I am making a swiss meringue buttercream and for some reason I beat it on high but it is still watery, it is not coming together. What do I do? add more butter? refrigerate?
Please help
Dina

Were the eggwhites cooled to room temp and whipped to stiff peaks before you added the butter? was the butter just soft enough to dent with your finger, but not squishy soft? Where are you in the process?

Try refrigerating it, but not for too long because it will separate. I don't know what recipe you used. Were your egg whites whipped enough before you added the butter?

There is this great SMBC tutorial here, for next time. Maybe remembering what you did and comparing, you might find out where you went wrong.

http://fromscratchsf.wordpress.com/2011/03/08/tutorial-swiss-meringue-buttercream/

Sorry this has happened. I think it happens to all of us the first times. You'll get it right sooner than you think.

If refrigerating doesn't work, try adding more butter. I had this problem at one time, then remember that I had doubled everything in the recipe besides the butter (oops!) so it's worth a shot.

Refrigrate it for a while so the butter gets cold and harder and then beat it again until it all comes together.

Also- this can happen if your butter is too cold- it isn't able to fully break down and come back toegther. When this happens to me I run super hot water on the outside of my KA bowl and melt some of the butter- this will help bring it back together. It seems counter-intuitive, but it works!

Thank you everyone for your prompt responses. I think my butter a litter softer than it should be. I have made this icing many times before but it has been a while.
I kept beating it on high and it eventually came together. Thank God.

Thank goodness! With these icings temperature and timing is everything! But it's funny how they usually come together somehow. Yay!

Sometimes SMBC looks really broken before it comes back together. It can really freak you out.