Hey Everyone,

Being a fondant person myself I don't do much buttercream work. Primarily because it looks too "supermarket" cake for me (sorry, I know that sounds super rude). However, when watching the most recent Amazing Wedding Cakes on WeTV I was SUPER impressed with the buttercream flowers done by Merci Beaucoup cakes. The flowers looked soft and creamy, not super stiff like Wilton declares is necessary. What was he piping with? It looked to me like and IMBC or SMBC. Having never used that I know NOTHING about it. Can you indeed pipe flowers in those two icings? Thanks a bunch in advance!!

Arainna Forth

When I watched the show before, when those two people still worked for the cake divas, I'm pretty sure they mentioned using IMBC. I remember I was curious because it did look really creamy. Those flowers were amazing, and I totally want to do them!

You can totally pipe flowers with IMBC or SMBC! You just don't whip the buttercream too much, whip it just until the butter disappears, so it stays a little stiff and super creamy. You can add any color to pipe really beautiful flowers and they look just like the ones on the show.

HTH

Maybe I whipped mine too much, but I couldn't do roses for %^#(& with my SMBC. They flopped over and drooped and stunk. I was SO disappointed.

Thanks for the replies! I'd began to think no one was going to respond. I also wondered, living in Florida will these flowers melt in a millisecond? I just HATE shortening based icing, not just for flavor but also for it's consistency. I am avoiding piping because I hate shortening so much. I just want to find a beautiful, delicious alternative and hope IMBC or SMBC will be it!!!

I have made flowers with BC and they stayed. It is really hot and humid in my part of the country and they do not melt. I don't do them ahead of time and let them dry. I don't like them crunchy, one reason I don't do much RI.

Does SMBC go crunchy like shortening icing?

No... SMBC doesn't crust up at all. I use SMBC all the time and provided it's not a zillion degrees you can pipe with it just fine. I usually have 2 bags going of the same color so I can put one down when it gets too warm. I have hot hands too though so that doesn't help me.

If you want to do roses, pipe a bunch of the centers and put them in the fridge so they get nice and firm and then do the petals... it helps a lot.

I find I have to whip it up completely for it to firm up nice... if I mix until the butter goes away then it's still a little soupy.

i haven,t seen a cake on this site ... using buttercream.. that even resembles a supermarket cake.. and you can indeed use imbc to pipe beautiful flowers.. right on your cake.. they are amazing.. i haven,t tried it with the smbc.. lots of people don,t like the smbc or imbc.... because they think it taste too much like butter.. then some don,t use fondant.. because.. the clients don,t like the texture of it..no matter the brand they use.. to each he own. don,t you think?lot of decorators on here.. say they use fondant.. because , they can,t smooth buttercream like they would like.. so we all do different.. and that is ok.. the remark , with your opening statement.. as you said.... was rude...

I used to be really uppity about using decorator's bc and felt that the IMBC was the only "true" way to go.

However, it is my experience that people actually prefer the shortening-based bc. Whenever I use the MBC's, people complain that it's not sweet enough and tastes like eating whipped butter. And it's not because I don't know what I'm doing because I most certainly do.

Since I'm in business not to prove what a food snob I am, but to make people happy, I use shortening-based bc exclusively. It's beautiful, if you know what you're doing you can crust it to look almost like fondant and more important - almost everybody loves it! And I've never done a cake that looks like a supermarket cake because I think they're the only ones who have access to those hideous neon colors!

I prefer BC myself with fondant accents. I have not had many people want an entire fondant cake due to the taste. However, I have found some brands of fondant that does taste good. I have never used IMBC or SMBC. I think whatever works for you as an idividual and the customer is happy then all is good.

I think what I'm drawn to with the SMBC or IMBC flowers is that they're shiney looking and soft. I guess where my "supermarket" comment about shortening BC flowers came in is they tend to look dull (matte may be a better word) and hard. However, I have eaten IMBC once and it most definately did taste like a stick of butter. Maybe I just need to find a balance. Maybe I'll just continue my love affair with gumpaste and remain blissfully ignorant of all buttercreams...

