Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

This Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream is a beautiful pink color and is perfect with a variety of cupcake flavors.  In the above picture, I’ve paired this buttercream with Mini Lemon Cupcakes in my Mini Strawberry Lemon Cupcakes.  

Ingredients:

• 3 egg whites
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1½ sticks butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
• About ½ cup Vanilla Bean Strawberry Preserves

Whisk together egg whites and sugar in a mixing bowl over simmering water until sugar has dissolved and egg whites are warm.  Dry the bottom of the mixing bowl. 

Beat the egg whites until meringue is a glossy white and can hold stiff peaks, about 5 minutes. 

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the butter all at once.  Slowly increase the speed to high and beat until mixture is homogeneous, about 2 minutes. 

Add the Vanilla Bean Strawberry Preserves and beat until mixture is well combined.  You can add more or less strawberry preserves depending on the color and flavor intensity you would like to achieve.