I made IMBC last weekend. Gave it to a bride to be and she loved it! I wanted some today so I took it out of the frig, and when I tried to spread it on a cupcake it wouldn't spread. So, I beat in in my KA, first it looked curdled but eventually it came together and I spread it on a cupcake. But it tastes terrible!!! Like straight butter, no sweetness maybe a touch on the spoiled side. I tried it last weekend myself and thought it was yummy , tasted normal. I don't know what happened. I need to use this on a wedding cake in a couple weeks. Can anyone help me?

I haven't used IMBC a lot but would like to offer it exclusively. Anyone have ideas as to what may have happened? Tips on how to work with this frosting? How long can it sit at room temp and still be okay? Can it be made ahead of time?

TIA for any help.

How long was it in the fridge? I think it lasts about 5 days in the fridge. (you can also freeze it if you want to make it in advance)
but you should let it come to room temp b/f remixing.

i don't know why it would taste not as good, unless maybe it went bad?

sorry i wasn't too much of a help

Good luck

Bumping myself. I need your input. Thanks!

It sounds like you have 2 problems. You have to let IMBC warm up a little before you mix it. You can actually over beat your frosting and the air bubbles that make it so smooth break down and disappear and you are basically left with flavored butter. (technically a ganache of sorts). That sounds like what happened.

I think the other problem is either the butter you used went bad OR it picked up a funky flavor from your fridge. Fats absorb odors really easily (had a 30 min lecture on this in school a few weeks ago) if it wasn't sealed up, the container had a slight scent of something else in it (in my case once it was tomato sauce...not a good buttercream flavor in case you are wondering). It will definitly make it taste bad.

I only use IMBC and love it! Once you get the hang of it, you will too!

Good luck!
-Michelle

Well I'm with chleonard, I'd guess that it tasted "off" due to being in the fridge for too long. She states 5 days, I've read anywhere from 5 to 8 days, so we're on the same page. I freeze mine if I need it more than 3 days after it's been made. Since you said it tasted great when you first made it, it's hard to imagine another explanation??

And again, what she said about letting it come to room temp before eating or rebeating. As you learned, it curdles if it's too cold. (And it tastes mostly like butter if it's served cold.) At least you kept the KA on when it curdled, isn't that just the most magical stuff, it looks like it's unsalvageable and then, once it achieves the correct temp, viola, yummy bc! (Well except this time? )

IMBC does need some flavoring to it. That's part of it's beauty though. It takes on all sorts of flavors really nicely. Did you add any extract, fruit juice or chocolate or anything?

If you have over beaten it, you'll know. It goes from looking light and fluffy to looking like very soft creamy butter. The best example of how it changes that I can think of (my brother got married last night and I'm still fighting the symptoms of the 'celebration' so my mind's not working so well right now) is that you know how if part of an ice cream containter melts and refreezes it looks different from the rest of it. That's because the part that never melted still has the air in it, and the melted part doesn't. It's more of a solid. Does that make sense?

I hope this helps. If not, I'll try again for you!

The IMBC recipe I used was Shirley's method. It seemd to work out great. Perhaps I did over-beat it, but I'm still not real sure how long. Is this one that you have to beat for like 5-7 min?

i just wanted to mention regarding flavor of the meringue buttercreams...its great to add flavoring- and LOTS OF IT! i use elisa strauss' recipe for smbc and for 8 cups of icing, she calls for 1/4 cup PLUS 2 tb vanilla!!! not the usually 2 tb you see in most. it tastes more like ice cream than butter (at cool room temp) .

you can add so many things- melted chocolate,liqueurs, espresso (or strong coffee), fruit purees, pure extracts etc....

when i make and freeze smbc, i cover the top with a tight layer of plastic touching the surface of the icing before placing the lid on. you can also wrap the container in plastic wrap to avoid it absorbing other flavors.

the egg whites or butter in your batch may have spoiled. my guess is the egg whites. i had that happen once. butter seems more stable and longer lasting than the eggs.did you by chance use the carton of egg whites? they work, but it says to use them within 7 days of opening, so if you made it then waited several days to move to the freezer, that could be it..the egg whites reaching its max.

Oh yes GI, definitely what melysa and wysmommy said: you must add flavoring to IMBC. The one I use calls for "2-3 tsp" and the difference between opting for 2 vs 3 is the difference between "fluffy sweetened butter" and "heavenly icing". Even if you followed Shirley's method, the bottom line is, if you thought it still tasted too much like butter, it prob. needed another touch of flavoring.

Okay, thanks ceshell & melysa. I thought so... I came home the next day from work a put about 1TABL of vanilla in it, re-whipped, and tasted. Still like butter. (It wasn't too bad on toast! )

So I just decided to dump it. I'll try it again. I likethe idea of not using shortening for frosting if I don't have to.

Noooooooooooooooo you didn't nooooooooooooooooo noooooooo! Gak, you could have just added some chocolate, mmmm..... Yumm...

