Okay so I've been reading tons of old posts about IMBC and i finally tried it tonight. I tried making it with Pasterized egg whites (the egg beaters brand because I heard people say they do that so it's safer for kids, pregnant women, etc.) But after I added all the sugar syrup very slowly in a very small constant stream to very stiff eggs My mixture turn to complete soup!

Is this just because I used egg beaters? or could I have done something else wrong? it is very humid today if that might make a difference.

TIA Christie

I have never used egg beaters so can't say if that is the reason this happened. If you had the whites at a stiff peak and the sugar syrup cooked to a high enough temperature I can't understand why it would do this. I know it sometimes turns soupy if the butter is too warm when you add it, if you add too much butter at one time or if you pour the syrup in too quickly. But none of those seem to apply here. I would try putting it in the fridge and then rebeating, but it may deflate the whites and you will end up having to toss this batch and try again. Humidty affects cooked ingredients, so maybe, but I am not certain.

Thanks for the response ShirleyW! It was actually your recipe that I used, except of course the egg beaters. I don't think deflating the whites is a problem since they are completely deflated already. I will try to refrig. them and see if it helps but i'm going to start over using real egg whites and see if that makes a difference!

THanks so much Christie

Christie the only other thing I can thnk of is maybe there was a slight film of grease on the bowl or beaters? Did the egg whites whip up to stiff peaks to begin with? I always rinse my bowl and beaters with a solution of very hot water filled to the top of the bowl and add about 1/4 cup white vinegar, add my beater and swish it around. Any little bit of grease can deflate the egg whites and the vinegar trick works very well.

And the temperature of the syrup is very important, you really need an accurate candy thermometer for this recipe.

Hiya, I know that the packaging of egg beaters specifically says they "don't whip" for meringues, etc. I have never tried that kind, I used to use Trader Joe's quick-scramble egg whites which didn't say that (but they discontinued the product.) So anyway...You said that you added the syrup to "very stiff eggs" so it sounds like they DO whip up?

FWIW I don't add the sugar slowly in a constant stream, I stop the KA, add a small amount and immediately whip for 5 secs, then stop again, add a larger amount and immediately whip for 5 secs, then do the same 1-2 more times till all the syrup is in. Never had a problem with soupy meringue, and again, this is using pasteurized whites (a different brand).

Also I made IMBC last night with Just Whites which is powdered ew; this also worked fine. The whites smell AWFUL when you dissolve them in water - like you want to throw them out. But the finished product tastes almost exactly the same as done with real eggwhites (I did a taste test once!)

I've had it happen to me when using Egg-whites from the carton as well. All I can say is keep beating it. It WILL take a while, 15min +, but it will slowly become thick and creamy like IMBC should.

yes keep beating.. I use the egg whites in a carton all the time (well, when I make IMBC) and they say they dont whip, but they do!

at first it looks like one big melted mess then it comes together

This is great information for those of us who don't want to risk using unpasteurized eggs! I always assumed the cartons wouldn't work and that I'd just found a lucky brand that was pasteurized differently and thus worked.

I am curious: did everyone's egg beaters whip to stiff peaks at first (i.e. after the cream of tartar and then dry sugar additions), but then break down (temporarily) when the hot syrup was added? Or did they not really whip to stiff peaks before adding the syrup, but it all worked out after a good long time in the mixer?

Mine never broke down until the butter addition, would sometimes turn curdly halfway through (as warned) but then would always come back together after I sped up the mixer.

i skip the syrup step. i dont heat anything at all.
i just add the granulated sugar to the slightly whipped pastuerized egg whites.

then beat that to stiff peaks.
add room temp butter, and then beat for.ev.er.

this buttercream takes a long time to make.
i have it beating on high for 20+ minutes before i even think about checking on it.[/i]

When you leave it for apprx 15-20min beating in the mixer, do you leave it on med or high?

Speaking of soupy IBMC, I refrigerated mine a few days ago, and last night took it out of the fridge for 1.5 hrs before rebeating it. MISTAKE! It was not even remotely room temperature enough and the fat separated out to a yellow soup at the bottom of the bowl. So...I warmed the bowl a bit (kept running my hands under hot water and then placing them on the bowl) and waited till it all warmed up, then started whipping the bejeepers out of it...guess what, it came back together?! Whew, what a relief.

Thought I'd share that tip. I knew you weren't supposed to rebeat it till it was room temp, I just jumped the gun. I was surprised and thrilled that it came back together.

