Some of you may not know this, but one of my side businesses is professional cake decorating. And in the world of cake decorating, the best, most sought after, tastiest, easiest to use when decorating icing is Swiss Meringue Buttercream. This icing is pretty much exactly as it sounds. It has meringue, it’s made from egg whites, it has lots of butter, and it is definitely creamy.
Well, in this cake decorating line of work, I often am asked to create allergen friendly and sugar free cakes. I also occasionally enjoy actually eating cake myself. So I tweaked the easy Swiss meringue buttercream recipe I’ve been using for years to make a sugar free, Trim Healthy Mama friendly, keto version.
In case you’re unfamiliar with what Swiss meringue buttercream actually is, here’s the lo down. It’s one of the most popular icings on the planet because it has meringue and lots of butter. It’s just delicious! It varies from American buttercream because it uses egg whites that are beat into a lovely meringue before adding loads of butter and it does not crust (American buttercream crusts, Swiss meringue buttercream stays soft).
Traditionally, Swiss meringue buttercream is made by gently heating the egg white and sugar in a double boiler. However, my recipe (which is based off a recipe I’ve been using for a long time) does not cook the egg whites first. This means it’s ready faster and uses fewer dishes. Just be sure to use pasteurized egg whites if you’re concerned about contaminated eggs. I personally use carton egg whites and always have several cartons on hand (because I’m a cake decorator and I make lots of buttercream, plus I use lots of egg whites for THM recipes). If you decide to use egg whites from fresh eggs, here are some ideas for using up the yolks so they don’t go to waste.
Sugar Free No Cook Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons egg whites (about 3 large)
- 1 ½ cups
Lakanto Powdered or equivalent powdered sweetener (how to make powdered sweetener) - 2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice, optional (reduces sweetness a bit)
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, optional (for chocolate buttercream)
Instructions
- Add the egg whites and sweetener to the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed for about 10 minutes, scraping the sides as necessary.
- Turn the speed down to low. Gradually add the butter a chunk at a time until each chunk is fully incorporated.
- Add the vanilla and lemon juice slowly until it is mixed in. If making chocolate, add the cocoa powder slowly.
- Turn the speed back up to medium and allow to beat for another 10 minutes. It might look curdled at first, but it should emulsify as it is beating.
Nutrition
Reader’s Picture
I am so impressed by how responsive you are. Thank you! Your responses have been so helpful! I don’t have a kitchen aid anymore, but some fancy German machine that I hardly use but is supposed to be amazing for bread. It has a bowl for making cookies and cakes but the mixer itself is either two whisks that go around or a set of whisks that just have one metal “whisk” on each side. It’s like an O. Could I use these attachments? If so, How would you have me adjust the timing? It’s an Akarsrum mixer. My birthday is tomorrow and I really want to treat myself!
Ah man, I don’t know! I’d just experiment with it until it reaches proper icing consistency. Sorry I’m not much help on this one!
Can this recipe be made using powdered allulose?
Yes, it can. Amount may vary so you might have to play with it a bit (to taste and consistency).
So you don’t cook the egg whites? ?
Nope. That’s why you want to buy pasteurized ones. 🙂
Does this give off the cold effect when it hits the mouth?
I don’t think so, but I am very used to on plan sweeteners. You can try Bocha Sweet instead and it should for sure not have the cooling sensation.
This is THE BEST keto buttercream EVER!!! BEST!
Thank you, Melissa! ?
This is good! I do have a few questions though. If it supposed to come out really heavy? I feel like most frostings that I’m used to are much lighter. Also, when I added the butter the egg whites went from big and fluffy to practically liquid. Does that mean I didn’t whip the egg whites long enough? Or was that supposed to happen?
Sounds like it might have broken. Did you add the butter in little chunks and let each chunk fully incorporate before next chunk?
Ah, yeah, I was too impatient and probably added it too quickly, ha ha … ha… Well knowing that, and actually making it with unsalted butter next time (it was too salty with that much butter, and a bit gritty), I feel like it will come out better next time! Thank you for the feedback. I figured it was wrong when it felt so dense and thick afterwards. It was kind of like eating straight butter that had been sweetened…
This happened to me too. Any tips to keep it from separating?
Hi, Renee! Usually over-whipping the meringue or using too cold of butter are the culprits of any Swiss meringue icing separating. You might let it rest so the butter warms a bit and try again.
I want to try this frosting but am not familiar with Lakanto products
Can I use stevia blend which calls for using 1/2 as much as sugar? If so how much of the stevia should I use after processing to a powder?
Thank you!
