Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

I just wonder , when making macaron or buttercream or mousse, we put in whipped egg white and folded with other ingredients. Say for Italian meringue, is that the 116C boiled syrup can help to kill the bacteria inside egg more than French/Swiss meringue method?
Is using pasteurised egg fine enough?
compared with meringue powder, is that powder would have lower risk but lesser ‘hardening’ power?

Hi daymuffin

Italian meringue buttercream is cooked with hot syrup so any bateria present will be killed off.
The sugar can be heated a couple of degrees more if you like to counter the cooling while it is being poured. It is more safe than Swiss or French style buttercreams. Pasteurised egg whites don’t volumize as much but should be fine for the puposes of making buttercream. Meringue powder or pure dried albumen can also be used for making buttercream but generally not strong enough for royal icing.

wow !! thank you for letting me know. I wondered about this for long time ago!
I only realised the word ‘pasteurised’ egg on the packaging in supermarket. and i do noticed not all brand stated their egg is pasteurised. i often skipped this word and thought it was some marketing wording.

Was wondering if Swiss meringue buttercream is stable on a cake made one day and eaten the next ? Friend does not like fondant so though this would be an idea. Will it crust ? And will it travel ?

Hello JillHolmes

Swiss meringue buttercream will be fine for a couple or three days at room temperature. I’m sure you have a recipe and are already aware that the egg whites must be pasteurised suffciently to kill off any bacteria and to dissolve the sugar.
As long as it’s kept cool, the buttercream should travel well but it will not crust.
Hope this helps, if you need more information just post again. 🙂