Okay so when i made mine again last nigt with real egg whites I got beautiful meringue and very stiff whites, so i'm thinking maybe even though i thought the egg beaters were stiff they weren't quite stiff enough?

Okay so when it looked like a melted mess is this after you add the butter? My soupy mess happened right after i turned the mixer on high after all the sugar syrup was added but before the butter was added. I kept beating it to bring back the fluffiness (about 10 minutes) and it just looked kinda foamy and frothy definately still a liquid quality, it would pour from a spoon. Should I have beat it longer or when you say you beat for 20+ minutes is that after the butter is added?
Christie

I use powdered egg whites for my IMBC and it works great...actually whips up even higher than regular whites.

I bought a huge can of them online and they're great. I got a 2.25 pound container (enough for 168 egg whites) for $16.99. Pretty good deal, if you ask me I just wouldn't want to risk giving raw eggs to customers...and I don't think my health inspector would like it either.

I've never had the eggs deflate when adding the syrup but I have put the butter in too soon before (getting in too much of a hurry) and they deflated too much then.

I use meringue powder when making IMBC. I've never had a successful batch using fresh egg whites. Something about the meringue powder seems to make it more stable.

I wipe everything with a paper towel damped with white vinegar before I start and I add the hot syrup a little at a time and beat in thoroughly after each addition.

There is quite a difference in Meringue Powder and plain egg whites. Here are the ingredients in meringue powder.

Modified food starch, egg whites, sugar, gum arabic, calcium sulfate, citric acid, cream of tartar, silcon dioxide, artificial flavor.

I really can't stand the smell or taste of meringue powder, I think it must be the cream of tartar I taste, but it tastes sour or acidic to me. I'd much rather use real egg whites.

So if you use merangue powder do you use the same amount as the powder egg whites? Do you beat it for a long time on med or high speed?

Thank-you LaSombra

Shirley,

Your recipe says it make enough to cover a 10" round. Mine (made with the actual agg whites) only made enough to cover a 6 inch round 4" tall. Do I need to whip it longer to make it go further? It was nice and glossy and smooth, but looked just like butter, not frothyand light, but smooth and silky.

Did you fill the 6" cake with the buttercream as well? Because this recipe makes enough icing for the dam, piping the sides where the layers meet, crumb coating and final coat of a 10" round, 4" tall cake. I don't use it to fill the cake, I generally use a Bavarian Cream or fruit filling. Unless you have a heavy hand you should have had icing leftover from a 6" cake.

The expression fluffy and light may not mean the same thing to you as to me, the icing will be shiny and silky, not fluffy as say 7 minute icing. But lighter and fluffier than a powdered sugar based buttercream.

Ok, I just tried this for the first time and I also got a soupy mess (after I added the butter) I think it might of been too warm. I've read some people saying they add the butter in pieces. So they don't cream it with crisco first? That is what it says in the recipe that I have. It seems that the butter will be too warm if you beat it first. Should I skip this step then?

For the recipe I use I add the butter in pieces, but it is still fairly firm and cold. Not rock hard solid, but just so it has a bit of give to it if you squeeze the stick or cube. Even though yours turned to soup it could still have been salvaged by chilling and then rebeating, I hope you didn't end up tossing it out. Here is the recipe I use, I have cut the amount of butter from 16 oz. to 12 oz. or 3 sticks, it isn't quite as buttery feeling in your mouth. I love this icng, it is light and smooth and goes on the cake so easily. I just can't add Crisco to this type of icing, it changes the texture and definitely the mouth feel. Almost that same greasy feel that you get with powdered sugar/crisco based buttercream, yuck.
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2426-Italian-Meringue-Buttercream--Shirleys-Method.html

I didn't read all of the other responses yet, so not sure if you already heard this

Is it possible that your syrup was too hot? I use a digital thermometer with an alarm and set the alarm about 2 degrees before the recipe says to allow time for me to get the thermometer out and pick up the pan and pour it in (carryover cooking). I was previously using a candy thermometer (cheap one from the store) and I'm pretty sure it wasn't accurate and I turned a batch of IMBC into a soupy mess as well. We didn't use a digital all of the time in class when making sugar for pulling/blowing- so I'm not saying you have to use digital- but it works well for me. I also LOVE the alarm, so I can go off and work on other things for a few minutes without taking the sugar too far.

I've also used pastuerized egg whites without problems, so I'm not sure that is it. Good luck!

I've made Shirley's IMBC twice and followed it to the letter and it is awesome! Maybe chill your mix, bowl and beaters for a bit but not til hard and rebeat. Takes a lot lot of beating.