Today we’re going to learn about Italian Meringue Buttercream (IMBC)
This is the most DELICIOUS icing and the only thing I use to ice cupcakes and cakes with.
I originally found my recipe/tutorial online from Warren Brown, but have adapted it a little and worked out how to make it without the need for a sugar thermometer. Jackpot!! 
It does initially seem like a lot of work, but once you get things mixing, you can leave your mixer for a while and get a few other bits and pieces done in the meantime. The more you make it… the easier it gets and trust me… nothing is nicer than this!!!!!
The most important thing to remember with this recipe is that the butter needs to be the same temperature as the meringue mixture when you add it. If not.. the mixture will curdle.
In winter I find that I need to zap the butter in the microwave for a few seconds and my meringue mixture easily takes 10 minutes to reach room temperature.
Variations on this recipe are:
Caramel – bring to the boil 150g Brown sugar, 150ml Cream and 50g Butter. Simmer 5 minutes before setting aside to cool down and thicken up. Add to your IMBC once it has cooled down.
Lemon – make up half a batch of this lemon curd and add to your IMBC once it has cooled down.
Raspberry – make up half a batch of this raspberry curd (but strain out the seeds!), and add to your IMBC once it has cooled down.
Chocolate – mix in 3-6 tablespoons of cooled down chocolate ganache (Ganache being at a ratio of 2:1 dark chocolate:cream)
IMBC can be made an stored at room temperature for 3 days, or in the fridge for 7-10 days or you can freeze it. You will need to rewhip the IMBC if it is in the fridge/freezer or during winter months. Obviously, if it’s a stinking hot day, don’t leave your IMBC at room temperature
Personally, I prefer to make it fresh and I whip it up on the day I’m icing my cupcakes or filling my cake.
I’ve prepared a video about making the IMBC as I think it’s easier to understand exactly how to make it. Quite clearly there was no budget allocated to video production or makeup so bear with me!!!! It was also filmed over one night and morning.. hence the screaming kids in one segment, and on reflection my voice sounds HORRIBLE over the top of the mixer!! (must be what I sound like to my kids all day!)
Awesome! i made this for the first time this week after reading about it on your blog and watching the video
Was so yummy! (i had to go hunting for a candy thermometer though!) I was surprised how hard it set overnight.. is that normal?
Did you leave it at room temp or in the fridge? It will set hard in the fridge and sometimes at room temperature (depending on the temp!). You can always re-whip it if you need to pipe it the next day.
Glad you gave it a try!!!!
x
I refrigerated it.. was on a cake
was surprisingly easy following the instruction on the video you posted. 
i nearly didn’t try because so many people said its so hard but was impressed and it was delicious! Will attempt piping next time!
Yes – definitely give piping a go!!!! It’s lots of fun
xx
Love Italian Meringue Buttercream. Good video tutorial. I always rely on my thermometer though. Don’t trust myself without it
I’ve tried making this before and it was a disaster but I think I might try to give it another go
Bronnie this video is fantastic and I’m dying to try it. You explain things wonderfully and I’m sure it would taste incredible. Can you make IMBC in advance? How long will it keep and will it freeze? Thank you so much for your sharing!
Hi Jacinta
Thankyou so much for your lovely comments – I really appreciate it! I should have included all of that information in the tutorial, so I’ve just edited it for you, but you can definitely make it in advance!
xx
Thank you so much Bronnie, I am new to cake making and am overwhelmed by how generous everyone is with sharing information. Thanks again for the tute and the info on how to store it. Have a great day
Hi Bronnie,
I just tried the buttercream but it went wrong
I don’t think I left it til it was cool enough before I added the butter so it was really quite runny. It set up a little in the fridge, but it still isn’t piping consistency. Do you think that is where I went wrong?
Amanda
Hi Amanda
I’m so sorry to hear that your IMBC didn’t work out! How long did you beat it for after adding the butter? It does start out running as the fat and meringue start to mix, but it then thickens up. The trick is that the butter needs to be the same temperature as the meringue… so in winter I find I usually need to zap the butter in the microwave for 10 seconds.
My meringue takes about 10 minutes to beat until it hits room temperature.
x
Hi Bronnie,
I followed this tutorial and made my first batch of Italian meringue buttercream. It worked out well. I don’t need it for a couple of days, but thought I should try now in case it didn’t work…. Will i need to re-whip if it stays at room temp for 2 days?
Thank you.
Hi Stephanie
Glad to hear you tried the IMBC
It will depend on the room temperature, but most likely yes, you will need to whip it!
x
Hi Bronnie
Thanks so much for your tutorials!
I made the very hungry caterpillar cake topper for my son’s 1st birthday today and made a leaf shaped rainbow cake iced with imbc for it to sit on. I’d never heard of the italian meringue buttercream before this week, but you made it do easy!
Thanks again!
oh that’s fantastic Peta! Well done! I’m so glad you tried the IMBC and the tutorials were helpful
xx
Oh Bron thanks so much for this tute!!! It is idiot proof which is exactly what I needed. Your icing is DELICIOUS!!!!!!!! I just made my first batch and it turned out so well. I love it, you rock!!
