I'm hoping someone has seen this before. I have began using SMBC on all of my cakes and for the most part LOVE it!! BUT...I have noticed that I keep getting these tiny yellowish hard pieces in it. I know it's not butter because these are hard. I don't believe I'm getting any yolk in with the whites because they whip up beautifully. I really have no idea what this could be....

If it isn't butter, I haven't a clue!

Maybe you need to mix your frosting longer to make it smoother. I would have thought pieces of butter also.  I can not imagine what else would be hard and yellow except butter.

Maybe put your recipe up for others to see which recipe you are using. I hope this issue can be resolved because it would be frustrating to go through all that effort and have hard pieces in your frosting. 

sift your sugar and see if anything's in there maybe -- but it could still be some yolk -- it will still whip up with a bit of yolk contrary to popular belief  i'm not debating anyone about this -- it is true -- and especially if the pieces are formed & hard -- could be yolk

I agree, -K8memphis!  If it is not butter, which would not be hard, what else could it possibly be but cooked egg yolk?

I have never made SMBC before and forgot that you put eggs into it. I agree with K8 and SandraSmiley that it is probably egg yolk. Hopefully others here would know what to do to try and stop this. 

I get them too and it drives me crazy but I am thinking it is the white stringy thing in the egg white called the chalazae.  From what I have read, the fresher the egg, the more prominent the chalazae, which may explain why I find the bits some of the times and not others...maybe I find them with fresher eggs.

I have not tried to remove the chalazae before using the egg white yet as I have just recently thought of this being the problem and have not made any icing yet.

I have thought of putting the sugar/egg white mixture through a fine mesh strainer before whipping to see if anything gets caught but that just seems kinda messy and I just haven't experimented with these ideas.

Let me know if you remove the chalazae and make smbc, I don't have any need to make any icing right now but will keep you posted if I do.

i never remove it -- i sieve lots of stuff so i would do that if necessary -- but i don't have that problem -- i stir the mixture like crazy though -- i'd suggest ramping up the stirring first to avoid having to sieve --

and your bowl is not touching the hot water is it -- that might cause difficulties

Is it crystallized sugar?  Not usually yellow, but after mixed with butter could be.....

good call, 640c

I know for me it is not yolk or crystallized sugar, it is not butter either.  For me, it is a hard rubbery texture, and no, it is not part of a spatula...it is like over cooked protein.  

My bowl does not touch the water and I do whisk while I heat my egg and sugar mixture.  

I don't notice it happening all the time and you can't feel it when you eat the icing. When it does happen, I notice it when I am trying to get a smooth finish.

I really wouldn't want to have to put it through a sieve each time...unless one day I have time to just play around trying different things, just a thought of what I might try sometime. Sometimes I do take out the white stringy thing only because I notice it is "harder" or more prominent but I have never paid attention if that correlates when I have bits in the icing.

If I ever figure out why it happens, I will be sure to post. I'll have to find a day that I can just "egg"speriment.  But for now, I will make my smbc the same way as I have since this does not happen every single time, just randomly.  

Okay so I think K8memphis was right! I made another batch and whisked like crazy while it was cooking and it was completely smooth. Now that I think about it, the batch before I didn't actually whisk it I used a rubber spatula thinking it would help keep the sugar crystals from forming on the sides.