Okay, clearly I did something wrong. I boiled the sugar and whipped the whites to stiff consistency, but as I added the sugar syrup, everything started to expand rapidly and then the sugar started to crystalize, I think, because I could hear crunching . Oy! Not a good thing. I have Meringue all over my counters. I wasted $6 worth of pasteurized egg whites and I have no clue what I did wrong. Oh well...I won't be trying this one again.
But, if you have any pointers, I'll file them away for next time. I'm going to find something else~!

I've never made their recipe but was the sugar syrup too high? Lots of recipe's that have you boil sugar give a specific temp that you really need to stick to and if it gets too hot......

I believe my recipe that I use calls for the sugar to be boiled for 7 minutes. When there is 2 minutes left-whisk the egg whites. By the time the timer goes off the egg whaite are stiff. Be very careful to pour the sugar syrup slowly on the very edge of the bowl. DO NOT pour it directly into the whip. I am not sure what the consequences are-but that could be what went wrong??

Hi Karen,
I have used the recipe from the whimsical bakehouse, the only downside is that they don't mention the temperature. It sounds like you cooked the sugar syrup too long hence the crystals. The ideal temp is around 240-245 (firm boil stage). I would suggest you purchase a candy thermometer so that the sugar syrup is not overcooked

Karen - I feel for you! I had the same thing happen to me for a big event. I had made it before and it went really well and was very yummy - then I made it for this event and it crystalized and was just a mess!! I had to redo the whole batch and you know that wasn't cheap.

From now on I'm using a candy thermometer!

Dana

well you can make divinity with it if the sugar gets too hot. I think that you are sposed to cook it to the "soft- ball" stage (when you drop a glop into a glass of ice water and take it out it makes a squishy ball) boil it any longer and you be makin candy instead of frosting.

Hey, don't waste it, throw some nuts in it and eat it with a spoon!

No kidding. I actually put a bunch of it in the oven and tried to make "merengue" cookies. I forgot about it after I shut the oven off, so it's probably still in there. I was so preoccupied trying to clean the hard sugar off of everything. What a mess. LOL

The next time you try make it, it should work out for you. Good Luck!

When the hot syrup is poured into the whites they must NOT touch the beaters - if they do the beaters will spin them into hard strings of candy.

Were the sides of your bowl covered in these hard strings?

Funny cakes--can you explain this? What do you mean "they"..the egg whites? If so, how do you keep them from touching the beaters?


Or do you mean the syrup? I'm confused, but I want to try this frosting

the syrup shouldnt touch the beaters...you pour it down the side of the bowl...

cande - I'm sorry. I should not have used the word, "they". I must be a little retarded this morning.

The beaters will be in the egg whites - it is the hot syrup that must not touch the beaters while it is being poured in.

It's important to use a medium to high speed on the mixer to insure that the syrup is blended quickly - but at the same time - that speed will cause the syrup to fling out against the sides of the bowl and become a solid.

One poster said to carefully and slowly add the syrup - by pouring it very slowly along the bowl. That's the safest way. As the syrup is blended in - the whites will become thick and very glossy as they are supposed to.

If the syrup hits the beaters - it will do the same thing peanut brittle does - it will become instantly hard and may ruin the icing with crunchy little sugar pieces.

Well, I thought that is what I was doing...pouring along the sides, but they egg whites were sooo expanded that the syrup just kind of bounced around and probably did hit the beaters. That must be part of what happened. Interesting.
I have a good sized Kitchen Aid mixer, so I'm not sure how people do this recipe without a commercial kitchen. Maybe two smaller batches?

But...would you please tell me what IBMC is? Is there a place on this site that lists acronyms? Thanks for your patience, you're the BEST as usual!

Regards,
Theresa

Italian Merengue Butter Cream

This particular recipe comes from a book called The Whimsical Bakehouse.

IMBC = Italian Meringue Buttercream

And here is the link to all the acronym's:

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-2926.html

HTH

Thanks so much for the quick responses, I will check out the book and the site for the acronyms.

Best,

Theresa

First off, did you wipe down the sides of pot of the boiling sugar with water? This is a mega-must because if you don't the crystals will form. Also, you abosultely cannot assume it's going to take an exact amount of time, but what is important is the temperature of the sugar. This is likely the cause of your whoa. Cooking sugar is tricky and you absolutely need a digital thermometer. It's not something you can walk away from either because once you get past a certain temperature it's a major problem.

When you are cooking your sugar/water mix, wipe down the inside a couple of times with a pastry brush and water. DO NOT MIX OR STIR. It'll take a little time to get past 229. Then the water starts to evaporate and the temperature elevates much more quickly. Your target temp. is 240 but you may want to pull it off at 239 because it will continue to cook. While you had your sugar/water syrup cooking you will have had your whites beating. When you are ready to pour in your sugar, turn the mixer down a little so the syrup doesn't go flying but keep it running because you don't want scrambled eggs. Pour it in a steady stream being careful not to touch the sides of the mixing bowl with the syrup. The mixture will recede but will come back after mixing. Continue mixing until it cools and then you can add in your fat.

Don't be discouraged, the recipe is fine. You just have to perfect your craft and once you get the hang of it, you'll love the recipe.

I think your sugar was too hot. I've had crystallization problems twice before with different recipes (my first attempts at perfecting caramel actually) and it made things more mealy than anything. The consistancy was there and good, but it was grainy. With what you described, I think, your sugar was at a firm ball or crack stage.