Chris x
yay!!!! so glad it worked well for you xxxx
Can you tell me how many cups if IMBC this makes? I need to pipe swirls on 24 cupcakes – would this be about as much as I need?
Thanks
Alison
Hi Alison
Good question
It really depends on how high your swirls are! It will make a decent bowl of icing and I can get at least 24 swirls out of a mixture, but I don’t do the full ‘icecream cone’ swirls on mine.
x
Thanks for that great tutorial! I have never been game to try this before as everyone says it is too tricky and you need a thermometer, and it has to be timed to perfection etc. I just did what you did in the video and wow – my gorgeous IMBC is resting on the bench. I plan to use it tomorrow night so it wil be in fridge soon.
Just a tip you might find helpful – you mention in the video that if you get a bit of shell or yolk etc in the whites you need to start again. Next time this happens just pick up an egg shell and use it as a scoop. Works every time but it is just about impossible with a spoon! Try it and you will be pleasantly surprised.
THankyou Alison – that is a fantastic tip!!! I am always getting egg shell in my mixture, so I will try that next time.
I’m so glad you gave the IMBC a try. I’m a little obsessed with it (in case you couldn’t tell) and make it all the time!!
xx
Sorry to keep popping back with things! My IMBC was so fluffy and white when I made it. I covered it and put it into the fridge overnight. Whipped it up the next day and before my eyes the volume went down to about half and it separated a little. I kept whipping and whipping and it came back together, but quite yellow and not nearly as much.
Any suggestions of what to do – sometimes we just can’t make and use things the same day when we are working etc. Would appreciate your input.
Alison
Hi Alison
No problem at all with the questions
Try whip
Hi Alison
No problem at all with the questions
Try whipping it up and using a hot cloth around the bowl – that will help bring it together. I keep my IMBC on the bench at room temperature when it’s not too hot as it will keep for 3 days on the bench. But you will lose some volume if you have to rewhip it – but the hot cloth should help. I use a chux cloth and just keep running it under hot water and then placing it around the bowl… maybe do it about 8 times or so.
Let me know how you go!
x
Bronnie, thankyou so much. I made my first attempt a italian meringue buttercream last night after days of online research and trepidation. Your video was so inspiring and so helpful, since I don’t have a sugar thermometer. I was thrilled with the resulting frosting, so smooth and tasty, perfect texture and looks gorgeous. I appreciate your help, cheers, Linda
oh thankyou Linda for your lovely comment
I’m so glad everything worked out well – isn’t it so delicious?!!!! You’ll have to add some flavouring in next time!
xxx
Hi Bronnie, I am really excited to try your recipe! It looks easy on your video. I just hope it comes out well. I have a few questions. First, I am making a three tier cake with the ombre ruffles for a birthday party on Friday. Do you think I should bake the cake on Monday? Leave it in the fridge till Wednesday? Make the IMBC on Wednesday and pipe the cake the same day. Can I start decorating the cake with the fondant the same day? Sorry, for a lot of questions. I have done some cakes before but I always want to perfect them! Thanks!
HI Belinda
What type of cake are you making? if it is a mud cake then yes, make it straight away and put it in the freezer. Otherwise I would bake it Wed night. Thursday morning make the IMBC and fill your cakes, then ganache them and then start with the fondant. Are you doing ruffles for all 3 tiers?
No problem with the questions – happy to help!
x
Thank you for getting back to me. I am just making a regular white cake with just ruffles on the bottom tier. I am going to put white chocolate sea shells around the tier! It’s an under the sea theme birthday party.
Sounds lovely!
So, I’d bake, fill and ganache Wednesday and then cover with fondant and decorate thursday so that it’s all ready for friday!
All the best
x
I have made the basic version of this recipe (without flavoring except for vanilla) several times now and it always comes out great. I do have to put it in the fridge for just a but to help the icing setup and then I take it back to a blender. This time I tried to do the caramel version. It has not turned out so well this time. It seemed that it just would not setup like it normally did and also seems to kind of separate now. When I did the caramel flavoring I used heavy cream. Was that incorrect? Should I have used coffee creamer?
Thanks for the recipe…
Hi Justace
The consistency of the IMBC will change if your flavouring is too runny – was the caramel sauce thick? I just use double cream or whatever the ‘normal’ cream at the supermarket is… but I cook my sauce so that it is quite thick.
x
Humm, it was pretty runny (the caramel flavoring). The instructions stated to cook it for 5 mins once boiling… Maybe I should have let more of it cook off…
Did it not thicken once it cooled down?
Hi Bronnie,
I am wondering if this is the buttercream you would use if you were to make a cake with buttercream frosting only (no fondant)?
I am needing to make a cake with buttercream frosting only on the outside and am concerned it will start to yellow before the event!
Jess
yes – absolutely Jess! It is the only icing I make and use.
