Can you use IMBC for piping or for filling? I've only decorated w/ the half butter/half crisco recipe. I didn't think anything else could be used for piping decorations. Can you? Can you use cream-cheese icing for piping?
Mainly I want to know about the IMBC. Can I fill a cake w/ it? Can I use it for decorations? Can it be made into the three consistencies, thin, medium, and stiff?? Or is it always just thin or medium?
Thanks for your help! I'd like to try it, but I don't know how I can really use it.
I have piped and decorated with both Cream Cheese and IMBC. I have to admit it took me searching the site to find out what IMBC stood for, and then I felt like an idiot because I just made a batch yesterday so I should have recognized the initials. Duh...
With both, I have found that temp. is very important. Too much handling of the decorating bag, or a very warm kitchen can make your decorations lay down. I will load up some photos for you on another post.
The cream cheese, you can always add more powdered sugar. With the IMBC, shells, borders, basket weaves, etc. do beautifully. I found roses to be a bit trying because my kitchen had heated up. I switched to sweetpeas piped directly on the cake. (This was a practice cake for some upcoming weddings.)
IMBC feels thin when you are piping it, but it held up very well for me. I have traveled to three houses with this test cake and even the last two slices still look good. Just try and chill it before moving. I don't know of anyway to add stiffness, other than cooling it in the frig. It does not crust.
Everyone has loved this cake because the icing wasn't as sweet. I use a CBC for my birthday cakes with half butter and half Crisco with the powder sugar. But, for wedding cakes, I go a little more adult tasting and a bit more costly with the IMBC.
We are trying to go cook suppperrr! it still sunday in these parts of Sugar HEaven 
Now Lets starts w/ IMBC for pipping-
there is a recipe in the cake Bible called Mouselline MBC- I don't have the book in front of me so I don't know the page.
That recipe is supposed to be good for pipping and holds up well in heat - I've never tried it so I don't have 1st experience. (on the other hand I only use IMBC or SMBC my recipes are not from this bookbut it is an excellent reference book).
I believe that this recipe must be stronger b/c the sugar is heated to a higher temp. That would make chemical sence...
If you are not use to making MBC be aware that if you go above the required temp DO NOT ADD TO EGG WHITES. Repeat the sugar i.e candy making process- Sugar is cheaper that E/W.
IF you do add the over-heated liquid to the egg whites your end product will be GRITTY to the taste- in other words you will have little candy balls in you frosting! That is why your candy liquid MUST BE soft- ball.
If you look at your themometer you would see that there are different increments of soft ball - so becareful once that baby starts boiling DON'T MOVE A MUSCLE!
This is an EXCELLENT frosting - alittle expensive but, worth it.
Anyway...Now the filling- there is a merignue based filling that uses egg yolks using the same techinques. Again these merginue based products is worth the trouble. and $$
BTW REAL EGGS PLEASE 
MBC is general reference to the Meringue Butter Cream icings. There a several, similar, but different.
IMBC Italian Meringue Buttercream
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
French Meringue Buttercream
All a cooked sugar icings with real butter and eggs, Swiss is only whites.
They are all delicious, although some people think some are TOO buttery tasting.
Then there are variations of "buttercream"
CBC crusting buttercream
1/2 butter 1/2 shortening buttercream
CCC - is sometimes Crusting Cream Cheese
NO. there is nothing you can add to the IMBC to stiffen it. (not that I know of) The best thing is to return it to the fridge for a bit.
It makes a great filling. I add about 3/4 c. cocoa pwder to a batch of IMBC and use for filling and icing and piping. Use any flavor of liqueur, nutella, fruit curd, melted bittersweet chocolate, etc. to flavor it for filling.
Leta
It makes a great filling. I add about 3/4 c. cocoa pwder to a batch of IMBC and use for filling and icing and piping. Use any flavor of liqueur, nutella, fruit curd, melted bittersweet chocolate, etc. to flavor it for filling.
When you add the cocoa powder, doesn't it make the IMBC kinda gritty? I've tried adding cocoa powder to things before and it never seems to work out. Do you add milk or water to it first?
When you melt bittersweet choc. - how much do you use? what kind? How do you melt it?
When you add the cocoa powder, doesn't it make the IMBC kinda gritty? I've tried adding cocoa powder to things before and it never seems to work out. Do you add milk or water to it first?
When you melt bittersweet choc. - how much do you use? what kind? How do you melt it?
I just add the powder. But it starts out really light colored. As it sits for a day or so, it darkens up a significant amount.
I just made a cake for a friend yesterday, and that icing ended up pretty light and there were a couple tiny pieces of pwdr I saw on the finished icing job. We had been playing phone tag and by the time we talked, I needed to make the cake that night for the next day. Today the icing is much darker and totally smooth. For some reason, it seems adding the powder actually thins the icing out a bit. If you want a really rich cocoa, I tried one called extra brute (callebaut). It was really fine powder. But it seems the icing needs to "age" a little to get the color richer.
Oh, I just read Sylvia Weinstock's recipe: she calls for 3/4 c. cocoa pwdr whisked together with 1/2 c. strong coffee. Blend 1 c of the buttercream into the cocoa mixture, then blend the mixture into the rest of the buttercream (4-6 c.) Hey! I'm learning too!
For melting chocolate, the Whimsical Bakehouse calls for 2-3 oz melted semisweet choc per cup of buttercream.
The cake bible says to add 6 oz melted and cooled bittersweet chocolate to a batch of buttercream.
(or white choc for white choc buttercream.)
I prefer the bittersweet choc because the semisweet seems to add more sweetness to the icing.
Sorry if that's too much information.
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