Okay so I got Toba Garret's new book and it had a recipe for Swiss Meringue buttercream that you're supposed to use for your first "class"..... and it calls for 3 POUNDS of butter and involves lots of measuring w/ scales (which I don't have). I kinda guessed on some stuff.... 1 egg white = 1 oz. so 12 egg whites = 12 oz?, a pound of sugar is 1 1/2 cups, etc.....something like that. Anyway, I put it in the fridge overnight.
Of course when I tried to use it it was like a stick of butter.... and I tried heating it up in the microwave for a bit (heck it's butter right, gotta melt?) and it helped make it a little more workable.... but it still didn't pipe very well at all. In fact I couldn't get it to even come out of one of my star tips w/out spitting out all over the place..... in other words - no control.... I had to squeeze so hard for it to come out at all that it just came out in huge bursts.
SOoooooo...... how on earth do you use this stuff? How do you "reconstitute" it or make it useable after it's been in the fridge? How long can you keep it just in the fridge? What about freezing - I froze half of it but I have no idea how to make it work-able again.... what are your experiences w/ swiss buttercream? AND does anyone have a recipe that doesn't involve measuring w/ a scale??
Oh and what technique works best for smoothing this type of frosting?
THANKS!
I use SMBC only. I love the stuff. Once you get around the quirks you will love it. As far as recipes try Martha Stewarts recipe. Most recipes call for room temp butter but I use chilled butter. If I am using it and it is solid like a rock I do one of two things--Leave set for a couple of hours on the counter or I apply my blowtorch to the outside of the bowl while whipping. It looks real ugly right away and will break if still solid but will get toa nice creamy consistancy.
It is fine for piping borders but roses you can do you just have to work fast.
Smoothing is so easy! You just apply a crumb coat and chill the cake. (freezer for a couple of minutes. Ice the entire cake with a thick coat and chill again until firm. I them take a flat side scraper and literally scraped down the sides until smooth. All my cakes are done this way unless there is fondant!
LOVE the stuf!!
where did you get your "flat scraper" thingie? I've tried one from Home Depot but it was metal and it got rusted.... and I've looked at the plastic ones but their edges aren't always very smooth....... and I'm not always sure what size to get.... it's harder on the top of the cake b/c if it's a 10 inch cake you really need a 10 inch scraper thing it seems to get it smooth on top...... or do you have another tip?
And shoot.... I'd love to use a blowtorch but I don't happen to have one of those handy! 
and I'd be kinda afraid using it in my mom's kitchen! Any other way to sort of warm up the buttercream? What kind of blowtorch do you use? is it really small? was it really expensive?
Thanks for your response!
I have two plastic scrapers--Like the straight bowl ones--I also have one from RBA from Rich's buttercream. I use the palstic scraper for the sides and top. I sweep in a circular motion. I then take a large flat icing knife-Run it inder hot water-Dry it off and then smooth off the top.
I have a Benzomatic blow torch from Home Depot. It was I think $15.00!!
You can also nuke it for 5 second intervals but check and stir as you go
I use imbc, and it is quirky to work with because of the heating/cooling factor, but I'm with the above note on letting it come to room temp before rebeating it. Then beat it until it comes back together--at first it will separate and look awful, but it will come back together. It's best to use it right away. I like to use mine right when it's made and not bother chilling it if possible to avoid the rebeating, though I've frozen it for long periods too.
I have warm hands, so I'm constantly having to put the piping bag in the freezer for a "break" to re-chill a bit and chill my hands with an ice pack etc, because there is a pretty fine line between too cold to pipe, just right, and melted smoosh. I agree it's the best for smooth-ability. Crumb coat, then apply with the big icing tip, smooth it out, and it works like a dream. I love it!
A pound of butter is 4 sticks, half a pound is 2 sticks...I don't have a scale either; I hate when they're in weight, though I know it's "more accurate". If you have Ruth Levy Berenbaum's book, she gives her recipes in weights and measures, so you can see what x amount of egg whites weigh...
Forgot to mention--I also have a metal scraper that I found at a cake supply store; it's Ateco brand. I love it, but I end up using my long angled spatula more often...
Thank you all!
BTW - does is Martha's recipe for Italian or Swiss buttercream? What the heck is the difference anyway? I thought they both tasted pretty similar.... I love the taste of French buttercream but I couldn't smooth that worth crap and I want to experiment with different ones...
Oh and does Martha's recipe require weighing ingredients?
