Brighten up a grey day with the best vanilla cupcake recipe, ever. Swiss meringue is a smooth, glossy buttercream is made with whipped egg whites for a much lighter texture than basic buttercream. Better yet, it has a super white finish, making it perfect for colouring!

Prep:
20 min
Cook:
20 min
Serves:
12

Ingredients

Cupcakes

  1. 100g butter, softened

  2. ½ cup + 1/3 cup (185g) caster sugar

  3. 2 tsp Queen Vanilla Bean Paste

  4. 2 large eggs

  5. 1 1/3 cup (200g) self-raising flour, sifted

  6. ½ cup (125ml) milk

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  1. 3 large egg whites

  2. 1 cup (220g) caster sugar

  3. 250g unsalted butter, softened

  4. 3 tsp Queen Vanilla Bean Paste

  5. Queen Yellow Food Colour

Method - Cupcakes

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 170°C (fan forced). Line a 12 hole cupcake tin with cases and set aside.

  2. Step 2

    In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

  3. Step 3

    Add eggs one at a time and beat lightly. Add sifted flour and milk in two batches, mixing on low until just combined.

  4. Step 4

    Spoon into prepared cases to ¾ full and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden. Allow to cool in tin for 5 minutes before placing onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Method - Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  1. Step 1

    Whisk together egg whites and caster sugar in a glass or metal bowl. Set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Fill a saucepan with at least 4cm of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce temperature to a gentle simmer. Place bowl over simmering water and stir constantly until sugar has dissolved, and mixture no longer feels gritty when rubs between your fingers.

  3. Step 3

    Transfer egg whites to stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whip at high speed for 10 minutes until meringue is glossy, stiff, and cool.

  4. Step 4

    With mixer still running, add butter, 1 - 2 tablespoons at a time. Don’t worry if your egg whites deflate, or look as though they are split. Keep whisking until smooth and fluffy. Add 3 tsp of Vanilla Bean Paste and Yellow Food Colour and mix until combined.

  5. Step 5

    Transfer buttercream to a piping bag fitted with an open star tip (we used a Wilton 1M piping tip). Pipe buttercream in a swirl, starting in the middle and piping towards the outer edge of the cupcake to create a rosette.

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