Ok I haven't used IMBC before but thinking about it. I have a question or two. Hopefully some of you IMBC experts can help me out here.

Does it crust? I need something nice that smooths easily and won't leave elephant skin on my cake.

How hard is it to work with?

How does it hold up to heat?

How it the taste and consistancy compared to buttercream?

oh and what recipe do you use?

I cannot get my buttercream smooth for the life of me. This cake that this lady wants is square 3 tier white buttercream...smooth smooth smooth. I don't know if it is the consistancy of my buttercream or what but I can't get it right for nothing and I have tried and tried and tried. The best I have got it was using the viva method, but there again I don't want elephant skin!

I've only made IMBC once. I use SMBC quite a bit though. No, it doesn't crust...not at all! The texture is very light and silky, slightly sweet, with a wonderful mouth feel. The trick is to apply way more than you need, then use a bench scraper to remove the extra, getting a smooth surface. You can chill it, then use a hot spatula to get any imperfections out.
There a lot of butter in it, so it won't hold up in a lot of heat. It's not perfectly white, again, because of the amount of butter.

I've never had anyone taste it that didn't totally love it.

Jodie

It's not a crusting buttercream, no. It's just like butter...you can't have it outdoors in the heat for long periods. From the fridge it is hard but tempers gradually and unlike the smooth/matte fondant it gets glossier the warmer the room. It doesn't sag or drip as it comes to room temp, not to worry. If you've taken the sugar syrup to the proper soft-ball temp stage, it's stable like a dream.

I've kept cakes out in regular room-temp venues for 8-10 hours easily.

Martha Stewart's recipe is great...

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/italian-meringue-buttercream?autonomy_kw=italian,meringue,buttercream&rsc=rf_result5

and here's a wonderful step-by-step photo how-to on making it....

http://www.cakescanada.com/HowTo/IMBC2.pdf


These CC threads are amazing for info and will help you out!


http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-615497-plastering.html

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-404613-plastering.html

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-119621-plastering.html