So tonight I got ambitious and am gearing up for the local fair, so want to try out some new stuff I've learned from here the last few weeks. That being said, I tried SMB tonight, and it turned out fantastic with one exception - tastes WAY too much like butter... to the point where I feel like I'm shoving a stick in my mouth and chewing... 
Here's the recipe I used:
10 egg whites
2 1/2 cups sugar
4 cups butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
When I was done, I went to a few sites and one girl gave a review of a very similar SMB recipe and said to cut the butter taste she added some icing sugar and doubled the vanilla. I did just that, and in the end it wasn't too bad.
Has anyone else had this issue? How did you fix, other than the obvious...cutting back the butter?
In regards to consistency, can't wait to try it on the cake...I'm hoping it crusts nicely and tastes fantastic. I will take pics when it's finished; this will be my first two tier. 
To three egg whites I use one tablespoons of vanilla essentially one teaspoon for every egg white, so I would more than triple the vanilla in your formula.
My smbc does not crust. I don't know how it will work out with the added powdered sugar but it does not crust.
If it doesn't crust, then I'm assuming it wont seal in the moisture in the cake, and should be eaten like what, same day? Maybe day after? I'm trying to have it ready for Saturday evening but timing doesn't look like it's going to happen.
Also, if it doesn't crust can I still lay fondant overtop? I wanted this icing to tort and crumb coat - maybe I was under the wrong impression here re: what it would do.
Any advice would be helpful.
I have tried SMBC a few times wth unsalted butter and I feel like I'm eating spread butter on cake. Uhg don't like it at all. I am going to try IMBC, don't know if there will be a difference but am willing to try.
If smbc tastes like butter then there's not enough flavoring in it.
I use it for filling cakes and under fondant, the dam around the filling etc.
It does seal the cake--just differently than powdered sugar based icing.
Are you sure that the recipe is for 4 CUPS of butter, not STICKS? The recipe that I use (from Elisa Strauss's Confetti Cakes book) calls for 5 sticks of butter with 2 3/4 c sugar. Only using 2 1/2 cups of sugar and 8 sticks of butter seems a little off in comparison. The recipe that I use tastes a little buttery, but in a good way. I would think the one you're using would be extremely buttery!
Yep - positive. Mind you I did question it...I tasted it at 3 cups and it was great (I should've just left it - bah!).
Here's the recipe from the site:
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients
Makes about 9 cups, enough for about 28 cupcakes
* 2 1/2 cups sugar
* 10 large egg whites
* 4 cups (8 sticks or 2 pounds) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Although I just noticed the "unsalted" part. Perhaps the butter I used was salted by accident. I'll have to check the packs before I go to bed. 
I tweaked a recipe for SMBC and it looks like that a LOT of butter, not enough sugar?
I use
1 cup sugar
4 egg whites
2 sticks of UNsalted butter
flavoring
sometimes I would add more sugar though... sugar addict here.
Margaret Braun's Vanilla Buttercream
Makes about 2 1/2 cups.
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups (2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons) unsalted butter at room temperature,
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large egg whites.
I love this formula--it's a perfect balance to me.
Perfectly.
And for what it's worth, when you get to 15 egg whites which is the recipe times 5, that's the maximum that will fit in my 6 quart Kitchen Aid mixer bowl. I mean you can beat more egg whites than that but once you get the butter in there--that's (recipe times 5) all that will ultimately fit.
You don't want to know how I figured that out-- 
This is my favorite SMBC recipe! It's delicious!
http://cakecentral.com/recipes/5453/the-well-dressed-cake-swiss-meringue-buttercream-with-variations
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