Making Smbc...

Baking By FromScratch Updated 7 Nov 2014 , 10:59am by cazza1

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biviana Posted 16 Oct 2008 , 6:16pm
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Thanks for all the info here. I'll try this really soon.

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FromScratch Posted 17 Oct 2008 , 1:44am
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So sorry.. I haven't been getting notified of new posts.. icon_sad.gif

Danzia.. I am so glad that you had sucess with the recipe and that you were able to get the air bubbles out with my tip. icon_smile.gif I used to eat cake without frosting all the time because I can't stand the super sweet icing on most cakes. I'm glad your family liked it too. icon_smile.gif

maimai16.. if you dilute the instant coffee.. it will be fine to use. icon_smile.gif Good luck and let me know how you liked it. icon_smile.gif

cupcakeshoppe.. I'm not sure.. maybe 1/2 and 1/2 would be better? You could try making a smaller batch and use unsalted peanut butter and it would be okay?

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AKA_cupcakeshoppe Posted 17 Oct 2008 , 3:03am
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jkalman, there's just no unsalted butter in sight. icon_sad.gif it happens this time of year (near christmas) all the butter and cheese just disappear! i think it's a conspiracy (some people might be hoarding them so they can sell them for a higher prize) icon_sad.gif it happened last year and I had to make christmas eve dinner without cheese! oh the humanity! no cheese??? how can you survive with no cheese????

*stops being melodramatic*
thanks for the advice maimai, i will try that icon_smile.gif

will let you guys know how it goes.

also i will be adding chocolate ganache on top of the PB SMBC so i *think* (actually hope) that it will help balance the flavors. *crosses fingers*

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FromScratch Posted 17 Oct 2008 , 3:12am
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NO CHEESE???? Think of the children!!!

icon_wink.gif

That ain't right though. I have never noticed a shortage on unsalted butter this time of year.. then again I get all my crap from BJ's.. that might help? I'd ship you some if I thought it'd get there in one piece.

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AKA_cupcakeshoppe Posted 17 Oct 2008 , 3:37am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jkalman

NO CHEESE???? Think of the children!!!

icon_wink.gif

That ain't right though. I have never noticed a shortage on unsalted butter this time of year.. then again I get all my crap from BJ's.. that might help? I'd ship you some if I thought it'd get there in one piece.




oh it'll just melt LOL thanks for the thought though. i actually had the same experience last year. ours is a city but a small one and there's a bigger city like 2 hours away. my theory is they're sending all the cheese butter there because it's more expensive there. seriously when i go to the grocery store the entire cheese aisle is empty. so is the space for butter in the fridge section.

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FromScratch Posted 17 Oct 2008 , 3:42am
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That's just sad.. butter and cheese are my two favorite food groups.. icon_lol.gif

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AKA_cupcakeshoppe Posted 17 Oct 2008 , 3:44am
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i like cheese more than butter. but because of SMBC i find myself scouring for butter LOL

eta

will adding more sugar to the the eggwhite affect the meringue at all? i usually add 1 cup to 4 egg whites and use 3 sticks of butter

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sweetisome Posted 17 Oct 2008 , 4:26am
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Hi just hitting this post a little late....I have had trouble getting the eggs up to temp too and I use the powdered egg whites...(this way I don't have a bazillion yolks to deal with) it still takes me forever to get the merengue up to temp....one of the only reasons I hold off on this particular BC.

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FromScratch Posted 17 Oct 2008 , 4:39am
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If you are using powdered egg whites you don't have to get it up to 160-ish degrees.. this step is to pasturize the whites and powdered whites are already pasturized. Just warm the mixture enough to melt the sugar and it will be more than fine. icon_smile.gif

It might take a little longer to whip up, but not too bad.

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AKA_cupcakeshoppe Posted 17 Oct 2008 , 5:20am
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not totally OT, but jkalman have you tried making the french buttercream using the yolks? i read somewhere that it's supposed to be the richest tasting of all BCs.