Hi, Donna. I would not use a stevia blend as this wouldn’t turn out right. It needs the volume of powdered sweetener. Lakanto is available readily online and in most health food store. Alternatively, you could use powdered erythritol blend (Swerve), but the Lakanto has a better flavor.
But what if you dissolve the stevia in the egg whites like a traditional smbc?
Hi, Nik. You can try this, but the recipe requires a “bulkier” sweetener in order to give it the frosting consistency (it needs the powdered sweetener for “body”). Let me know if you give it a try and how it turns out. 🙂
Hello, I would like to know which egg whites you used, I have pasteurized cardboard but on the packaging it says not to use in meringues and I do not want to waste
Hi, Maite! I usually use the Bob Evans brand.
Hi TJ can I freeze this frosting?
Hi, Donna! Yes, you can. When you thaw it, it will need to be re-whipped though as separation may occur.
I didn’t see it in the instructions, but I’m guessing this should be kept refrigerated??
It has a lot of fat in it (the butter) so does just fine at room temperature (70 degreesish). you’ll want to keep it away from heat of course and refrigeration is okay, but not required. 🙂
Hi, i tried this recipe today using monkfruit powdered sweetner and it turned out to be grainy. Any tips for that? or did i miss something?
Hi, Ankita. The Lakanto batch you got may not have been fully powdered because it shouldn’t be grainy at all. You can try re-powdering it or feeling it if it feels soft (not grainy) before using it. Also, it is important to use unsalted butter because that can sometimes cause graininess in icings.
Is it necessary to get stuff peaks with the egg whites before adding butter? I am using my hand mixer and it is taking FOREVER.
Yes it is, otherwise the recipe won’t work correctly. It’s also bad to OVER beat them or they deflate. And yes, it is much easier with a stand mixer. I feel your pain, I used to make all my cake decorating clients’ buttercream with a hand mixer until my parents finally bought me a stand mixer.
Is this the type of frosting I can pipe onto a cake for decorations?
Yes, it should work for piping like roses and leaves and such. 🙂
have you ever subbed 1C of the butter for 1C palm shortening? do you think this would give it a ‘greasy’ mouth feel? or make it more ‘bland’ tasting? I used to combine shortening and butter (in the old days) to make a rather stiff filling for ‘oreos’. Just wondering if I could get the same (or similar) consistency with this recipe, with those changes (?)
Hi, Debbie. I’ve never tried it personally, but I would think it should work just fine. Let me know how it goes if you try it. 🙂
WILL DO!! I appreciate the time and effort you take to share your knowledge with others! God bless!
My daughter and I made this yesterday for a sleepover–this is so good!!! We used powdered Lakanto (I cut the amount down to 1 cup) and added fresh strawberry puree because the girls wanted pink and strawberry. This is our new frosting!! Thank you!
This stuff is amazing!!! I used Coconut Sugar (which I put through my little food chopper to grind it up a bit more). This makes a ton of frosting!! I even tried a tablespoon full in my cup of coffee!! Yum Yum!!!
Tastes pretty yummy. Not something I want to eat alone or with too thick a layer as it does taste pretty sweet. But goes great on cake and on more bland cakey things.
TJ, can I make powered sugar without a grinder? I have a Ninja. Would that work?
Hi, Stacy. 🙂 Yeah, that should work. 😀 Make sure to let it “settle” right after you grind it so it doesn’t poof out everywhere.
Is this similar in texture to the “whipped” frosting sold on deli-made cakes?
I’m not sure. It’s frequently used on professionally made cakes by bakers (like non-retail store bakeries).
Do you happen to have a good THM cake recipe to go with this? I looked through your THM recipes and didn’t see one…
Hi, Jeanna. Not yet. I usually use the recipes in the THM cookbooks. 🙂
Have you tried using THM Gentle Sweet? You recommend confectioners Swerve, I was thinking of putting the gentle sweet through my grinder. (Plain erythritol tastes minty in not a good way to me.). Recipe looks delicious, cannot wait to give this a try. Thank you for posting.
Hi, Vicki. I have not yet done that, but please let me know how it goes if you try it. 🙂 You would need to look over THM’s sweetener conversion chart as you’ll need less Gentle Sweet than you would monkfruit.
Het TJ – it says 20 servings – would that be for like a 2 layer or a sheet cake? That’s a lot of butter and sweetener! It looks so good I’d be tempted to just eat it out of the bowl and call it breakfast 🙂 ::not a good idea::
Hi, Becky! I think it should cover an 8 inch round 2-layer cake. 🙂
I use about double this recipe when covering a 4-layer 9-inch cake.