Here's a handy safe storage chart for frostings & fillings by Sarah Phillips of baking911.com:
http://tinyurl.com/ymqp6x
HTH
are you talking about the meringue buttercream or the shortening/sugar bc?
the book does say that, but i think they are just erring on the side of caution. every other cake book i own by big designers, lists a meringue bc recipe and though they vary a tad bit, they all say they are ok to be left out at a reasonably cool workspace for at around two days (68 degrees F), or refrigerate up to 10 days. i've even frozen it before.
if you are feeling cautious, you can even use the liquid egg whites in cartons because they are pasturized, and deemed safer.
i've done that one too, and wasnt crazy about it. but you know who has an EXCELLENT smbc? elisa strauss. hers calls for over a 1/4 cup of vanilla (as compared to 1 tb or 1 tsp in some) and it is DEFINATELY the extra oomph that this stuff needs. if you can beef up the flavor in any way, it makes a huge difference. melted chocolate, liqueur, fruit puree, cream cheese, espresso etc. HUGE DIFFERENCE. let me know if you want the recipe. when i did the wbh imbc, i figured i didnt care for this type frosting. thankfully i didnt give up. after i discovered it could be flavored, i have "converted " to this bc very happily. i love it now. i have NO complaints...not even from kids!
i've done that one too, and wasnt crazy about it. but you know who has an EXCELLENT smbc? elisa strauss. hers calls for over a 1/4 cup of vanilla (as compared to 1 tb or 1 tsp in some) and it is DEFINATELY the extra oomph that this stuff needs. if you can beef up the flavor in any way, it makes a huge difference. melted chocolate, liqueur, fruit puree, cream cheese, espresso etc. HUGE DIFFERENCE. let me know if you want the recipe. when i did the wbh imbc, i figured i didnt care for this type frosting. thankfully i didnt give up. after i discovered it could be flavored, i have "converted " to this bc very happily. i love it now. i have NO complaints...not even from kids!
I would like the recipe!! PM it to me if you would!!
swiss meringue buttercream by elisa strauss:
yields 8 cups (enough to fill and crumb oat two 9" round cakes, each consisting of two layrs of filling and three layers of cake , or 24 cupcakes with swirls. )
2 and 3/4 cup plus 3 tb (20 oz) granulated sugar
1 and 1/4 cup egg whites (10 oz)
2 and 1/2 cups (5 sticks, 20 oz/ unsalted butter, cubed and softened.
1/4 cup plus 2 tb (2 and 1/2 oz) pure vanilla extract
1. in the bowl of a standing mixer, thoroughly whisk together sugar and egg whites
2. set the bowl over a post of boiling water. whisking constantly, heat the mixture until all the sugar cyrstals have dissolved and the mixture is hot. get it as hot as you can but be careful not to cook the eggs.
3. put the bowl back in the mixer fitted with a whip attachment. beat on high speed until the mixture forms a stiff meringue and the bottom of the bowl comes to room temperature, about ten minutes.
4. stop the mixer and replace the whip attachment with the paddle attachment.
5. set the mixer to low speed and add the butter, a few cubes at a time. when all the butter is incorporated, turn the mixer to medium speed and beat until fluffy.
6. set teh mixer to low speed and add the vanilla. once the vanilla is incorporated, scrape the bowl and continue to mix on medium speed until you have a smooth, creamy texture. if the buttercream is too liquid, refrigerate until completely cool and stiff, then rewhip.
7. you can use the bc immediately, store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days, or refrigerate in an airtight container for ten days.
variations:
add the ingredients for these variations after step 6 in the original recipe. be sure that the buttercream is cool and stiff before adding variations.
chocolate: 1/2 cup (4 oz) cool melted chocolate on low speed.
praline 4 oz
mocha: 2 oz strong cold coffee and 2 oz. cool melted chocolate
raspberry:
4 oz of seedless raspberry puree
cream cheese: 8 oz softened cream cheese
Ok, Ok, I know I'm driving you all crazy with my bc quest! I'm so sorry, I can't believe I'm having such problems finding an icing I like. Well tonight I made Toba's Decorator's Buttercream Icing. It wasn't bad but I used lemon juice as the recipe called for and it made the way to lemony!! I tried cutting the lemon taste by adding vanilla and more sugar. Didn't work...Ok, so I'll use this batch for practicing and try to make it again without the lemon juice.