Oh all that poor butter, gone to waste. You definitely should have saved it for waffles! (I read about that here)

Oops! Well, I guess since I was the only one going to be eating it!! I LOVE butter!! Love it, love it, love it!!

I'll try chocolate next time! (Well, hopefully it won't be THAT bad!)

Add caramel, my favorite meringue buttercream flavoring!

Mmm..........do you pour in caramel, or some kind of caramel flavoring?

I make caramel, cool it, then add it to the buttercream. A real home run filling. PM me if you would like the recipe, I'd be happy to give it to you. <<<<Cheryl

Thanks, ummm sounds good, I'm making a banana cake next month, would go perfect.

By the way also I realized in all this talk about flavoring we are (to get back to the original topic) talking about flavoring needed for those who think they don't like the way IMBC tastes. I know we already said this but for the OP I don't think adding flavoring would help (or even be a good idea)...it sounds like the icing itself is "expired".

I agree with everyone else that the buttercream may have been refrigerated a bit long. It came be frozen up to a month in most cases. Also fat does pick up orders especially butter. Another tip I learned from Dede Wilson's book about buttercream is that it is best to add the flavoring right before you use it because the flavor will be fresher. Hope this helps.

Thanks all! I appreciate the input. I will research other recipes. I used the one from Nick Malgieri (sp?) his book How To Bake. It only calls for a tablespoon of flavoring (in this case vanilla). I will look at other recipes too. Just to examine the small differences.

I used Just Whites, the pasteurized egg whites that I purchased the day before. I may have over beat it and it probably did pick up some odors from the fridge too.

One last thing, does anyone have a tried and true recipe that you easily do multiple batches from?
If you wouldn't mind sharing where you got it that would be great! I have the books mentioned here already so I will start with those. Thanks so much!

i use rose levy beranbaum's mousseline buttercream (her version of IMBC) from the cake bible, but i have also used martha stewart's version.
they all are basically the same and the resulting icings taste the same.

a few things about your icing tasting like butter...

when you pour your hot sugar syrup into the beaten whites, make sure all of it gets into the bowl. are you using a spatula to guide it all in? also,
according to rose's recipe, i add 1/4 cup sugar to the beaten whites,
which helps sweeten the icing, in case all of the sugar syrup doesn't pour into the bowl.

also, i add about 2-3 tsp pure vanilla extract (not imitation) and it tastes good. but of course, that is personal preference.

i have let the icing mix for a while (a lot longer than 5 -7 minutes) and i don't think i have ever overmixed it. and i don't think that would change the taste of it, just the texture.

and lastly, the icing should not taste like butter, but won't taste as sweet as the conf sugar/shortening icings. since it does contain a pound of butter, it will be "buttery" , but should be light and fluffy, not like soft butter.

good luck
it really is delicious! i hope you find a recipe that works for you!

I use white sugar and cream. I'm happy to send you the recipe. Boy, bananna and caramel does sound dreamy. You can put less caramal to give just a hint of flavor, or more depending on what you like. <<Cheryl

Lenette, Colette Peter's Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe makes so much it won't fit into my regular sized kitchen aid. I have to do 1/2 the recipe! It is very easy, that's why I like it. PM me if you can't find it... Cheryl

Maybe a little off topic- but for those who use IMBC why do you prefer this over SMBC when SMBC is easier to make (in my opinion)?
Do you get a better yield per # eggs? EX: I find that my recipe for SMBC that calls fo 8 egg whites is barely enough icing to frost and fill a small 7 in oval!

i think the yields for IMBC and SMBC are the same per egg white. i have made both with 5 eggs in my KA and don't remember a noticable difference in the amounts made. (about 4 cups, i think)

i think the main difference between the two icings is the stability. since you raise the sugar to a hgher temp for IMBC (up to 24 than for SMBC (up to 160, right?) the resulting IMBC is supposedly more stable.

personally, i use IMBC b/c i think it is easier to make. my arm gets too tired beating the egg whites over the water bath for SMBC!

I just spent the last 15 minutes looking this up on the forums, and it seems the general consensus is: "Different strokes for different folks." Everyone agrees that both BC's are very stable, but most agree that IMBC is just a leeeeetle bit more stable. (According to baking911, IMBC is "Cooked more than the Swiss Meringue making it the most stable type. ")

Final taste is supposed to be nearly identical, it's more a matter of which technique you are comfortable with. I have to admit, on paper the IMBC technique looks a bit easier than SMBC. On the flip side, since you heat the SMBC egg whites to 160 you KNOW you have heated them enough to kill food-borne bacteria (per the FDA), whereas with IMBC there is no guarantee that your hot sugar syrup will truly heat your egg white meringue to a safe temp. Which is why I use pasteurized ew. Hm, if I can start doing this w/o pasteurized ew then SMBC may be worth a try. Although I agree, the idea of using the bain marie sounds like a total PITA!