Well, I'm amazed because my first attempt at making IMBC actually worked! Now today is Wed., I need the stuff to decorate a cake on Friday to eat at a party on Saturday. Do I refridgerate the icing, I've heard everyone say it gets very hard in the fridge. Can I just keep it out on the counter or is that a bad thing to do with the egg whites?
Thank for all your help.....without this place I would never even have heard of IMBC!!!
Yep...IMBC is Italian Meringue Buttercream!
There is a recipe for this posted on this website..I've never tried this one though. Here is the link:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2015-11-Italian-Buttercream-Meringue-Frosting.html
You can store in the fridge I think it was for 5 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months...
I made the mistake of taking it out of the fridge and not waiting for it to get to room temp and it was a DISASTER!!!!!
Make sure it gest to room temp before remixing....
Thanks, I just put it all in the fridge. Now, I already colored it, so I've got a few containers that are only 1/2c or a little more. When I take it out to warm it to room temp will it be ok to beat it with my hand held mixer. I don't think the big stand mixer will be able to do anything with an amount that small.
OH, and yes it means Italian Meringue Butter Cream.....everyone here just raved about it. I took a few licks and it's good, I need to taste it on the cake. It's definately light and fluffy and not too sweet.
I got the recipe from here somewhere, it was the Mousseline recipe from the cake bible, i think! I'll look around and post it here when I find it.
Thanks everyone!
ok, I lied, it's from another site, I hope the original poster doesn't mind me sharing it here.
I usually use the Mousseline Buttercream from The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Berenbaum.
2 c. unsalted butter, softened but cool (1 lb.)
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. water
5 large egg whites
1/2 + 1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
up to 3 oz. liqueur or flavoring
In mixing bowl beat butter until smooth and creamy, set aside in coolish place (not the refrigerator, but not near the stove either!).
In another mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy, add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining 1/4 c. sugar until stiff peaks form.
Meanwhile, in saucepan heat 3/4 c. sugar and the 1/4 c. water, stirring until sugar dissolves and mixture is bubbling. Stop stirring, boil syrup until thermometer reaches 248-250. Immediately transfer syrup to heatproof glass measuring cup.
If using hand-held mixer pour the syrup into whites in a steady stream, but don't let the syrup fall directly on the beaters. If using stand mixer, turn off mixer and pour small amount of syrup in whites. Immediately beat at high speed for several seconds. Stop the mixer and add a larger amount of syrup, then immediately beat at high speed. Repeat this process until all the syrup is added.
When all the syrup is added, continue beating the mixture at medium speed until the mixture is COMPLETELY COOL (bowl should be coolish to touch). Then beat in butter, 1 Tbsp at a time, until it is all added. Lower speed slightly and drizzle in liqueur.
My own notes to this recipe: I use dried pasteurized egg whites, and they work fine. The liquid pasteurized ones available at my grocery store are not intended for meringues (there are liquid ones which are, just not at my store), but the dried ones (reconstituted, obviously), seem to work fine. I do this only for a little "extra" safety, though the author says this recipe as she wrote it with fresh egg whites can be stored 2 days at room temp.
Next, the butter temp really is the key. If it is too warm the icing will not come together at all, but of course if it's too cold the texture of the icing will have grainy bits of butter in it instead of being silky. The butter should be at cool room temp. and absolutely don't start adding it until your meringue is cool, or the meringue will melt the butter.
Finally, for flavoring, if I want "plain" buttercream I add vanilla to taste (certainly not 3 oz, more like a couple tsp). If I want a liqueur flavored buttercream I add the 2-3 oz. of liqueur. I've also added things like lemon curd or raspberry preserves to the buttercream for fillings.
It sounds more complicated than it really is. I've made it often enough now that I don't use a candy thermometer either, as I can tell by the look of the syrup when it's right. When I first starting making this recipe, I messed it up once or twice, but quickly figured out what I had done wrong and now it's pretty much automatic.
Good luck everyone
You should be able to mix it with a hand mixer.... I don't think you should have a problem...
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