2 Hours To Make A Smbc?? Help!!
Decorating By musicmommy1 Updated 25 Feb 2014 , 5:52pm by musicmommy1
Let me first start off by saying "Hi". I have been a member here for quite some time and am a CC addict. I have followed many of you regulars for a long time, studied your cakes endlessly, and learned oh so much! I have never posted a question before, as I have always found my answers by doing a quick search. BUT now I need a bit of help.
I am a hobby baker, mostly just making birthday cakes for my kiddos. However, I was just asked to make a baby shower cake for a very dear friend. I am so excited to have a reason to cake!!! I have a design in mind and it must involve SMBC. Here's the dilema. I made SMBC 1x. It was heavenly and I was hooked. Problem: It took nearly 2 hours to make!!! I used Sweetalopita's recipe, heated my egg whites and sugar to 160 degrees F, and then put them in my KA to beat. I have a 4.5 quart KA and after several minutes of beating my motor started to get hot, which, in turn, was keeping my egg mixture warm. It took at least an hour of starting and stopping the mixing to get the bowl to be "neutral to the touch". Has anyone else ever had this problem? My bigger questions is: Can I let my egg/sugar mixture cool a bit before beating or will this mess up the chemistry going on? I love SMBC. I have to be able to make it on a regular basis but I can't spend 2 hours on every batch.
Any ideas or insights would be greatly appreciated!
Answer: ♦ 1st you need a new mixer, ♦
and get the 11 wire whip it's incredible fast with meringues.
The warm mixing bowl was so weird to me the first few times I made SMBC I actually put ziplock bags of ICE against the mixing bowl. Don't do it anymore, but it never takes more than 10-12 minutes before I have the stiff peaks and can add butter. (I only heat to 140 f.)
Answer: ♦ 1st you need a new mixer, ♦
and get the 11 wire whip it's incredible fast with meringues.
The warm mixing bowl was so weird to me the first few times I made SMBC I actually put ziplock bags of ICE against the mixing bowl. Don't do it anymore, but it never takes more than 10-12 minutes before I have the stiff peaks and can add butter. (I only heat to 140 f.)
Noooooo- I was afraid of hearing that I needed a new mixer- LOL. Good to know about the whip because my mixer is almost 11 years old and probably does need to be retired soon.
So, if I achieve stiff peaks but my bowl is still warm, is it safe to add my butter or would that not even happen? If I remember correctly, I had stiff peaks but I waited until my bowl cooled to room temperature. Maybe I didnt' need to wait that long?
Thanks so much
I also found that the bowl seems to retain heat even when the meringue is ready. Once stiff peaks are formed, I scoop a little of the meringue out with a clean spoon and see if it is cool to touch and taste. If I am in a hurry, sometimes I will prop some of those refreezable blue ice packs around the bowl. It usually take s 10 -15 mins to whip up and cool down, depending on the size of the batch and the temperature of the room. HTH
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I also found that the bowl seems to retain heat even when the meringue is ready. Once stiff peaks are formed, I scoop a little of the meringue out with a clean spoon and see if it is cool to touch and taste. If I am in a hurry, sometimes I will prop some of those refreezable blue ice packs around the bowl. It usually take s 10 -15 mins to whip up and cool down, depending on the size of the batch and the temperature of the room. HTH
So helpful! I think I was getting too caught up in the bowl cooling all the way. I had read about so many disasters that I was trying so hard not to screw up- LOL. I will try the ice and also check the temp of my meringue as you suggested. Thank you thank you!
I always use ice packs on my bowl to speed up the cooling process. But yeah...your mixer should not overheat that quickly.
In the meantime you could also put an icepack on top of the motor of your KA as long as it doesnt drip and you don't block the vents. But out of fear of a fire hazard I would begin shopping SOON!
Holy moly BatterUp! I just clicked on your profile and so glad I did! I Just found your unbelievable cake stands! They are beautiful. I love the one you custom made for the lady in Little Elm, TX. Are you still running your CC contest (I know you said Monday but wasn't sure the date)? I know I haven't given you ANY advice at all but I sure would love to enter if possible. Those stands are something to treasure!
Please just check my website or FB page for my latest events. CC does not allow promotion. Thank you though, You are very kind.
Dear musicmommy1,
Don't wait for the egg whites and sugar mix to cool...otherwise you will ruin everything. Try to hold something cold to the mixer bowl while it is beating ... it uses to work ;)
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Dear musicmommy1,
Don't wait for the egg whites and sugar mix to cool...otherwise you will ruin everything. Try to hold something cold to the mixer bowl while it is beating ... it uses to work ;)
Thank you Tania. I will definitely do that. I so appreciate everyone's advice. I cant wait to give this another try. My cake is needed for mid February but when it's done, I'll post a pic on here to let you all know how it turned out. Thanks again :)
Hi There,
I just wanted to come back here and thank you all for the helpful advice you gave me on my SWBC. The ice packs did the trick! I made 4 batches of frosting for my cake, each taking about 30 minutes. No overheated KA this time- what a relief! It tasted wonderful. My only complaint is the air bubbles that seemed to appear when I was icing my cakes. I'm going to do some research as to how I might get rid of them next time, but wondered if you might have any quick tips. Here's a link to the pictures of my cake that I just posted in my gallery. Thanks :)
For the air bubbles use a hot spatula. Just put the spatula in hot water and then mask the cake again over the air bubbles.
Tania,
Thank you so much for your reply. I had read that if you use a hot/wet knife on SMBC, that it could discolor the buttercream, which is why I had not tried it yet. Have you ever had this issue? I may have to give it a try :)
AI've had that problem with discoloration using a hot scraper, so I don't do that anymore. In the future, switch to the paddle when you add the butter, and if you get air bubbles then gently stir it by hand or smash it against the inside of the bowl to get the bubbles out.
Hi Annie-
Thank you. I do use the paddle attachment while adding the butter, as that is what the recipe tells me to do (I am using FromScratchSF's recipe). I have not noticed the air bubbles in the bowl, only while icing, but I will look for them in my next batch and especially try smashing out the bubbles. I had also read that once the SMBC has come together you can mix it on high with the whisk attachment. I'm hoping this may help too. I have another baby shower cake to do next week so I will give both a try!!!! We shall see :) I feel I've made a lot of improvement in the way of getting a smooth, straight cake but those air bubble really ticked me off!!! LOL
Thanks Again!
AWhen you ice the cake, try paddling it back and forth on the cake if it's developing bubbles as you're icing it. I would avoid the whisk after the butter is added because in my experience that makes it full of bubbles.
AThe spatula can't be wet just hot. For me it never discoloured. You can also heat a little bit the smb on the microwave.
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I've had that problem with discoloration using a hot scraper, so I don't do that anymore.
I've also had that same experience, so unless the SMBC is being covered with fondant, I won't use a hot knife or scraper with it. The heat breaks down the fats in the butter and creates splotches that are quite visible, even if the icing is uncoloured. On the other hand, the hot knife methods works great if the icing is being covered anyway.
Once it's all come together in the bowl, I run my mixer on the lowest setting for a few minutes with the paddle. It helps to smooth out the bubbles. Then, I sort of mash it against the side of the bowl with my spatula. That helps as well.
Thank you Tania and Kathleen for your great suggestions! Whenever I go in to make a cake, I always like to have a plan to try to correct previous problems. I'm glad to have several tricks to try to get that SMBC smooth. I will not be covering it with fondant, so those bubbles just won't due!!! I will come back and let you all know how it turns out
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