Husband Doesn't Like Smbc. Can This Marriage Be Saved?
Decorating By Cevamal Updated 17 Oct 2014 , 2:04pm by costumeczar
Previous to CC I'd mostly made chocolate ABC (the recipe on the back of the hershey's can) or cream cheese ABC. I didn't have a vanilla recipe I liked so I just avoided it.
Now I've discovered SMBC and am positively in love. I could never go back.
My husband, OTOH, doesn't like it.
He's the least picky eater I've ever known so when he does have a preference I try to indulge it.
Suggestions on what to try? Is IMBC substantially different or is it just a different route to the same finished product?
I'll try the cooked flour frosting and Charlotte's Whipped Cream Buttercream. What else?
Before you got too much further gathering recipes etc I would definitely suggest you give the cooked flour frosting a go. When I make mine I make sure that the flour mix is super thick then pour it into the container that I will whip it in, cool for a few minutes then start whipping. This works great for a small batch as it quickly cools. Make sure your butter is well and truly room temperature and it will all come together beautifully. This is the recipe that I use http://leelabeanbakes.com/blog/frosting-filling/even-better-cooked-flour-frosting/ . Goes fantastic with Banana cake.
you can combine meringue buttercreams and confectioner's sugar buttercreams to get a hybrid, he might like that more if he's got the sweet tooth.
When I first started making SMBC my husband was not a fan at all. What I discovered is that I wasn't putting in enough flavoring and/or vanilla. Now, he doesn't like ABC. You could try that but if that doesn't work I would go the hybrid route like costumezar suggested.
Sometimes, it's just a matter of familiarity that gets in the way :)
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When I first started making SMBC my husband was not a fan at all. What I discovered is that I wasn't putting in enough flavoring and/or vanilla. Now, he doesn't like ABC. You could try that but if that doesn't work I would go the hybrid route like costumezar suggested.
Sometimes, it's just a matter of familiarity that gets in the way :)
Or you can start with a hybrid then back off how much of the confectioner's sugar buttercream you're adding in until it's all meringue, the same way you'd wean a dog off of one brand of food onto another. Hahaha!
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Original message sent by costumeczar
the same way you'd wean a dog off of one brand of food onto another. Hahaha!
.......except you can train a dog........husbands are another beast altogether!
See, I have the opposite problem - I made SMBC for the first time the other week (was very excited!) and my fiance declared that I wasn't allowed to have any other 'c*@**&' buttercream in the house any longer...everything had to be SMBC. I really didn't get it though...
As for training...I think they can be...providing he has a large glass of beer next to him and diminion over what goes on TV, my other half will happily sit and cut out petal after petal with while I stick them all together! 
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Original message sent by JWinslow
When I first started making SMBC my husband was not a fan at all. What I discovered is that I wasn't putting in enough flavoring and/or vanilla. Now, he doesn't like ABC. You could try that but if that doesn't work I would go the hybrid route like costumezar suggested. Sometimes, it's just a matter of familiarity that gets in the way :)
That was my thought after the first batch which was just vanilla. But he didn't like the caramel or chocolate, either!
Everyone else (3 kids, 4 grandparents) did so it's not just me that likes my SMBC.
Training men can be done but you have to make them think it was their idea. Or have someone they just met on the street tell them what you've been telling them for years, then they'll believe it. My MIL used to call me to tell me what my FIL was annoying her about, and I'd slide things that she wanted him to do into conversation. He'd do them if I said he should, but if she said he should, forget it. Or you could just use the "hit them over the head" technique where you basically force them to suffer the thing that they've been doing to you for years and refused to change, until they say they'll stop doing it. (Ask me about my husband's alarm clock system sometime and how I got him to stop using it, heh heh.)
AYes I have used all these "training" techniques in the past, with a small amount of success. Perhaps I just have remarkably resistant husband.....ha! We just celebrated 24 years together last week, everyone asks how we did it. I think we keep marvelling at the fact we HAVEN'T killed each other yet!
