I have tried IMBC and it wasn't a big success. Today I tried SMBC and am in love. Love, love, love, love, LOVE!!! But I have two questions for those of you with SMBC experience:

1) When I went to ice the 2nd tier of my cake I had a hard time getting the icing to stick to the cake. The 1st tier went swimmingly but the 2nd one just wouldn't stick. I'd had the icing out of the fridge for about an hour or so. Was it too warm? It acted like melted wax and just slid around in clumps. Honestly, the first tier was gorgeous and went on gloriously.

2) I'm doing a thin coat on the tiers and then planned to cover in MMF. I know you shouldn't refridgerate fondant but I don't know if the SMBC needs to be chilled. It feels like it needs to. Can I leave it at room temp for a day? I need it for work on Wednesday and will be covering it Tuesday night so it could be at room temp for 18-24 hours before being entirely devoured by my coworkers during afternoon coffee/tea.

Thanks, as always, for your fabulous advice! Long live SMBC!!!

1) I've had that happen, too. Whip the icing again, and it will come together just fine.
2) I chill all my cakes, even with fondant, and I've never had a problem. There are plenty of people who HAVE had problems, however, and I don't know for sure what the difference is. My best guess is that it has to do with humidity levels and condensation in the fridge. I live in a desert, so maybe that's it. Again, there will be people who disagree, but I have eaten SMBC that was left out for a day or two and it seemed fine to me.

Just a note, in case you didn't know: Make sure the cake is thoroughly chilled before adding the fondant. It's MUCH easier that way.

ditto to pp

Your SMBC was not really at room temperature, I think. You need to have it back to room temperature and then rewhip. It happened to me before too. I make IMBC and it's the same rules. When your buttercream is not at the right temperature, it separates. It leaks water and the fat become big clumps.

I've also try to rewhip while it's cold and I get water separated from fat.

SMBC can be left out for a day or two and it will be just fine.

Read these threads:

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-7105751.html

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-7040458.html

Here's more info, and an excellent way to make it.

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