I haven’t had any problems with it turning yellow – how soon before the event are you going to make and ice the cake??
x
Hi Bronnie
I’m planning on trying this instead of a usual fondant/marzipan covering on my Christmas cake but I have a couple of questions:
1 – could this IMBC be used with Marzipan or will the oils in it spoil the marzipan?
2 – what sugar should I use to begin with? Granulated/fine/confectioners?
Many thanks
J
Hi Jane
I don’t quite understand – do you want to use IMBC under marzipan? or instead of it?
I would only recommend using it instead of marzipan. I don’t quite know why you’d want it under marzipan??
The sugar I use is castor sugar which is fine sugar
Hope that helps!
x
Hi Bronnie
Thanks for the advice, sorry to confuse you! I meant could I use it instead of fondant…I don’t like marzipan OR fondant but a lot of my guests really like marzipan so I wondered if I could line my cake with the marzipan and then use the buttercream on top in place if the fondant icing, or if the oils in the butter would spoil the marzipan…
I think I will just use the buttercream and maybe make some marzipan snowmen for the marzipan fans.
This is a fantastic site – thanks so much and Merry Christmas
J x
Hi Jane
Ahh.. ok…that makes more sense!!! I don’t think that IMBC over marzipan would work at all – you could either do as you suggested and just have marzipan decorations. Or… you could cover with marzipan and use the IMBC as the filling after cutting the cake into layers.
Hope that helps!
x
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I ever normally dont write on these but OMG, I followed your instruction to the letter and it came out beautifully!! I took the butter and eggs out the night before making it as I think that these both have to Be at the same temperature.
Also you have to make sure that once you have put the sugar syrup in the bowl it has to cool down to room temperature before putting in the butter which is why some end up like soup! I ended up couple of bags of frozen peas around my mixer whilst it was whisking the meringue til cool…. It took around 18 mins to cool in my k chef…
This is my first time making it, after reading reviews was a bit worried about doing it but watching this guide you needn’t be, yes you may need a thermometer but after the sugar syrup came to the centre boiling it took 30 seconds to get up to temp so you why bother! 160 degrees
Anyway sorry for the long post, thank you so much for sharing this,
M xxx
yay – thankyou so much for your detailed feedback. I’m so glad you had such success with the IMBC as I absolutely love it!
I’ve just discovered your site !!!!! Thank you!!! It is loaded with such an abundance of information. I love to bake, and while my sons were growing up I always had someone to eat my creations. I’m an empty-nester now. I’ve done some sugar work for wedding cakes and I’ve been asked to do my Son’s wedding cake next year. They want a small cake for cutting and 150 cupcakes. What is the best icing for the cupcakes?
I will be experimenting and feeding the people on my street until I get it right. I think with your Tutorials I can pull this off…I’ll keep you posted, thanks
Hi Judy
Thankyou so much for your lovely comments – I really appreciate them!!
Once you go further through my site you will find that I am completely obsessed with Italian Meringue Buttercream and talk about how good it is all the time!! I absolutely love it and make it now for everything. Here is a link to my tutorial for this, and you can always add yummy flavourings like lemon curd or chocolate ganache.
http://bronniebakes.com/2012/04/27/basics-series-how-to-make-italian-meringue-buttercream/
x
Hi Bronnie,
I am about to attempt IMBC for the first time and found your tutorial very helpful. I have a quick question about the chocolate variation. I usually use pure cream to make ganache. Should I use it for this recipe? Also with using dark chocolate, does it have the bitter taste or does all the sugar in the buttercream sweeten it? I am looking to ice caramel mud cupcakes.
Good on you for making it Natalie!! It is divine
I just use regular cream (the cheap aldi brand!) and that is fine. You would be fine just using some melted chocolate – again, I use the cheap aldi cooking chocolate (dark) but just make sure you don’t add it while it’s hot. It definitely doesn’t taste bitter! But It might if you use the high % cocoa chocolate.
If you are going to ice caramel cupcakes, then I’d suggest you use this recipe http://bronniebakes.com/2011/03/18/how-to-make-the-most-delicious-cake-filling/ it is AMAZING!!!!
Let me know how you go!!
x
Hey! I LOVE your website; I just made the IMBC for a friends birthday cake. It was AMAZING!!!! I made a 2 layer cake, filling and topping it with IMBC and there was still tons of leftovers
My one little flaw was the consistency; I followed every single direction right, even though I didn’t need a candy thermometer. But, I didn’t have enough butter, so I used some gourmet spereading butter that was cooking butter, but soft (so, not margarine or anything). Mmmm… yeah, it wasn’t the best idea, because it made the IMBC a bit runnier (but still at piping consistency), and it didn’t really harden. It was still great and my friend loved it! Thankyou so much for this inspired site!! 
Hi Eve
Thankyou so much for your lovely comment. I’m SO glad you gave IMBC a try as I absolutely love it! That is a shame about the consistency. I’ve never tried it with anything other than butter, but I do find if my consistency is a little runny that if I put it in the fridge it will harden a little and it is easier to pipe/fill.
Thanks!
x