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AKA_cupcakeshoppe Posted 17 Oct 2008 , 10:09am
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Sorry for the double post but....

I am in peanut butter SMBC heaven! It's just sooooooooooooo yummy! and everyone loves it! it's so unexpected too. People taste the cake and they go, "OH! It's peanut butter!" hehe

Thanks guys! another SMBC successful story. icon_biggrin.gif

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FromScratch Posted 17 Oct 2008 , 12:10pm
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Oh cool! I'm glad that salted butter worked out. icon_smile.gif

I have made french BC before.. it's very good. I'd only use it for fillings I think. I have never tried to ice a cake with it though. I guess I might just have to try.. LOL. Damn you and your thoughts.. icon_wink.gificon_lol.gif

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Weimtigress319 Posted 17 Oct 2008 , 4:52pm
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Hello All icon_biggrin.gif

I have made the SMBC a few times now and I love it love it love it. I use it for fillings mostly, but I used it on cupcakes once, too.

I have 2 questions, one for Saint Jk for posting all of this, the other for anyone and everyone.

1. Saint JK, I have trouble getting the egg whites up to temp. I usually top out/tire out at about 130 degrees. I use regular egg whites. I suspect it might be because I use a hand mixer, and the egg whites are at soft peak by the time I am at 130. Do I have too much air at that point? Should I just be using a wisk?

2. For everyone icon_lol.gif I love the flavoring ideas, but I don't know quantities (I like to just follow directions) Would you all be willing to share how much and what types of flavors you add to the SMBC (to what size batch). I am especially interested in chocolates and peanut butter!!

Thanks!!

Stephanie

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AKA_cupcakeshoppe Posted 17 Oct 2008 , 5:35pm
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stephanie, for the peanut butter I used about 1/2 to 3/4 cup I just kept adding until it tasted peanut buttery icon_smile.gif

ETA

jkalman, what do you mean my thoughts? *innocent* icon_wink.gif on a serious note and more on topic, would you mind telling us the steps you do when you smooth your SMBC to go under fondant? Thanks! icon_biggrin.gif

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FromScratch Posted 18 Oct 2008 , 2:43am
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Weimtigress319.. I am betting it's because your whites are so fluffy that they are cooling off on you. I use a whisk... usually the whisk attachment to my KS (love to save on dishes icon_wink.gif). Do you whip them on a higher speed? Can you lower the handmixer speed at all? That might help. My whites are usually foamy when they reach temp.

As far as amounts.. I am a big "to taste" person. I am going to start measuring though and I'll post back as I figure it out. You can add a bunch to the SMBC though.. especially if it's used for a filling.

When I put SMBC on a cake I make sure there are as few bubbles in my BC as possible. I do this by using a culinary torch to warm the SMBC to the point of being a bit too soft to use while mixing on the stir setting. Then I leave it overnight. When I come back to it there are hardly and air bubbles and it's the perfect consistency.

Then I plop it on the cake with an angled spatula or I'll pipe it on with a #12 round tip. I do the top first going almost all the way to the edge then I do the sides so that the icing comes above the top of the cake. Then I take my small angled spatula and knock off the lip I left around the top. This action fills in the gap and leaves a nice crisp edge. I leave it a little rough if I am using fondant. If the SMBC is going to be the finish I will take my bench scraper and warm it under the faucet and give it a whirl around the cake. SMBC is very easy to smooth. I'll attach a picture of the process..
LL

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AKA_cupcakeshoppe Posted 18 Oct 2008 , 4:31am
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oohhh thanks for the explanation. and the pics. when you leave it overnight is it in the fridge or just at room temp? i usually make SMBC then use it right away.

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ncbert Posted 18 Oct 2008 , 12:02pm
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My first ever batch of SMBC was peanut butter....That pretty much did me and as I think I ate more than went on the cake thumbs_up.gif
Light fluffy and so delicious!!!! icon_biggrin.gif

I've tried chocolate too and it seems that all the adults love it saying"light and fluffy,not too sweet" I will have to try it on on of my nephews now and see how kids like it!