Actually, I think it's humour that it keeps us together at times....and an overwhelming exhaustion that leads to inertia.....
I am pretty impressed snowflakebunny23's husband who cut out flower petals in return for a glass of beer! Last night all I got was grumpiness that I dared to spend 2.5 hours ganaching the carved cake from hell and cleaning the kitchen while he had to sit and watch television by himself - the horror of it!!
Original message sent by costumeczar
(Ask me about my husband's alarm clock system sometime and how I got him to stop using it, heh heh.)
Ok, you got me, I'm dying to know about this!
Yes I have used all these "training" techniques in the past, with a small amount of success. Perhaps I just have remarkably resistant husband.....ha! We just celebrated 24 years together last week, everyone asks how we did it. I think we keep marvelling at the fact we HAVEN'T killed each other yet!
Actually, I think it's humour that it keeps us together at times....and an overwhelming exhaustion that leads to inertia.....
I am pretty impressed snowflakebunny23's husband who cut out flower petals in return for a glass of beer! Last night all I got was grumpiness that I dared to spend 2.5 hours ganaching the carved cake from hell and cleaning the kitchen while he had to sit and watch television by himself - the horror of it!!
Ok, you got me, I'm dying to know about this!
Well, my husband, like every other man in the world, seems to think that he exists in a bubble and that any noise he makes, or is made for him, isn't heard by anyone else. He knows that I'm a light sleeper but does that bother him? Oh nooooo. He decided that a good system for himself was to set three alarm clocks about three minutes apart, then not get up for any of them. The one on his watch would stop beeping after about thirty seconds, then one on his phone would beep for about thirty seconds and stop, then his actual alarm clock would go off and stay on until he decided to get up. I told him for YEARS that this woke me up and I couldn't get back to sleep, but he never thought I was serious. Then my daughter started complaining that it was waking her up too, but he didn't care enough to change his ways.
So I told him that I had had it, and that I was going to set my alarm clock and let him turn it off because I was sick of listening to his clocks, and that when he was ready to start getting up when his first clock went off like any normal person I would stop doing it. He was like "huh huh yeah, right" and didn't believe me. So the next morning I was awake as usual at 4:30 am because I can't sleep, so when 5:40 approached (which is when I have to get up) I got out of bed and went to get in the shower without turning my alarm off. When I got out it was turned off, so I knew he'd had to get out of bed, walk all the way around to the clock, figure out how to get it to stop then turn it off. My alarm doesn't turn itself off, it will go on forever unless you turn it off, hahaha.
So for the next two weeks he had to get up and turn the clock off, even on weekends, because I don't care, I'm awake anyway so why not continue the process. He finally agreed to use one alarm and to get up and turn it off when it goes off. He hasn't started using more than the one YET but it's been a good length of time. My next project is making him stop snoring by sewing a tennis ball to a shirt that he has to wear at night. I have to get a tennis ball.
One of my friends said she had the same problem with her husband and the alarms, but she fixed it by smashing his phone with a meat hammer. I told my husband that if he starts slacking off I'm going to do that, so now if one of his random alarms happens to go off I yell "Meat hammer! Meat hammer!" and he runs to turn it off just like Pavlov's dog.
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Original message sent by costumeczar
One of my friends said she had the same problem with her husband and the alarms, but she fixed it by smashing his phone with a meat hammer. I told my husband that if he starts slacking off I'm going to do that, so now if one of his random alarms happens to go off I yell "Meat hammer! Meat hammer!" and he runs to turn it off just like Pavlov's dog.
Oh my gosh, thank you soooo much for this. I had an awful day at work, and you totally made my day!
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
PS- I am also not in love with SMBC. I highly recommend the cooked flour recipe that was mentioned above if you want to try something other than ABC. It's not as sweet as ABC, but not as buttery tasting as SMBC.
