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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!
This icing is perfection. I used it to ice and decorate a cake for 120 people. The temperature was in the 90’s, and it held up perfectly in the heat- all the way through to the next day! I used glucose syrup instead of corn syrup because it is crystal clear and I didn’t want the brown tinge of the corn syrup. Also glucose syrup is thicker and a bit glossier than corn syrup. I believe the glucose syrup also helped to stabilize it in the heat.
It is THE perfect consistency for piping. I quadrupled the recipe, so it was a bit tricky and had to separate it into two batches, but it really worked. I was running late in making the cake and did not have time to crumb-coat, so I piped the frosting on in strips and just smoothed it out with an offset spatula. Not a single crumb peeped through! I used clear vanilla so it would remain bright white. Everyone raved about it- it was smooth and buttery, but not gritty and super-sweet like many icings are that are made with powdered sugar.
The only thing that was difficult was pouring the hot sugar down the side of the bowl- it started pouring onto the counter instead. So I drizzled it directly onto the egg whites as they were mixing.
I will be using this recipe many times in the future!
Fantastic recipe. Super easy, comes out perfectly if you just follow instructions. I like a little salt to cut sweetness, so I used half salted butter and half unsalted – amazing!
I have been searching and experimenting for the perfect buttercream as I find traditional American buttercream to be too sweet and I have found it in this recipe. Thank you !
Hi Krissy,
Thank you for this recipe. I note you mention altitude but not exactly how you would adjust the temperature to account for it. I live at just over 5100ft (France) – what temperature should I be aiming for please ( so far both my SMBC and IMBC have been a flop so perhaps this is the problem!) Thanks in advance!
Hi Emma, What I found is that if you are at a high altitude and do not make any changes to your candy recipes or procedures, you will most likely end up with overcooked candy. This is because water boils at lower temperatures at higher altitudes, so you do not need to cook your candy as long or to as high a temperature as you would at sea level. Based on 5000 ft, I’m not sure of the exact temperature, but it should be less. I hope that helps! Krissy
Very late coming across this comment but hopefully it will help others too. Based on some searching, it sounds like you should decrease the temperature by 2° for every 1,000 feet above sea level! In this case it would need to be heated to 225°
Thank you for your wonderful advice
I made this frosting and it looks nice, but it taste like straight butter. It’s not sweet at all. I tasted it before I added the butter and it was really good, but even adding extra vanilla and a cup of powdered sugar, it’s still like eating butter.
It definitely has a very strong butter flavor. This frosting is really best as a base layer underneath any fondant or decorating icing because it hardens when cold because of all the butter!
Hi Krissy, thank you for such fantastic recipe! My question is, is there anyway to make it firmer?.
I usually don’t change this recipe. If I want a firmer frosting, though, I’ll make a cream cheese frosting or a brown butter frosting – you can find both using the search bar on my site. Enjoy!
Is there a way to make the Italian Buttercream a strawberry flavor?
My favorite way is to crush up freeze dried strawberries into a powder and then mix them in like I did in this recipe: https://selfproclaimedfoodie.com/blueberry-cream-cheese-frosting/ . I don’t like artificial fruit flavors. Enjoy! -Krissy
Oh My!!! This is it! Thanks Krissy!! This is the taste I’ve searched years for!!! Thank you!!!
I’ve made this recipe at least 20 times now. I always double it when making a 8″ or 9″ cake with four 1″ layers. Its ok for decorating but the soft consistency can be difficult to work at times. I can get a cake to frost pretty smooth with this frosting, but it takes more time and work than other frostings.
I’ve had a couple issues along the way getting this frosting to work, but now it’s perfect every time…
I use a Kitchen Aid with the whisk attachment.
When heating the sugar, don’t add too much water. Add water in little increments stirring in between. The sugar should be should be the consistency of damp sand. Note that as the sugar heats up, it liquefies, so you don’t need to add as much water as you think.
Use room-temp, soften butter! Softer the better. Soft, not melted! 80 degrees. This will help speed the process of going from chunky to creamy. If the butter not soft enough, you’ll never get it out of the funky chunky stage.
You can use pre-separated egg whites, but add 1/4t of cream of tartar.
Let the eggs and sugar beat for a while. It takes like 20 minutes for them to start getting peaks. (I’ve accidentally let it beat for over a half hour while walking the dog. It still didn’t have stiff peaks. (The frosting turned out so white!!! but I haven’t been able to reproduce this brilliant white again.))
I always add the vanilla but my standard is adding few dashes of salt and a 1/4t of Almond extract, Other variations I’ve tried… added caramel syrup and salt. Adding chopped andies candies and cream de minth makes a great mint chocolate chip cake, Adding chopped reses and a 1/3 cup peanutbutter. Be cautious of adding to much liquidly flavorings as it will make the frosting very soft and harder to use for decorating.
Such fantastic suggestions! Thank you so much!!! -Krissy
Has anyone tried freezing this? It says that you can but will it change the taste or consistency at all?
Yes I have frosted a 4 layer cake… with this Italian Buttercream frosting… it works perfect!! Just bring out the cake a few hours before. It should be served at room temperature!!💜💕