So my question is, is this an icing that needs to refrigerated? The icing also is no where near white. Is there anything I could do to get a white? Is this a crusting bc?
i dont own any of tobas books but i was actually looking through her recipes tonight at the bookstore. if i'm understanding correctly, you did her butter/powdered sugar bc? to my knowledge , i believe you do NOT need to refrigerate the bc. as with any cake though, i would after 2 days or so, mainly to maintain freshness. anyway, i have not tried the recipe myself so i do not know if it crusts or not. the ratio should give you a good idea though. did it just happen to be butter, sugar and vanilla only or am i thinking of another book i looked through? sorry. post the recipe and i think someone will be able to look at the ingredients and give you a good call on wheter it crusts.
you really should give elisa's smbc recipe a try. its so yummy. a world of difference from the underflavored wbh recipe.
this is the hard part of baking...finding the recipes that work for you! but...dont give up! 
Melysa,
I was at the bookstore the other day and saw Elisa Strauss' book and fell in love with it! I want to give the smbs recipe a try but I have two questions:
Could you make roses with this bc or is it too soft?
Also, what about the egg whites in the icing? Is this something that's safefor pregnant women or kids to eat or are they cooked at a high enough temp?
thanks!
I LOVE the Whimsical Bakehouse bc.....but I only love it cuz I use sweetex in it. It makes all the difference in the world for this bc.
Its not greasy at all.
I have been using the sweetex in all my bc's and I can really tell a difference when using it.
I love the WBH buttercream (their house bc). I use Alpine and it makes a HUGE difference. My customers love it. I use it for my whipped frosting.
Also, what about the egg whites in the icing? Is this something that's safefor pregnant women or kids to eat or are they cooked at a high enough temp?
you can buy pasteurized liquid egg whites at most grocery stores now. Saves the hassle of trying to a) make sure you heat them enough but not too much, and b) figure out what to do with the resulting extra egg yolks...
Also, what about the egg whites in the icing? Is this something that's safefor pregnant women or kids to eat or are they cooked at a high enough temp?
you can buy pasteurized liquid egg whites at most grocery stores now. Saves the hassle of trying to a) make sure you heat them enough but not too much, and b) figure out what to do with the resulting extra egg yolks...
i agree...was going to suggest the same thing. it also saves the time of cracking the eggs, checking each one separately to make sure they are not bad, extra yolks etc. plus you know its been pasturized in addition to heating it to the high temp.
as far as young kiddos and pregnant women, i would just suggest using ONLY the pasturized liquid whites, not fresh eggs. i do it both ways, but if i knew i was feeding it to either catagory of people, i'd definately make sure to use the liquid whites just for peace of mind. the main risk of foodbourne illnesses from eggs lies in the yolks, not the whites, but its nice to feel covered.
just an fyi on elisa's smbc, i think its a TAD too sweet so i reduce the sugar to 2.5 cups instead of the near 3. just my preference, but i've not yet had a complaint on the original recipe either.
this bc will not come out WHITE WHITE. it will be a yellowish tint simply because of the butter. also if you use pure vanilla (please do) it will have a slight tan color to it...but in my opinion, it gives it that yummy homemade inviting look, more so than the grocery store white frosting look.
...i've tried it with clear vanilla (imitation) to get the white for a wedding cake, but found the taste to not be half as good as the pure vanilla, and it still had the yellow tint from the butter, so again, just reiterating that it will not be a perfect white if thats what you're looking for. for myself, i've resolved that the taste is more important than the look so i just tell people that i cant get a true white frosting, no complaints though.
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