Swiss Meringue Buttercream Convert!
Decorating By sillyjodes Updated 19 Feb 2009 , 7:20pm by BakingJeannie
Ok, so I tried the smbc tonight. Oh My God, why didn't someone tell me how fantastic it is before? Maybe, because it's so good, it can not be described with mere words! Thanks to jkalman for the recipe and the 20lbs I will quickly gain.
Jodie
are SMBC and IMBC crusting BCs? how do you get them smooth if not?
are SMBC and IMBC crusting BCs? how do you get them smooth if not?
I wanna know this too. Also, what's the difference between the two meringues? I've made Italian once before (a Martha recipe), but it tasted really eggy and I didn't like it. I also tasted a difference in the sugar, since it was cooked. I have not had that issue with my current recipe, which uses meringue powder and powdered sugar.
ok, i'll see if i can answer your questions, but i hope an expert will jump in here. the smbc i made is not crusting. i'm not sure if you can make it into a crusting bc or not. imbc and smbc are different in the technique used to create them. smbc heats the sugar and egg whites together, whereas imbc adds simple syrup to a meringue. that is, if i'm remembering my martha correctly.
the taste of the smbc is truly unbelievable. i wish i would have tried it sooner.
which one is safer in a sense that the eggs are cooked thoroughly?
The SMBC is, in my opinion, safer because the eggs are heated to a safe 160-degrees, unlike the IMBC which is heated by hot sugar. Almost 90% of the time when I make my SMBC, I use liquid egg whites. Lately I have noticed that some whites takes a much longer time to whip into a meringue, but I just want to be safe, especially when I know children maybe eating the icing.
My niece loves this icing. She calls it the "fluffy stuff". It's heaven on top of a cake. Yummy, yummy, yummy!! 
Jeannie
The SMBC is, in my opinion, safer because the eggs are heated to a safe 160-degrees, unlike the IMBC which is heated by hot sugar. Almost 90% of the time when I make my SMBC, I use liquid egg whites. Lately I have noticed that some whites takes a much longer time to whip into a meringue, but I just want to be safe, especially when I know children maybe eating the icing.
My niece loves this icing. She calls it the "fluffy stuff". It's heaven on top of a cake. Yummy, yummy, yummy!!
Jeannie
How do you measure it to one egg white? Do you have a recipe you could share? I am really giving up hope on buttercream. I hate the gritty feel.
Okay, I may be the black sheep here...but....I tried IMBC for the first time this past weekend. I thought it felt/tasted like I was licking the block of butter. Everyone goes on about the "mouth feel" of shortening, but I felt like I experienced that with the IMBC. Should I try SMBC? Will I notice a difference between IMBC and SMBC, as far as taste and texture?
Carla 
Carla...did you use unsalted butter? That's what you should use. I also like my SMBC a little sweeter, so I use 1 cup egg whites, 2 1/2 cups sugar and 3 cups unsalted butter. You also need to add quite a bit of flavoring. I use at least 1 tablespoon of vanilla.
The colder it is, the more buttery it tastes. I tell people to let the cake come to room temp. before eating.
Jodie
I like others here love SMBC but living here in Sunny Florida I only use it for fillings since it doesn't hold up in our weather. I was wondering if anyone knows the cost comparison to regular BC? It makes such a small batch and since it calls for 3 sticks of butter it seems like it would be much more expensive to cover a good sized cake with it.
I'm a recent convert to Swiss meringue butter cream, at the time I tried the recipe I only had salted butter, so I used it anyway everyone loves it. It also makes beautiful roses, if you have hot hands make them in advance and freeze the roses for easy decorating. The only liquid egg whites I have seen in the dairy section states they aren't useful for meringues, what liquid egg whites are you'll referring to?
I was planning on using liquid egg whites.. has anyone had any success with them?
Jeannie[/quote]How do you measure it to one egg white? Do you have a recipe you could share? I am really giving up hope on buttercream. I hate the gritty feel.[/quote]
I weigh my egg whites. The white of one egg = 1.05 oz. Therefore, if the recipe ask for 5 egg whites, I would weigh 5.25 oz of liquid egg whites on the scale. I weigh my ingredients. The Cake Bible has a list of various weight of ingredients.
I like others here love SMBC but living here in Sunny Florida I only use it for fillings since it doesn't hold up in our weather. I was wondering if anyone knows the cost comparison to regular BC? It makes such a small batch and since it calls for 3 sticks of butter it seems like it would be much more expensive to cover a good sized cake with it.
I live in South Florida, and have no problem using SMBC. During the summer months (which is almost year-round 
), I decrease the amount of butter and use high ratio shortning with added flavoring. The shortning helps the icing to standup to the humidity.
It is more expensive to cover your cake because of the use of butter (lots of it), egg whites and granulated sugar. However, if you want to really make an impressive cake, I would recommend SMBC. Generally I do not like making it for children because of the egg whites, however, my niece and nephews always ask for the "fluffy-stuff".
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