BTW again - mine never reached 140 degrees on the candy thermometer I got from Wal-mart..... but it was pretty hot to the touch and it did get to 120..... but it took forever! Is it always supposed to take so long? It was like at least 30 minutes on a double boiler before it even started to get to 120 degrees......
I posted something fairly similar this morning, here's the thread link. I'm going to follow this one too.
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-479963-.html#479963
btw, a pound of sugar is a little more than 2 cups. A cup is equal to 200 grams and a pound is 454 grams.... so about 2-1/4cups
I love scales 'cause it is easier when it comes to measuring sticky ingredients like shortening, butter etc...
Question about SMBC : do you have to let the bowl touch the simmering water when cooking the egg whites & sugar? A recipe from this site specifically mentioned that the depth of the water should be same as the depth of the egg whites... what does that mean?
Well It takes less than five minutes for whites and sugar to reach about 140* on a double boiler for me.
They have recipes for both--The difference is the cooking methods.
As far as the pocks it is because there is so much air. It will settle a bit if let to sit. Also just stirring with a spat will help. Are you use whip or paddle. Sometimces changing from whip to paddles for SMBC helps.
[quote="moydear77"]I use SMBC only. I love the stuff. Once you get around the quirks you will love it. As far as recipes try Martha Stewarts recipe. Most recipes call for room temp butter but I use chilled butter. If I am using it and it is solid like a rock I do one of two things--Leave set for a couple of hours on the counter or I apply my blowtorch to the outside of the bowl while whipping. It looks real ugly right away and will break if still solid but will get toa nice creamy consistancy.
It is fine for piping borders but roses you can do you just have to work fast.
Smoothing is so easy! You just apply a crumb coat and chill the cake. (freezer for a couple of minutes. Ice the entire cake with a thick coat and chill again until firm. I them take a flat side scraper and literally scraped down the sides until smooth. All my cakes are done this way unless there is fondant.
This is almost exactly how I make it, but I have cut down the amount of butter from 4 sticks to 3 sticks (12 oz.) I found the larger amount too buttery for me. It really does help to have the butter cut into small pieces before you start the icing, leave it in the frdge and take it out while the syrup is cooking. I have also been told that Martha misnamed this recipe and that it is actually Italian meringue, not Swiss. Whatever it is called it is a wonderful icing to work with, goes on smooth as silk. And it tatse so much better than any powdered sugar icing I have ever eaten. I do add 1/2 capful of orange extract along with the vanilla. It cuts the sweetness a bit and has a nice fresh flavor, not really orangy, just really tasty.
Okay so I got Toba Garret's new book and it had a recipe for Swiss Meringue buttercream that you're supposed to use for your first "class"..... and it calls for 3 POUNDS of butter and involves lots of measuring w/ scales (which I don't have). I kinda guessed on some stuff.... 1 egg white = 1 oz. so 12 egg whites = 12 oz?, a pound of sugar is 1 1/2 cups, etc.....something like that. Anyway, I put it in the fridge overnight.
Of course when I tried to use it it was like a stick of butter.... and I tried heating it up in the microwave for a bit (heck it's butter right, gotta melt?) and it helped make it a little more workable.... but it still didn't pipe very well at all. In fact I couldn't get it to even come out of one of my star tips w/out spitting out all over the place..... in other words - no control.... I had to squeeze so hard for it to come out at all that it just came out in huge bursts.
SOoooooo...... how on earth do you use this stuff? How do you "reconstitute" it or make it useable after it's been in the fridge? How long can you keep it just in the fridge? What about freezing - I froze half of it but I have no idea how to make it work-able again.... what are your experiences w/ swiss buttercream? AND does anyone have a recipe that doesn't involve measuring w/ a scale??
Oh and what technique works best for smoothing this type of frosting?
THANKS!
I have been using SMBC for about 15 years now.
I dont even refrigerate it anymore...the egg whites are cooked and pasteurized.
I use the egg beater egg whites in the one pound container...
1 pound egg whites
2 pounds sugar
3 pounds butter ( that's 3 packs of butter)
I put the egg whites and the sugar into my mixing bowl and let it sit for a bit while I boil some water in a pot.
when the water is boiling, I place my mixing bowl over the top and I use a small wisk to keep the egg whites and sugar moving untill all the granulated sugar is melted...
