It’s kinda the right time for strawberry swiss meringue buttercream, guys. This strawberry buttercream gets a power-blast of deep juicy strawberry flavour from a double whammy mix of strawberry puree AND freeze dried strawberry powder, the use of which was inspired by Yossy’s beautiful raspberry cake. Side warning: freeze dried strawberries are a little bit like crispy crack cocaine, they make your morning cereal WAY special.
With strawberry season around thy little corner in mind, here is a very delicious strawberry swiss meringue buttercream recipe for you – ready to be piped in soft pink ice cream clouds on top of your favourite cupcake base, or slathered on a layer cake decorated with fresh berries, edible flowers and mint leaves.
Strawberry swiss meringue buttercream
ingredients
For the buttercream
- 1 cup of egg whites, about 7-8 large eggs
- 2 1/4 cups granulated white sugar
- 2 1/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup strawberry puree
- 1 ounce (2 tbsp.) freeze dried strawberry powder
instructions
Make the strawberry puree
- Wash and hull 1 pint of fresh strawberries.
- Puree strawberries with 1/8 cup sugar and a pinch of salt until smooth.
Make the strawberry powder
- Using a kitchen scale, measure out one ounce of freeze dried strawberries to make two tablespoons worth of powder (or, use approximately 1 cup freeze dried strawberries.)
- Process in a food processor until finely powdered. Let the strawberry dust settle for a minute before opening the food processor up.
Make the swiss meringue buttercream
- In the metal bowl of a stand mixer, whisk to combine the egg whites and sugar.
- Set the bowl resting on top of a small saucepan filled half way with water on high heat; do not let the metal bowl touch the water.
- Allow the egg white and sugar mixture to heat up to 160 degrees Fahrenheit (70 degrees Celsius), stirring mixture occasionally with whisk.
- Carefully remove metal bowl and place onto the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
- Whip the mixture on high speed for 8-10 minutes until glossy, fluffy stiff peaks appear and bowl is cool to the touch.
- Swap out the whip attachment for the paddle attachment. With the mixer on medium, begin adding pieces of room temperature butter to the mix, a few at a time. I just hold the 1 pound block of butter and slice cubes off it off into the meringue.
- Once the butter is incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high until a thick, creamy buttercream has formed.
- Turn the mixer down to medium-low and slowly add the strawberry puree, then the strawberry powder.
- Beat on medium-high again to incorporate. Buttercream can be stored for up to 1 week in the fridge; bring to room temperature and gently re-beat before using.
Tag @cococakeland on Instagram or leave a star rating!
michelle @ hummingbird high
YAS. swiss meringue buttercream is a dream to work with, but the flavor is a touch boring. the strawberry boost you use here is defs what it needs!
Lyndsay // Coco Cake Land
Haha! Yes I use a different ratio of sugar to butter too – I find that some swiss meringue buttercreams just taste like whipped butter!
heather (delicious not gorgeous)
i’ve done smbc with strawberry puree and freeze-dried strawberries, but never both! idk why though, bc this sounds
Lyndsay // Coco Cake Land
DOUBLE WHAMMY! Thanks Heather!!
Milena
I forgot to add the sugar to the strawberry puree, and, wow, this turned out delicious! The sugar didn’t quite melt in my egg whites, which left a tiny bit of grit, but it almost dissolved by the time I added the berry puree to the buttercream. The final result is so bright and fresh tasting, I could almost forget it’s buttercream and eat it like whipped cream! So good!
Lyndsay // Coco Cake Land
So glad you liked it – yes, I agree – easy to eat it out of the bowl :P