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Perfect Italian Buttercream Frosting is a rich, smooth, and incredibly delicious traditional icing that is the best choice to decorate cakes and cupcakes.
This is the same kind of buttercream frosting that you’ll find on many professional wedding cakes. Its silky texture is unlike any other frosting or icing recipe that you’ll ever find, it is gorgeous when piped, and can be flavored and colored in countless ways.
Why this recipe works:
When you consider how perfectly smooth, rich, creamy, and heavenly this buttercream frosting is and how incredibly easy it is to use for decorating, it will soon be one of your favorites.
- Italian buttercream is considered more difficult than traditional American buttercream only because you must get the hot sugar syrup to an exact temperature, but once you get the hang of this recipe it is actually super easy to make.
- This frosting is a decorator’s dream! It is incredibly smooth and creamy. When refrigerated it gets hard because of all the butter, which makes it perfect as a crumb coat before your final layer of frosting or fondant is added.
- Italian buttercream holds up really well at room temperature. You can use it to decorate both cakes and cupcakes.
- If you like a frosting that is rich and buttery and not too sweet, this is your kind of recipe!
Whether you use it for a dry crumb frosting base only before adding fondant and fancy decorations, or you cover the entire cake in buttercream frosting, it truly is one of the most gorgeous things you can put on a cake.
How to make my Italian buttercream:
- First step is to get the sugar mixture to the soft ball stage. This is done by heating the sugar and corn syrup in a pot over the stove. You must use a good thermometer to ensure it is the correct temperature.
- Next you will beat the egg whites. Once they begin to get foamy but soft peaks haven’t formed, you will add the hot sugar syrup.
- Then you will add the softened butter, one cube at a time.
- Finally, you will mix in the vanilla extract. If you’re wanting to color the frosting, this is when you would add the food coloring.
Cooking tips:
- You must get your sugar to the soft-ball stage which is 235 degrees F. I live close to sea level, so this is the temperature I go by. At high altitudes, water boils at a lower temperature. For example, at 4500 feet above sea level, water boils at 204° F. If candy is cooked until it reaches the soft-ball stage on a candy thermometer, it will have cooked too long.
- I add a bit of corn syrup to my recipe because it adds a beautiful sheen, but this can be omitted if you want to make a pure Italian buttercream recipe.
- I recommend mixing the egg whites while the sugar syrup heats up. Ideally you want them ready as soon as the sugar syrup hits it’s temperature.
- When you whip your egg whites, you want them to have a lot of air and a beautiful sheen, but do not let them get to the stiff peak stage.
- Remember to be patient. I’ve had a lot of readers who had this recipe turn out perfectly and others who couldn’t get it to work. Once you start adding the butter, it will look awful, but you just have to keep mix and just like magic, you will end up with the best buttercream frosting.
Different types of buttercream frosting:
If you’re like me, you probably grew up making what is considered American buttercream. As far as taste goes, that is still my preference, but some consider it too sweet.
If you didn’t realize there are different kinds of buttercream frosting, here’s a quick summary:
- AMERICAN: Powdered sugar + softened butter + milk + vanilla
- SWISS MERINGUE: Egg whites + sugar whisked together over boiling water and then beaten with butter
- FRENCH: Egg yolks + homemade sugar syrup + butter
- ITALIAN: Homemade sugar syrup + egg whites + white sugar + softened butter
Related Recipes:
Since Italian Buttercream can be more difficult to make, you might be more interested in making these other super easy frosting recipes:
- Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Frosting
- Mascarpone Frosting
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
- Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting
And what good is frosting without a delicious, moist, scratch made cupcake or cake recipe!
- Homemade Chocolate Cupcakes
- Carrot Cake
- Hummingbird Cake
- Lemon Cupcakes
- Orange Cupcakes
- Traditional Yellow Cake
- Super Easy Chocolate Cake
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Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
- 5 egg whites approx 185g
- 1 lb unsalted butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add the sugar and corn syrup to a small saucepan, drizzle a few tablespoons of water over the sugar, and stir together until the sugar is all moistened. It will have a wet sand feeling about it. Cook the sugar over medium high to high heat to the softball stage of 235 F using a candy thermometer. Use a pastry brush to lightly water down the inner sides of the sauce pan to prevent crystallization. When the sugar is done, turn off the burner (if gas), or move the pan off the burner (if electric).
- Begin to whip your egg whites with a whip attachment in a stand mixer. When the meringue begins to look opaque, but is not to any sort of ‘peak’ stage yet, slowly pour the cooked sugar syrup down the side of the mixing bowl, as the mixture is whipping on a medium speed. Allow the mixture to whip until glossy medium peaks form and the meringue is cool to the touch.
