Ok, I'm trying SMBC for the first time and I am following the recipe for how to make a peanut butter version. (I know, sounds good huh?) Anyways, the only difference I made to the recipe is that i halved it as I want to make sure I like it before I make a bunch! I cooked the egg whites, sugar, salt and cream of tartar over a double boiler till hot and then transferred it to the bowl of my mixer and set the mixer on medium-high speed. It is supposed to get to stiff peaks but I have been mixing it for like 15 minutes now and it is no where near that. It is a soupy mess!! What am I doing wrong here?? The only thing that I can think of is that I am using fresh eggs (we have our own chickens) or maybe because I halved the recipe. I would so like to use this recipe it sounds delish, but so far it's not looking too good for me! Please help!

Sorry to bump myself, but any help would really be appreciated! I'm kinda at a stand still!

I have never seen a SMBC recipe where you cook the egg white etc. I use Martha Stewarts recipe (wonderful), if you go to her website you will be able to find it, make absolutely sure that your bowl is totally free of any fat or grease as that stops the egg whites & sugar from whipping to peaks. Hope this helps.

I'd be willing to bet that you had some grease in your bowl. I halve my SMBC recipe all the time and use fresh eggs (from the farm up the road) and they whip up fine.

i am confused. i thought you did cook the egg whites and sugar over a water bath until it is not grainy or to 140 degrees. then you whip it with the wire beater so long. then you beat it with the paddle beater while adding the butter a little at the time until it is smooth. i went on martha stewart and found swiss meringue buttercream. it is also saying you cook it over heat , etc. please correct me if is am wrong. i have not tried it yet, just the italian meringue buttercream. thanks also on dyanbakes.com , she is showing this on a video. you click on nov. 2006 to see this . she makes it so simple

Yes you do hold it over the simmering water & keep beating it until it is frothy & too hot to touch. There is no cream of tartar in Martha's recipe & it is only the egg whites & sugar that you start out with.

I heat mine to 160-ish degrees over a double boiler.. but you have to constantly whisk it so it doesn't curdle. I prefer making SMBC over IMBC because you don't have to cook the sugar and all that jazz.

Make sure your mixer bowl is SUPER clean and make sure that you don't curdle your eggs and it should be fine. I use 10 egg whites, 2 cups of sugar, 6 sticks of unsalted butter, and 4 TBSP of vanilla. Good luck on your second attempt.

Thanks for your responses! I am gonna try again today. I am sure my bowl was clean, but maybe there was some residual grease I didn't see. I am also going to get some eggs from the store and see if that's the problem. I know I have heard in the past that super fresh eggs will not boil right and in cake batter will not let it rise correctly so maybe between that and a little bit of grease it just wasn't happening. I'm gonna try the recipe I have with the cream of tartar one more time because it has the variation of doing peanut butter and someone here on CC just RAVED about it. But in the future if I was doing just regular SMBC, I would try one of the simpler recipes. Again, thanks for the responses!!

Hey all! FYI- I tried it again and it turned out SO GOOD! I definately recommend it! I had a bunch left over and my mom and hubby took care of that for me! I think it did help with the slightly older eggs. Even then though it didn't get to what I would call stiff peaks, I just said oh well, it is what it is! Turned out great though. Thanks again for your help!