Italian Meringue Buttercream...help!!!
Baking By Alickert Updated 30 Jan 2007 , 1:07pm by navywifetrat
I have tried to make Italian Meringue Buttercream about 5 times now, and it always ends up tasting like sweet butter and ends up the consistency of softened butter. I follow the Martha Stewart recipe and I use a candy thermometer. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. Can someone please help me?
Here is a post I did on Italian meringue Buttercream. I cut the amount of butter in that recipe from 16 oz. to 12 oz. It was just too buttery for me. The consistency of the icing with less butter is still smooth and light and I think it tastes much better. You really do need an acuurate candy themometer, it helps greatly. I also think adding that half capful of orange extract cuts the sweetness of the icing too.
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2426-Italian-Meringue-Buttercream--Shirleys-Method.html
I am not sure what you are looking for in texture of IMBC but it is very different than powdered sugar/Crisco based icing and it will never be that thick or stiff. Still, if it is cooked to the correct temperature and if your butter still has a slight chill when you add it I think you will get a buttercream you will like, that goes on smoothly and can still be used for borders, stringwork and writing.
I am totally for swiss and italian meringue buttercreams....I will never use a crisco/powdered sugar based "buttercream" again! I think you will find that the "softened butter" consistency is so much easier to work with than the kind you are used to...it just takes some practice. You can frost the cake, pop it in the fridge for a bit to harden it up, then use a straightedge dipped in hot water to smooth it out...it just melts the buttercream on contact and leaves a perfectly smooth, shiny finish, just gorgeous! And if you ever have any clients that are real foodies or have been to culinary school, they will be really impressed, as the powdered sugar/crisco buttercream is considered less professional.
Good luck!
I don't think I have intentionally not given my customers powdered sugar based buttercream, but I just started using IMBC about 7 years ago and I switched over. I didn't say anything to anyone and they have never asked me about it and they continue to order, so guess they are adjusting well. It is a very different texture and taste but I like it so much better.
Maybe you could do a cake with IMBC and see what reaction you get? Or tell one client who is open minded to new ideas that you are trying something new and ask for her feedback?
I LOVE the IMBC, but, in my area.....it's Crisco Buttercream that is the fav of my clients. Isn't it "funny" how even in food tastes....geography counts!
Beth in KY
That is so true! I'm from Alabama and just moved to Tennessee, and that is what people here grew up on, so that is what they like!
(but I'm trying to change everybody's opinions, of course! Ha! It's NOT easy!)
-Rebekka
I switched over to IMBC about 1/2 a year ago. I love it too and WILL NEVER make anything else again!
I make Sylvia Wienstock's recipe (i would post but I had it on my computer and it recently went KAPUH and we lost all of our info.. . AND all my recipes!)
Anyway, I tried many recipes and I liked this the best. I have noticed that I really have to pay close attention to the mixing time. I made some on my last b-day cake for my daughter... my in-laws were here and i was busy and trying to impress them. I stopped it too soon and started icing, I noticed it looked and tasted like butter-big time.
I put it all back in my bowl and mixed about 15 more (like 45-50 min. total) and it was perfect... white, smooth, delicious!
My cake was covered in fondant, but you could see where I had put the "butter version" it had a strong yellow hue, and then the white wonderful version on top- it was so weird to see them side by side on a cut peice of cake!
Try beating more and see if that helps!
I have to agree with you, luvs!
I'd been doing the Wilton half-butter, half-Crisco recipe for years. It's simple, difficult to make a mistake with, and definitely holds up better to a variety of weather conditions.
Then I bought a book of Sylvia Weinstock's. Some of her recipes scared me a bit, some sounded absolutely delicious! One I had to try was her BC.
The day I did, I was completely stressed for fear of messing it up, correct temps, mixing times, and all that. It started coming together, and I was delighted! I used it on wedding cake for some dear friends, and I swore then and there, that I'd never use the other recipe again<unless, in extreme cases, a client MUST have it for whatever reason>.
Doing tastings, even small ones, with clients will help them decide what's truly right for them. A little education BEFORE a cake order is confirmed goes a LONG way to making a happy client, and a less stressful experience for you. Try it, and see what kind of response you get?
I don't think I have intentionally not given my customers powdered sugar based buttercream, but I just started using IMBC about 7 years ago and I switched over. I didn't say anything to anyone and they have never asked me about it and they continue to order, so guess they are adjusting well. It is a very different texture and taste but I like it so much better.
Maybe you could do a cake with IMBC and see what reaction you get? Or tell one client who is open minded to new ideas that you are trying something new and ask for her feedback?
I'm a total convert too, but I be sure to tell people to refrigerate the cake as now it has egg... that could be dangerous if left out for a long time/overnight...
Melissa
These may sound like a stupid question but here goes:
Does this have to be refridgerated? How does it do in heat? I am making a wedding cake this summer for my cousin and I would love a different icing other than crisco BC. I may cover it with Satin Ice - haven't decided yet - never tried it so I want to before I make that decision.
This icing doesn't do well in summer heat, you have to remember it has 3 sticks of butter in it. If the reception is indoors, the room is air conditioned and you have refrigerated the cake overnight before setup it may be alright, depending on hot your summers are. I delivered on last July in 118 degree heat and ended up having to dismantle the cake before the reception because the icing had softened to the point that the cake was sliding, dispite being doweled. Tarzan couldn't have held up in that jungle heat!
Shirley
Thanks - I thought that would be the case. The wedding will be in MO and outside so I guess I had better try something else. Do you have any other ideas other than the crisco BC?
Ann
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