AYes, the only way I get sleep when my husband is snoring is to move to the other end of the house! I don't think the tennis ball is going to do it unfortunately. My husband can snore in any direction or position....For some reason I have to leave our bed when he snores, but when I'm sick and am coughing all night, I am again the one who has to move!
And [@]costumeczar[/@], I don't think I'll ever get the image of you shouting "meat hammer" at the top of your voice out of my head. That's a brilliant story. It really is just like training a puppy.....
MEAT HAMMER!
Yeah, but back to meringue buttercreams. I'm curious why people don't use Italian meringue more. It's easier than SMBC (in my opinion), is more stable and tastes pretty much the same because the ingredients are the same. I only use IMBC because there's no irritating heating of the eggs to deal with, you just whip them and pour the sugar syrup into that.
I used to use IMBC exclusively until I tried SMBC. I find it is so much easier, and I think a bit safer without dealing with that hot messy sugar syrup. The temperatures and timing are less critical with SMBC and easier to clean up IMO. Also, I was never sure if those whites were getting hot enough to be truly pasteurized. (Never had any problems though). After doing it both ways many times, for me SMBC is simply easier. Maybe I'll make a batch Of IMBC for fun and stick a thermometer in the whites right after adding the syrup as an experiment!
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I used to use IMBC exclusively until I tried SMBC. I find it is so much easier, and I think a bit safer without dealing with that hot messy sugar syrup. The temperatures and timing are less critical with SMBC and easier to clean up IMO. Also, I was never sure if those whites were getting hot enough to be truly pasteurized. (Never had any problems though). After doing it both ways many times, for me SMBC is simply easier. Maybe I'll make a batch Of IMBC for fun and stick a thermometer in the whites right after adding the syrup as an experiment!
With IMBC there's no whisking necessary other than what the machine does, and I hate whisking things over hot water...I find it so much easier than SMBC, you cook the sugar, pour it straight into the whipped eggs, and let it cool off. I've seen how Alton Brown makes it and he's way too fussy about it, you don't need to pour the sugar syrup into a pyrex cup then into the whites, just pour it straight in from the pan when it gets to the right temp.
AI am sure Alton Brown is so fussy, pouring the sugar syrup into a measuring cup because FoodNetwork makes him be that way. They don't want to be responsible if someone burns themselves with boiling sugar syrup. I watched my grandma do this when I was a kid and she poured straight from the pan into the egg whites with a HAND mixer. She was my hero.
You may want to give this recipe a try. It's almost like a hybrid like Costumeczar mentions, but it's made all at once. http://www.woodlandbakeryblog.com/drum-roll-buttercream-is-here-tada/
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You may want to give this recipe a try. It's almost like a hybrid like Costumeczar mentions, but it's made all at once. http://www.woodlandbakeryblog.com/drum-roll-buttercream-is-here-tada/
Love the title...But my bone to pick with this is that once you add shortening and confectioner's sugar to a meringue buttercream it's no longer a swiss meringue or an Italian meringue, it's buttercream of an unknown name. I actually do like the hybrids because they have the smoother meringue texture to a certain extent, but they're not as all-butter-feeling, which a lot of my clients don't like. some do, some don't, so the hybrids tend to please everyone. Sometimes if I need 1/2 a batch of a meringue to do a filling and I only have 1/4 batch, I'll toss in enough confectioner's sugar buttercream to stretch it and it works fine flavor-wise. That's essentially what this recipe is.
There was some blog article recently somewhere where someone was saying that you can make swiss meringue by storing the sugar syrup and using it later or some junk like that., What she was making wasn't a swiss meringue, that just drives me crazy. It's a little bit of false advertising...If I thought I was getting a meringue buttercream and I could tell there was confectioner's sugar in it I'd not be a happy camper. Just call it something else.. Okay, now I have to go get some caffeine, it's early...