You're supposed to put a flavoring into meringue buttercreams, usually liquers, but you can use pretty much anything. If you eat it with no flavor it's pretty buttery, but my customers usually like it more than crisco buttercream.

ok, it's been awhile for my abbreviation education. what is smbc, imbc? Is it swiss meringue or italian meringue? just guessing. Please stop laughing at me! I was only trying! LOL Anyway, so glad merci beaucoup started their own shop. I really enjoyed watching Reva and ? So sorry, I can't place his name now! Beautiful work. -Michelle

I just tried making IMBC. I was worried for the longest time about trying to make it. I practiced by making meringue for pies. I made sugar syrups for moistening cakes and for making fruit salad and other things to familiarize myself with the different steps. I read and re read the directions for the IMBC recipe I was going to try. I was disappointed to finally taste it. I loved how it magically came together! It was a rush and made me ecstatically happy to see that! I loved the beautiful, silky and shiny-ness of it. It glides on the cake like silk and is so easy to smooth and to pipe. I loved working with it. I had to add way more vanilla than the recipe called for...maybe it was the difference in the brand I used. Adding more vanilla helped a little, but it still tasted so much like butter that I just couldn't eat very much of it. I'm sadly disappointed. Hubby and I both ended up with tummy trouble, I know it was the butter since we don't normally eat that much dairy. I used pasteurized egg whites, all my dates were fresh, and I used a thermometer so I'm certain nothing was bad. I'm let down since I was growing tired of grit from uncooked buttercream and the greasy mouth-feel of Crisco. I use a 1/2 butter and 1/2 Crisco recipe normally, so I guess that's what I'll still be using.

I never understand when people say that the MBC's taste like butter, because I don't think they do at all... unless you use salted butter. I always use unsalted butter and add tons of vanilla. The recipes that call for a tsp... definitely not enough. I make a batch with ~18 egg whites and 3 pounds of butter and I put 3 TBSP of vanilla in it.

Jeanne, just wanted to let you know you're my cake hero.

Maybe it was the salted butter that did it. The recipe I used didn't specify. I tried the unsalted in my old standby recipe once (1/2 butter and 1/2 Crisco) and subbed a little popcorn salt (a trick I'd heard that would cut the sweetness) and found it horribly bland. My IMBC recipe did not specify one way or the other. The recipe I used was 8 egg whites, 1 1/2 lbs of butter, and it only called for 1 T. of vanilla, I used almost 3 T. Do any of you use any salt at all with the unsalted butter, like maybe a little popcorn salt or something? I really want to try this again to get an accurate picture of what it should taste like. I had a feeling that something just wasn't quite right but wasn't sure. Thanks for the suggestion, BTW!

Oh yes... if you used salted butter all I can say is ICK!!!! You need the salt in a crisco and powdered sugar icing to cut the sweetness, but SMBC or IMBC has so much less sugar in it than a PS and crisco buttercream so you don't have to have the salt. I used 1/2 and 1/2 once with the butters and it still tasted like butter... I almost gave up on it but decided to try it with all unsalted and VIOLA!!! It was perfect. It is rich and buttery in texture, but not in flavor.

Use unsalted butter and lots of flavoring. The Well Dressed Cake SMBC recipe was posted by me... I have had great success with it. You can use the salted SMBC on a muffin... or add some cinnamon and use it on rolls or toast. You could try adding some unssalted peanut butter to it too... some people say adding bittersweet chocolate helps too, but I haven't tried. I'd think the butter taste would still come through more than I'd like it to.

The recipe is in the recipe section here, but it calls for 5 egg whites, 1 cup of sugar, 3 sticks of unsalted butter and 1-2 T. of real vanilla. You can make it as an IMBC too, just add 1/4c of water to the sugar on the stove and cook to 248 degrees and then add to the beating whites. It tastes like vanilla ice cream to me. Adding fruit purees to it is heavenly too, but I wouldn't try that with your salted SMBC... it'd be a waste of fruit since the salty buttery taste would still come through.

I was wondering if vanilla was the best flavor for IMBC. It didn't seem to do the texture justice. It did cross my mind that more intense, deeper flavors would probably work better. I'm already considering my next project....coconut and lime. I'm foolish over that combination. I think that will convert me if it turns out well!