Hey, has anyone used swiss meringue frosting? I want to know how it holds up, can i pipe flowers/pipe in general, does it crust, does it frost a cake well? Lots of questions haha....and does anyone know if this is the frosting they use on Ace of Cakes? I just saw the Lost Cake episode and they showed one of the ladies making their buttercream and I saw that they were adding egg whites....is there a buttercream recipe that uses egg whites other than swiss meringue?

well I love it b/c its tastes good and is not as sweet. It does not crust. I've only used it to ice a cake so I don't know how piping will work...but guessing not as good of a result as buttercream. Don't know about Ace of cakes thing

Italian meringue also uses egg whites.

I know Collette Peters uses Swiss Buttercream. I don't know what the Ace of Cakes folks use. The one I use does not crust. I don't think they generally do. You can use it to fill, crumb or finish coat or pipe.

Duff's buttercream recipe is on the FN's site.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-challenge/french-buttercream-recipe/index.html

They're calling it a French buttercream at that link. But it's actually kinda sorta an uncooked Swiss buttercream. A french buttercream would use egg YOLKs, not whites.

i am a little confused on duffs recipe.. he is not cooking his egg whites and sugar over a double boiler.. when i make swiss meringue.. you have to whisk the egg whites and sugar . then whish over heat until a certain tempt. etc... for italian meringue . you cook the sugar and water to a certain tempt.. then add it to the beaten egg whites, etc.. so i am seein in his recipe.. he is doing neither one. am i correct.? for french meringue.. i have cooked the sugar and water.. and beaten the yolks, etc. and add the butter... delicious.. so did he leave a direction out? help me understand

To answer your question, yes, you can pipe with swiss meringue buttercream. I've made roses and shell borders with it--not much else since most of the times I've made it it's gone under fondant, but if you can do roses with it, you should be able to do most any piping, right?

You have to be a bit more careful with it, though, because it heats up in your hands easily, and that changes the consistency. You can't really "thin" it, the way you do with American buttercream, but on the plus side, if it's too thin, you just pop it in the fridge for five minutes and voila! It's thick again.

It doesn't crust, but it's LOVELY to frost a cake with.

You have to be a little careful with adding colors is about the only thing, because it's not a true white.

I was wondering the same thing when I saw the episode. When I make my buttercream it's the same method except I allow the sugar to dissolve in the egg whites first [prior to whipping w/o concern for specific temps) and then I add the butter. Was never quite sure if this fell in the Swiss or Italian Merigue buttercream category but have seen the mousseline buttercream done this way. I would think his method would result in a grainier buttercream, but if not then that's one less step for me. Going to have to test it out!

me too.. i am definitely going to try his method...

I read his recipe. I think the propane torch is a tad overkill though (for re-heating). Whats wrong with using a common household hairdryer? I do that all the time and it works fine!

If you use a pasteurized egg white (I use All Whites) you do not need to heat the egg/sugar over a double boiler. I tried Duff's way (not heating) and it works fine but it is grainy since the sugar does not dissolve. I just heat mine until the sugar dissolves and then whip ~ very easy, very smooth, very good.

Eme, I use the pasteurized egg white powder too and heat the sugar/whites just to dissolve. What do you call yours? Is it considered a mousseline? I kind of figured his would turn out with a grainy texture. Do you think using powdered sugar would remedy that? Have you tried it that way? Not a big deal to dissolve the sugar, I just love eliminating steps if they're unneccessary, but w/o compromising on quality/taste.

anasasi, I use liquid egg whites with granulated sugar. Have never tried using pwdr sugar, I think it would take too much. Mine is considered a Swiss meringue ... its actually a variation of a Colette Peters recipe.

I love SMBC. I'm just wondering if anyone does a crumbcoat with SMBC and then comes back and puts another layer on.

Thanks! Sorry to hi-jack the thread!

Thanks Eme. One last question, I promise. Is there a specific brand of pasteurized liquid egg whites that you use? I ask because the brand at my local supermarket specifically says on the carton not to use it to whip, it doesn't whip due to the pasteurization process. I tried using it a few times, however, and they weren't lying about it not whipping up....what a mess Meringue powder and cream of tartar didn't help it any, which is why I finally switched to the powdered egg whites. I'd rather use the liquid though. Am I just missing something?

The brand I use now is All Whites, 100% liquid egg whites and it does say on the side that they " .... are heated during the pasteurization process, and therefore not recommended for meringue or angel food cake." I have never had a problem with them not whipping up and I have used this brand for 2 years (I get them at Winco! ). Previously, I bought basically the same thing, just more expensive, at Whole Foods. Same warning on the side, same results, never had a problem.

Basically, this is what I do. I mix together the whites and the sugar, stick the bowl on a pan with water and whisk it until the sugar dissolves. Transfer to my KA bowl, put in the whisk attachment and turn that baby on 8 - my family hates the next 10 min! I whip the whites/sugar until the bowl cools to room temp and by that time the whites are forming nice soft peaks. Now, its true that they won't form stiff peaks, but for SMBC you only need soft peaks. I start adding in the room temp butter ~ 1/2 salted, 1/2 unsalted & only about 1/2 of what the recipe calls for. I keep the same whisk attachment in for the whole process.

{Hope I didn't just jinx myself }

HTH

Definitely helps! Thank you both, I'll have to give it another shot since it seems that I can get more egg whites per pkg in liquid form than with the powder.

I love using the pasteurized egg whites and have only had a problem with some seperation.

I use them to make Italian Meringue, where you whip the egg whites in the KA, heat the sugar and water to 238, then combine. It seems easier than the whole double-boiler, or bowl over boiling water thing.

I pipe shells, reverse shell, roses, cornelli lace, basket weave, etc. You just have to make sure if it gets too runny, stick it in the fridge.

I also add white chocolate to mine.

I have adapted my recipe to accomodate the entire carton of egg whites (8 egg whites) and then I use nearly 2 pounds of butter and 8-12 ounces of melted and cooled white chocolate. (or dark chocolate, or milk chocolate) . I usually have some left over but it freezes beautifully.