- Turn the mixer on a low speed, and add the butter, one stick at a time. Be sure meringue is cool to the touch first so that the butter doesn't melt! Mix until the mixture comes together. Don't be scared! The mixture will separate and look terrible before it comes together again, which It will- I promise. Be patient.
- Once the mixture is smooth and wonderful-looking, add the vanilla and whip just until combined.
Notes
- You must get your sugar to the soft-ball stage which is 235 degrees F. I live close to sea level, so this is the temperature I go by. At high altitudes, water boils at a lower temperature. For example, at 4500 feet above sea level, water boils at 204° F. If candy is cooked until it reaches the soft-ball stage on a candy thermometer, it will have cooked too long.
- I add a bit of corn syrup to my recipe because it adds a beautiful sheen, but this can be omitted if you want to make a pure Italian buttercream recipe.
- I recommend mixing the egg whites while the sugar syrup heats up. Ideally you want them ready as soon as the sugar syrup hits it’s temperature.
- When you whip your egg whites, you want them to have a lot of air and a beautiful sheen, but do not let them get to the stiff peak stage.
- Remember to be patient. I’ve had a lot of readers who had this recipe turn out perfectly and others who couldn’t get it to work. Once you start adding the butter, it will look awful, but you just have to keep mix and just like magic, you will end up with the best buttercream frosting.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was originally published in November 2017 and has been updated with helpful information, ingredient and process photos, as well as recipe tips. Don’t worry – the recipe hasn’t changed!
Hello,
I am just curious, why add the corn syrup? Does it affect the consistency? I can’t wait to try this recipe, it reminds of of Italian Meringue except there is no corn syrup.
it gives it nice shine
The corn syrup also helps prevent crystallization because of the molecular structure. You do still need to wash down the sides of the pan, but it isn’t as much of a problem with the addition of the corn syrup. Hope this helps!
The recipe looks great. i just have one question, is there a substitute for Corn syrup that will work for this recipe?
You can omit if needed. It just gives it extra shine.
If you dont use the corn syrup you will just mix the sugar and water until it is 235?
I’ve never made it without corn syrup, but yes – that is what I would do.
Would love to know if it works well as a crumb coat? Any reactions with fondant? Much appreciated
This is perfect as a crumb coat. Because of all the butter, it gets very hard/solid once refrigerated (which is why it tastes best at room temp). Anyway, when its cold, fondant rolls out perfectly on top. -Krissy
Would love to know how great it is under fondant? Reaction if any? Crumbing the cake? Thanks in advance.
It’s perfect for use with fondant, especially after the crumb coat has been refrigerated. -Krissy
Mine never broke apart. It acted to liquid. Was the candy suppose to cool for a certain time.
Shoot. Sorry it didn’t work. The sugar syrup needs to be added while its hot. It takes awhile for it to come together. It never worked? Krissy
Hi there!
I just made this and the taste is great… however, fot some readon it is not thick enough 🙁
What can I do?
Keep mixing!
I made this yesterday, as well, and just now reading through the comments. Mine, also, never became what I would consider a frosting. It had the consistency of a velouté or chowder. I whisked for a very long time, even after the butter was added, with a KitchenAid stand mixer.
I ended up adding corn starch to the mixture to get it to a frosting consistency. Even at a fairly loose stage you could taste the chalkiness of the raw cornstarch.
I wonder what went wrong? Sugar was a piping hot 235°F per candy/fry thermometer. (First batch crystalized and had to be tossed, which I’ve read is more likely if you don’t add the corn syrup.)
Doh! I just realized, after more comment reading, that my measurements were off. :'(
I used 1.5 cups superfine sugar (probably way more sugar than 1.25 cups normally-granulated), and only 0.5 lbs of butter.
Will read more closely next time!!
May I make some flowers with this recipe?
Think you!
Yes! It holds its shape well.
If this recipe makes 4 cups. Isn’t that too much for the 12 cupcakes?
It’s a lot of frosting. If you make a mountain on each cupcake, its the right amount. 🙂
Hi, how much water do you add to the sugar and corn syrup mixture?
Thank you!
Hi Mari, It doesn’t matter because it evaporates in the cooking process. The water is just to keep the crystals off the side of the pot. Thanks, Krissy
How many tablespoons of water do you consider a few? It seems to vary with everyone!
2-3. It doesn’t matter that much because the water will evaporate. Hope that helps! Krissy
Can you please give me the measurements in grams. Thank you.