I just tried making IMBC for the first time. The recipe I used started with whipping wilton's meringue powder with water. I tasted it and - YUCK!

What could have gone wrong.... certainly it isn't supposed to taste like meringue powder and vanilla. I added 1 tbsp vanilla; was that too much?

I wish it tasted like sweet butter instead of crap!

it doesn,t sound like you make imbc.. you haven,t said anything about boiling sugar and water to a certain temp.. nor adding butter when the first mixture cools off. when i make imbc.. i use real egg whites and go from there.. it sounds like you just beat wilton meringue power and water? tell us how you make imbc.. i make imbc here and there.. put prefer the american way better.. taste better to me. no like a mouth full of butter. lots of people love it though.. the best recipe i have ever made of imbc is from the wbh.. or dede wilson's book. love her..hth

So, you've whipped the reconstituted meringue powder and added vanilla? That's not imbc, that's vanilla flavored whipped egg whites. Would taste nasty if it were fresh egg whites, too.

Once you've whipped the reconstituted meringue powder/egg whites, you add the boiled sugar syrup and whip until it is a fluffy boiled meringue icing. You let that cool, then add unsalted butter and the flavoring. Then it's imbc.

Even egg whites with vanilla tastes nasty. I think you forgot the sugar.

Sorry, I should have clairfied.... here is exactly as I did it:

Whipped 3 tbsp wilton's meringue powder with 1/2 c water
Cooked 3 c sugar and 1/4 c corn syrup until it boiled (I don't have a thermometer)
Slowly added the syrup while whipping (let it cool for a few minutes first)
Put the bowl in ice water for a few minutes
Added 1 c crisco and whipped in
Slowly added 4 sticks butter while whipping and 1 tbsp vanilla

Here is the recipe I followed: http://cakecentral.com/recipes/4243/Meringue-based-Buttercream

I know it said 1 tsp vanilla but I have read others saying IMBC is too buttery so I added more; maybe this is the problem?

Thanks again and sorry for the confusion.

Okay, that's the recipe I posted, well, except I use 2 cups sugar, not 3. You might not have cooked the syrup long enough. It's really important to have that thermometer. The syrup needs to be cooked to 225 deg F. I only use 1 tsp vanilla, to me (and my family, friends and customers), that's enough. We like the buttery flavor. I don't like the vanilla to over-power the other flavors in the icing. Honestly, I think those who say that IMBC or SMBC is too buttery are those who prefer the powdered-sugar and shortening decorator's frosting (aka Wilton Buttercream). The ideal IMBC is really fluffy and smooth and silky and is sweet and buttery.

Oops, I used 2 cups not 3; that was just a typo. I must have added too much vanilla. Thanks for your help - I feel like a scientist sometimes lately.

This cake is just for the house (and the picture I will take of it), so maybe the nasty bc will keep me and hubby from eating it!!

i use sharons zambito's hi ratio shortening buttercream.. sometimes all hi-ratio shortening.. sometimes butter and hi-ratio shortening. no its not the wilton recipe.. i use what most of my clients ask for.. they don,t like the imbc.. THEY say it taste like eating a stick of butter.. i dont use crisco in my imbc at all.. just butter.. again,, wbc and dede wilson... has great imbc recipe.. lots of decorators on this site.. use indydebi's recipe.. she uses crisco.. etc.. and this is not wiltons recipe.. lots of recipes on this site(not wiltons).. buttercream recipe...

According to this post (scroll down a bit): http://jessicakesblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/lessons-learnedmoney-wasted.html
you should never sub meringue powder for egg whites.

Meringue buttercreams are not for everyone.

Meringues are for those looking for a more refined icing for their gourmet cake. Like me.

I have to say I made it one day too and it texture and the look was wonderful, but I like a sweet icing so I wasn't able to eat it either.

I had never tasted it until we stopped in at Wendy Kromers bakery - we had a chocolate version - very silky and wonderful to us. BUT no one I have made it for likes it here either. They prefer sugarshack's buttercream recipe and just an FYI - some of the clients that purchase my cakes would not be happy with your "refined" statement _jaime_!

Oh, I see...I thought they were the same thing, just different methods of preparing.

Got it...thanks for clarifying .

Hmmm. i really want to try either of the meringue icings. i'll start with a cake for the house and see how it goes. As Dede Wilson calls it: it's the Duncan Heins conundrum....some people want scratch cake that tastes like box cake and homemade icing that tastes store bought. Still trying to find a happy medium.

I've never heard of an IMBC that had Wilton's powdered meringue, corn syrup, or shortening, Thats sounds like it would taste bad.

I like Sugarshack's too when the weather doesn't permit a meringue based BC. I think it's great.

But when I describe SMBC to a client, who perhaps has never had anything other than the traditional typical shortening based stuff, I am A-ok with saying it's for "the discriminate palate"

Me neither Swartz. Very intriguiing.

http://cakecentral.com/recipes/5453/the-well-dressed-cake-swiss-meringue-buttercream-with-variations

Easy peasy and deliciously decadent!

I always tell first-timers to use this recipe. I think it's on the sweet side, but the instructions are so darn easy that my 13-year-old grand-niece was able to do it, with me at her side to coach her.


http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/swiss-meringue-buttercream-cupcake-book?autonomy_kw=swiss meringue buttercreme

Theresa