I’ve made Swiss Meringue Buttercream before. But the previous recipes I’ve followed have ALWAYS had too much butter for my liking, and I felt like I was eating BUTTER, not a nice, light, fluffy icing. True, I could have played around with the recipe and amount of butter, but I put it on the back burner – until now.


For Keeker”s 2nd birthday, I had planned to have some mom friends over with their little ones for a little party. Well, we all got sick, so we post-poned it to last week, then post-poned it again until this week. So I’ve had these strawberry cupcakes sitting in the freezer begging to be iced. I used this Strawberry cupcakes recipe from Annie’s Eats – and while they were decent, they tasted more like a muffin than a cupcake (don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with them, they just taste more like muffins :D).


Annie also had another recipe for Strawberry cupcakes, which included this strawberry swiss meringue buttercream. As I like to do, I altered the recipe slightly, and the result – UH-MAY-ZING! I don’t think I will ever use another SMB recipe again! As Annie stated so well “It tastes like strawberry icecream!” In fact, when I served it, people mentioned how much it looked like icecream on top :D


I can’t wait to try other additions to see what the results are (my mouth is WATERING for some mango), so stay tuned here for more recipe ideas! For now, here’s the recipe (the original, with my changes):


STRAWBERRY SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM


1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled
4 large egg whites
1 1/4 cups REGULAR sugar
1 cup unsalted butter (the recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups, but I decreased it, and it’s SUPER nice)

Place the strawberries in a food processor or blender.  Puree until completely smooth.  (You want about 3/4 cup of puree.) Combine the egg whites and sugar in a double boiler set over a pot of simmering water.  Heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture reaches 160° F and the sugar has dissolved.
Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes.  (The bowl should be cool to the touch.)
Reduce the speed to medium and add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, adding more once each addition has been incorporated.  If the frosting looks soupy or curdled, continue to beat on medium-high speed until thick and smooth again, about 3-5 minutes more (or longer – don’t worry, it will come together!)  Blend in the strawberry puree until smooth and completely incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip with the frosting.  (I used a Wilton 1M.) Frost cooled cupcakes as desired, and garnish with fresh berries or berry slices – if you can wait that long to eat them!