I keep wisking...lift up the wisk and let a drop fall between my fingers...I smoosh it around and do this like 3 times picking up the sugar egg mixture from different parts of the bowl
when this is done. I take my mixing bowl and I use the balloon attachment and let it whip on high. While I do this, I nuke my 3 pounds of butter....
when I can place the inside of my wrist on the side and under the bowl and not feel heat...just a little warm..( like a baby bottle..) I start adding my soften butter....I lower the machine to STIR...once all the butter is added...I add a squirt of extract or liquor.
Sometimes the buttercream will look BROKEN, just keep mixing it , it will come together.
When I used to refrigerated it...I'd warm it up by placing the bown over the boiling pot of water..then putting it back in the machine but this time use the paddle.
I know this has taken me quite awhile to get back to but I thought I'd give an update.....
Unfortunately no one in my family really liked the SMBC. 
I guess that's good b/c it takes a lot of time to make! I think I prefer the French buttercream as a "real buttercream"....... but I think the Swiss and Italian turned out pretty much tasting the same...... very buttery and light but no real texture to it..... like it disappears in your mouth before you taste much of anything..... and it's definitely not good cold! Stick of butter - blech! In fact I pickec up a piece of cake and was able to eat AROUND the SMBC and it still held it's shape when it was cold.... so I guess maybe you could make roses and stuff out of it...... but no one really liked it ...... so I guess I'm back to the powdered sugar/shortening (non-hydrogenated) recipe! Unless someone asks for a different type of buttercream or says it's too sweet.... at least now I know I can make it......
Thanks to all of you for your help! I appreciate it!
There is a difference between Italian and Swiss styles of buttercream. Both in the end are the same type of ingredients and the difference between them is how the eggwhites are handled in the beginning.
In Swiss the egg whites and sugar are cooked over a double boiler till the sugar dissolves and the eggs reach 140* F. In italian bc the sugar is cooked seperately from the egg whites. In Italian bc you whip the egg whites first then pour the hot sugar syrup over them (like divinity) then you add the butter. I think the Swiss is more food safety conscious. Just a tweaking of the Italian recipe as far as I am concerned to make sure that the eggs are safe before consumption.
I think it makes sense if you think about it.
also the French Buttercream is made using the egg yolks so it has more fat and it's yellower.
I used to make both types and when I used to used fresh eggs I'd save the egg yolks and make the French and then combine them both for my own signature icing.
It had a taste like Vanilla icecream
[quote="ShirleyW"]
I use SMBC only. I love the stuff. Once you get around the quirks you will love it. As far as recipes try Martha Stewarts recipe. Most recipes call for room temp butter but I use chilled butter. If I am using it and it is solid like a rock I do one of two things--Leave set for a couple of hours on the counter or I apply my blowtorch to the outside of the bowl while whipping. It looks real ugly right away and will break if still solid but will get toa nice creamy consistancy.
It is fine for piping borders but roses you can do you just have to work fast.
Smoothing is so easy! You just apply a crumb coat and chill the cake. (freezer for a couple of minutes. Ice the entire cake with a thick coat and chill again until firm. I them take a flat side scraper and literally scraped down the sides until smooth. All my cakes are done this way unless there is fondant.
This is almost exactly how I make it, but I have cut down the amount of butter from 4 sticks to 3 sticks (12 oz.) I found the larger amount too buttery for me. It really does help to have the butter cut into small pieces before you start the icing, leave it in the frdge and take it out while the syrup is cooking. I have also been told that Martha misnamed this recipe and that it is actually Italian meringue, not Swiss. Whatever it is called it is a wonderful icing to work with, goes on smooth as silk. And it tatse so much better than any powdered sugar icing I have ever eaten. I do add 1/2 capful of orange extract along with the vanilla. It cuts the sweetness a bit and has a nice fresh flavor, not really orangy, just really tasty.
Martha has both types of recipes on her site. The Swiss buttercream is heating the sugar and whites together. The IMBC is sugar syrup method- heating the sugar and water to make a syrup and pouring into you whites as they beat.
I use the first which is classic SMBC.
So I am going to use SMBC under my fondant . I was hoping I could get your opinion.
I plan on baking the vanilla cake and filling/crumb coating tonight- a thin layer ofcourse.
1) Client doesn't like chocolate..she wants BC for filling too - do you think SMBC is ok to fill with? I saw a recipe where she adds a bit of icing sugar.. opinion?
2) Where should I store the filled/crumb coated cake? a)counter b) fridge
3) I will cover with fondant tomorrow (friday) and deliver saturday afternoon. Should I keep the cake on the counter or fridge? I've gotten alot of different reviews about storing fondant cakes.
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