The mojito recipes sounds fantastic!!!Must try!!!

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FromScratch Posted 18 Oct 2008 , 2:40pm
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It depends on the situation. I try to plan ahead.. so I will make it the night before and use it the next day. I like to have the time to allow me to get any bubbles out and have it be a good consistency to frost with. You could easily get away with an hour or so though.. I'm just Molly McPrepared (most of the time). icon_wink.gif

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ChefJazz Posted 19 Oct 2008 , 5:06pm
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What is smbc?
I think Ive figured out that BC stands for butter cream, what is the sm for?

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FromScratch Posted 19 Oct 2008 , 7:40pm
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SMBC is Swiss Meringue Buttercream. It is made with eggwhites, sugar, butter, and any flavoring you like.

It's very good and nice and light in the mouth.. unlike BC made with powdered sugar which is heavy.

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cupcakemkr Posted 20 Oct 2008 , 1:52pm
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THANK YOU JEANNE for sharing your talents! I made SMBC for the first time yesterday - chocolate - and it is beautiful (can icing be beautiful?? LOL) it goes on so smooth and it tastes devine! Like chocolate pudding, YUM! My family likes it much better than ABC now.

Thanks again!

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maimai16 Posted 20 Oct 2008 , 2:16pm
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i just have to report this icon_biggrin.gif

i used SMBC - coffee flavored for classic opera cake... it was awesome! i just used the 3 egg white recipe jkalman posted then added 2T instant coffee + 2T water. it came out beautiful but after a while, it started to sweat. maybe because of our humid climate this past few days or i should cut back the water for the coffee. but still, it tasted yummy! thumbs_up.gif

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AKA_cupcakeshoppe Posted 20 Oct 2008 , 3:00pm
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glad it worked out for you maimai! definitely cut back the water next time. icon_smile.gif

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FromScratch Posted 20 Oct 2008 , 8:34pm
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cupcakemkr and maimai16.. I am glad you had sucess with it!

maimai16.. if it was humid and your cake was could that could be the issue. I have added more liquid than that before to a small batch and had no problems with sweating.

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ChefJazz Posted 20 Oct 2008 , 11:51pm
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ok thanks, Id liek to try it, do you have a recipe?

Thanks for your help

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ChefJazz Posted 20 Oct 2008 , 11:56pm
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Nevermind I just remembered you already posted the recipe.

Thank you so much for sharing.

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cupcakemkr Posted 22 Oct 2008 , 9:02pm
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alright Jeanne HELP - I made a batch of smbc just now and added 1/2 a cup of melted (slightly cooled) milk chocolate - now it is looking a bit curdled/seperated. Did I mess it up because I used MC instead of semi sweet chocolate? I just put it in the fridge to see if I could rewhip it in a bit. Will it work??? I am trying not to panic.....

THANKS!!!!!

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AKA_cupcakeshoppe Posted 24 Oct 2008 , 3:40pm
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cupcakemkr, how did it turn out?

i just tried chocolate SMBC today and it's so lovely. it's so hard to choose between, PB or coffee or chocolate SMBC! I am so confuzzled LOL

I probably added around 1/2 cup of melted semi-sweet chocolate to a 6 egg whites and 4 sticks butter recipe. it is divine. Next time I will use dark chocolate so that the color will be... well, darker. LOL

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maimai16 Posted 24 Oct 2008 , 4:14pm
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cupcakeshoppe, when did you add the melted semi-sweet chocolate? is it ok to add it warm or it should be at room temp and not forming? i'm going to make choco SMBC next week, hoping it would come out ok...

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AKA_cupcakeshoppe Posted 24 Oct 2008 , 4:17pm
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maimai, i added it after i have finished adding the butter and everything has whipped up and looks like SMBC. it was a little warm but since my butter was a little cold, it worked out LOL

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