So I made IMBC for the first time today. It came out silky smooth and beautiful. But I have a couple questions.
1. It was softer than I would have wanted. Could this have been from it being to hot? Also, I couldn't get my sugar syrup past 130, could this have affected it? Maybe I didn't cool it down quite enough? The butter did blend nicely, so that was good.
2. Will having my sugar syrup only go to 130 have a significant effect on the end results?
3. It was smooth and creamy, but definitely had a marsh-mellow kind of flavor. Mind you, it was a toffee flavored BC, so maybe that was the issue. Is it supposed to taste a little like a marsh-mellow, or will a straight vanilla IMBC taste less like a marsh-mellow?
Thanks all for any insite to these questions.
You'll notice that the thermometer goes up quickly to 130, but then takes longer to go from 130-140 degrees. Your soft result could have been due to the hot weather or maybe you just didn't cool the meringue enough before adding the butter. I have not thought of IMBC as marshmallow tasting. Did you taste it before you added the toffee flavor, if so, did it taste the same prior?
Did you find it easy to work with? I personally love it and thin it's so easy to make, use and smooth. Also, buttercream is so easy to flavor and works well with most flavors!
It shouldn't taste like a marshmallow. It should taste like whatever you flavor it with. Hmmm, that's kind of strange. It is soft, but solid. It's not going to be as firm as say a PS/American buttercream.
The sugar syrup had brown sugar, molasses and syrup so that may have given it the marshmellow taste. I thought it might have. I'm going to make it again just as a vanilla to see what it would taste like.
What temp should I be cooking the syrup? It really bubbled up, and I think I'll need a bigger pot next time!
Thanks for any help!
I always take my sugar to 240 degrees and I have never had a problem with it being too soft and I think that is your problem. If you have ever made hard candy or peanut brittle you know that the sugar needs to reach the hard crack stage of 300 degrees. If you don't you end up with soft candy not the crisp brittle. The sugar reacts the same in buttercream. At 130 degrees you are not even up to the tread stage so your sugar does not have the stability to hold up the meringue and the butter.
OMG - I have to say I really thought you said 230 degrees. Please note that sugar syrup for IMBC should be 240 degrees - and it takes a bit of time to get there.
Also: now that yo've said the ingredients of your sugar syrup, I must add that I've never heard of that recipe. My IMBC syrup is just water and granulated sugar. Your ingredients explain the difference in taste.
I just realized I put 130! I did mean 230! It did get that high. Can't believe that typo!
Also: now that yo've said the ingredients of your sugar syrup, I must add that I've never heard of that recipe. My IMBC syrup is just water and granulated sugar. Your ingredients explain the difference in taste.
I found a recipe for a toffee flavored IMBC. Everyone did love it, so I'm going to try a regular one next.
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