorporated.

They are both very different types of buttercream. American Buttercream is quite a sweet buttercream which can have a slightly gritty texture from the icing sugar whereas Swiss Meringue buttercream is not a very sweet buttercream, with a creamy silky like texture with no gritty-ness. However SMBC doesn't tickle everyones taste buds and some may even say it has a lack of taste!

So what are my thoughts on Swiss Meringue Buttercream?

After using Swiss Meringue Buttercream on a few of my cakes now, I have to say I LOVE working with it instead of American Buttercream.,

So here is why I prefer using Swiss Meringue Buttercream over American Buttercream on my cakes:

1. AB is not as smooth to work with with far more air bubbles and imperfections. With SMBC you can get a pretty flawless cake with no air pockets - It really is a cake decorators dream to work with.

2. I have found that AB cakes can sometimes form large air pockets once the buttercream starts to crust.

3. In extremely cold weather I have noticed when AB dries it can cause cracks in the icing

5. SMBC is an absolute dream to work with. Although its a longer process to make up its well worth it

What about the taste?

I do like the taste of SMBC, it is not overly sweet and has a lovely buttery taste. However i would have to say my preference in taste would be American Buttercream as I prefer the sweetness.

So what are your thoughts. Let me know if you have tried SMBC and what you think in comparison to AB.

American Buttercream Vs Swiss Meringue Buttercream