Swiss Meringue Bc... Am I Doing It Correctly?

Decorating By Moniquea Updated 9 Jul 2009 , 2:34pm by CakeandDazzle

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Moniquea Posted 8 Jul 2009 , 9:03pm
post #1 of 14

Hi,

Yet again I went thru a lot of butter, fustration and time to feel like I failed...

I boiled my bowl and wisks in water and dawn... greaseless...
I weighed my ingrediants... perfect...
Followed directions... exactly...

But I never got soft peaks during whipping much less stiff ones but I finished the recipe.

It seems too loose/soft and I tried not to add the amount of vanilla called for because last time it tasted like ice cream... but I used salted butter and I needed to...

After it sets in the fridge it tastes pretty good but its not stable for scuplting cake...

What did I do wrong? TIA!

13 replies
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sweetpea223 Posted 8 Jul 2009 , 9:18pm
post #2 of 14

Hi Moniquea!

When doing SMBC, I put all my egg whites and sugar in a bowl over a boiling water. (There are several posts in this site already)... altho I can't direct you to a link... I let the sugar melt or completely mix in the whites and touch the whites and see if it's warm enough... (if you see the link it will tell you exactly at what temp to have the whites at). Then, mix them on high until stiff or ribbon like... my basis is I touch the bottom of the bowl and it is already cool. Then I add the butter in sections until smooth.
I hope I explained it well... sorry if I didn't but I will try to look for the instructions or link for you.

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Moniquea Posted 8 Jul 2009 , 9:21pm
post #3 of 14

Thanks sweetpea icon_smile.gif

I did that... I halved the recipe - do you think that had something to do with it?

Should it be sooo soft?

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tonedna Posted 8 Jul 2009 , 9:31pm
post #4 of 14

Put some ice under the bowl to cool the moxture before you add the butter..It helps cool it down faster..
Edna icon_smile.gif

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stephaniescakenj Posted 8 Jul 2009 , 9:40pm
post #5 of 14

You might want to try IMBC, similar taste but different method of preparation. If you need a recipe, let me know.

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__Jamie__ Posted 8 Jul 2009 , 9:54pm
post #6 of 14

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-5453-The-Well-Dressed-Cake-Swiss-Meringue-Buttercream-with-variations.html

This is what I exclusively use. Adjust the sugar for stiffness. Also, don't use room temp butter, use it at a temp that is between room temp and fridge.

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__Jamie__ Posted 8 Jul 2009 , 9:55pm
post #7 of 14

Also, when I switch to the paddle attachment, meaning after the egg whites have been whipped, i packa bag of frozen veggies around the bottom of the bowl....if my house is warm that day.

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Moniquea Posted 8 Jul 2009 , 11:04pm
post #8 of 14

Thanks sweetpea icon_smile.gif

I did that... I halved the recipe - do you think that had something to do with it?

Should it be sooo soft?

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Moniquea Posted 8 Jul 2009 , 11:08pm
post #9 of 14

Thank you all!

I wish I could just get it to whip properly...

I wasn't aware keeping it cool after getting the sugar and egg whites combined was so important... thanks!

icon_biggrin.gif

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sweetpea223 Posted 9 Jul 2009 , 1:36am
post #10 of 14

Thanks Jamie for posting the link... Moniquea, cutting the recipe in half shouldn't matter... and yes making your whites cool first before adding the butter makes a real difference... when it's still hot, your butter will just melt. So maybe that's where it's not making it right.

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Moniquea Posted 9 Jul 2009 , 3:00am
post #11 of 14

Oh Thanks Sweetpea - I'll keep that in mind for next time icon_smile.gif

It's probably not a good thing that I bake like I cook, for example - I decided to make chocolate and just mixed some cocoa and ganache I made with lite cream vs. heavy instead of following a recipe like I should!

Anyway I was looking for a pudding like filling for some sample cupcakes... It's pretty good...

I will definately wait until its cool - especially since it seems I'll never manage to get my egg whites/sugar mix to whip icon_rolleyes.gif

Thanks again!

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panchanewjersey Posted 9 Jul 2009 , 3:23am
post #12 of 14

This will help, it's so easy and she explains it very well. Good luck!


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Moniquea Posted 9 Jul 2009 , 2:16pm
post #13 of 14

Ok... so I've watched this video before, a while ago, a couple times... then I went back to my recipe and decided to combine my recipe with her simple 1,2,3...

I should've rewatched... even though my proportions were correct for the egg white and sugar, this time I certainly didn't try to whip the two while I waited for the sugar crystals to dissolve... I did whisk them but didn't go nuts adding air...

Then my recipe doesn't have enough butter... so that's why its sooo soft...

I will continue trying until I get it! Thanks for all of the support CC'rs icon_biggrin.gif

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CakeandDazzle Posted 9 Jul 2009 , 2:34pm
post #14 of 14

heres how i do it.... eggs white (10) and sugar (3.5) over boiling water till hot and cant feel sugar... take butter out of the fridge (8 st) whip about 10 minutes then add the cold butter in cubes... i use the wisk attachment the enitre time and on high speed. sometimes depending on the temp it may take longer to make it stiff... but i learned smbc is alot more versitile then i thought... like you can heat it up to add color, wisk and it will come back... its really great
if you icing is watery and you know you've added the correct about of butter I would just let it whip awhile (bout 5-10) then if it still doesnt come together add a little more butter in slow amounts until it does.
Since I made my own smbc recipe I learned ALOT of things about it... lol
oh always use UNsalted butter for SMBC.... HTH

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