AI agree that it's hinky to call a frosting loaded with confectioner's sugar SMBC but I really love the sugar syrup version. The ingredients are exactly the same. IMO the end result is the same. You just put it together in a different order. Yes, there's no meringue, but don't you destroy the meringue as soon as you start adding fat?
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You may want to give this recipe a try. It's almost like a hybrid like Costumeczar mentions, but it's made all at once. http://www.woodlandbakeryblog.com/drum-roll-buttercream-is-here-tada/
I've made this several times. But I don't like putting Crisco solid vegetable shortening in it. It ruins it for me. She probably actually uses commercial Hi-Ratio shortening in this recipe. If I could afford to ship it to Alaska I'd buy some and use it often.
I agree that it's hinky to call a frosting loaded with confectioner's sugar SMBC but I really love the sugar syrup version. The ingredients are exactly the same. IMO the end result is the same. You just put it together in a different order. Yes, there's no meringue, but don't you destroy the meringue as soon as you start adding fat?
The end result isn't the same, though, She says that the icing will be firm, which Swiss meringue definitely isn't. And someone in that blog post comments section actually made her recipe and gave it less-than-glowing reviews of the final result compared to a real SMBC. We were talking about that recipe at one point and I made the comment that you'd pretty much get the same result by adding corn syrup to butter. Using a meringue gives the icing more fluffiness and "lift" if that's the right term. When the heat from the sugar syrup hits the meringue it solidifies the proteins in it and gives it some structure, if that makes sense. Beating a syrup into butter doesn't accomplish the same thing so the textures are different.
Just made a batch of IMBC and SMBC side by side with same ingredients ( 1.5 cups whites, 2.5 cups sugar, 1.5 lbs butter) except the IMBC had Cream of tartar added. They made up to the same amount (about 10 cups each) and I could not taste any difference. I still find SMBC to be a little neater, easier. and faster. I admit I only whisk occasionally not constantly, and have never had any problems with the whites cooking. (I bring it to 160 degrees ). Right after adding the sugar syrup to the beaten whites in IMBC, I measured the temperature in several spots and it varied from 140 to 145 degrees. The whites were about 75 degrees which is room temperature here today before adding the syrup. I put it all in the freezer, so can't tell yet if they handle or hold up any differently on a cake. I had some extra eggs and can always use more frosting in the freezer, so just did this for fun, and FYI.
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Just made a batch of IMBC and SMBC side by side with same ingredients ( 1.5 cups whites, 2.5 cups sugar, 1.5 lbs butter) except the IMBC had Cream of tartar added. They made up to the same amount (about 10 cups each) and I could not taste any difference. I still find SMBC to be a little neater, easier. and faster. I admit I only whisk occasionally not constantly, and have never had any problems with the whites cooking. (I bring it to 160 degrees ). Right after adding the sugar syrup to the beaten whites in IMBC, I measured the temperature in several spots and it varied from 140 to 145 degrees. The whites were about 75 degrees which is room temperature here today before adding the syrup. I put it all in the freezer, so can't tell yet if they handle or hold up any differently on a cake. I had some extra eggs and can always use more frosting in the freezer, so just did this for fun, and FYI.
IMBC is more stable than SMBC and is better for piping.
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Original message sent by costumeczar
The end result isn't the same, though, She says that the icing will be firm, which Swiss meringue definitely isn't. And someone in that blog post comments section actually made her recipe and gave it less-than-glowing reviews of the final result compared to a real SMBC. We were talking about that recipe at one point and I made the comment that you'd pretty much get the same result by adding corn syrup to butter. Using a meringue gives the icing more fluffiness and "lift" if that's the right term. When the heat from the sugar syrup hits the meringue it solidifies the proteins in it and gives it some structure, if that makes sense. Beating a syrup into butter doesn't accomplish the same thing so the textures are different.
Adding corn syrup wouldn't be the same thing unless your corn syrup is half egg whites.
But damn, now I want to make two batches of SMBC and compare. My husband is really going to hate you. ;-)
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