http://cakecentral.com/recipes/5453/the-well-dressed-cake-swiss-meringue-buttercream-with-variations
Easy peasy and deliciously decadent!
Can this recipe be successfully halved?
Meringues are for those looking for a more refined icing for their gourmet cake.
Like me.
What makes meringue more "refined" over any other icing....just a difference in taste preferences!
I've never heard of an IMBC that had Wilton's powdered meringue, corn syrup, or shortening, Thats sounds like it would taste bad.
It doesn't! The corn syrup helps stabilize the syrup, the meringe powder (I prefer Country Kitchen's but have used Wilton's when I've run out) whips more consistently than liquid egg whites, and you cannot tell the shortening is in there when you are eating it. I'd prefer not to have the shortening in there, but it does help it hold up better in the hot, humid climate we have here in GA. Plus, I found that 1 lb of butter was not enough for the meringue to completely emulsify. It needed 1 more cup of fat. When I used 1 cup more of butter, the butter flavor (and it's supposed to be unsalted, that's a typo in the recipe if it says salted -- there's another one that specifies unsalted that was supposed to be the edit to replace, but it got posted as an additional recipe instead) was very strong and it was really too soft to work with, so I tried the crisco and bingo! it worked! I make this icing all the time and everyone raves over it. The women at church all scramble to get to lick the icing off of the serving platter when we're cleaning up from dinners!
Meringues are for those looking for a more refined icing for their gourmet cake.
Like me.What makes meringue more "refined" over any other icing....just a difference in taste preferences!
Sure, for purposes of not being "snobbish" in this forum, so as not to offend....but for describing my product when competing with the gals across town that use the other stuff, you betcha, the icing that goes on my cakes is the tops!
FWIW I use the Cake Bible's Mousseline Buttercream which is an IMBC. You can find the recipe on the internet - I think I got it off of b aking 911. If you use liquid pasteurized egg whites (but use the generic brand; the name-brands won't whip up into meringue...well, not for me anyway) then you can get away with underboiling the sugar syrup if you don't have a thermometer. I think my syrup normally takes about 8 minutes to get to 248 but at that point (meaning, if you use pasteurized whites) it's not about the temp , it's about making sure you've thickened it up properly.
Anyway the instructions on that recipe are so easy - I made it as a first timer years ago, had NEVER made a cooked icing in my life. There were no problems w/sugar syrup hitting the beater using her technique. The finished product was simple and yummy. My only warning is her recipe states that a broken BC is irreparable which we all know is not true!
And no, I don't think you put too much vanilla in. The Mousseline BC recipe suggests 2-3tsp and I have found it's yummiest at 3tsp-2TBSP. 
I've never heard of an IMBC that had Wilton's powdered meringue, corn syrup, or shortening, Thats sounds like it would taste bad.
It doesn't! The corn syrup helps stabilize the syrup, the meringe powder (I prefer Country Kitchen's but have used Wilton's when I've run out) whips more consistently than liquid egg whites, and you cannot tell the shortening is in there when you are eating it. I'd prefer not to have the shortening in there, but it does help it hold up better in the hot, humid climate we have here in GA. Plus, I found that 1 lb of butter was not enough for the meringue to completely emulsify. It needed 1 more cup of fat. When I used 1 cup more of butter, the butter flavor (and it's supposed to be unsalted, that's a typo in the recipe if it says salted -- there's another one that specifies unsalted that was supposed to be the edit to replace, but it got posted as an additional recipe instead) was very strong and it was really too soft to work with, so I tried the crisco and bingo! it worked! I make this icing all the time and everyone raves over it. The women at church all scramble to get to lick the icing off of the serving platter when we're cleaning up from dinners!
I believe another CCer just subs Smart Balance into her normal SMBC recipe when working in hot weather so it is more stable.
I NEVER use Wilton merangue powder in IMBC, it does taste awful!!! You can get dried eggwhites in a tin ( I find it in the grocery store), much like the merangue powder. But it is JUST egg whites. I substitute them exactly like the can instructs, and I get identical results to fresh eggs, without the nasty Wilton taste.
Oh yeah, sometimes I put in up to 3 or 4 TBSP vanilla in....da-lish!
Oh, definitely...and I use the double-strength good stuff too.
I have to say I don't like raspberry buttercream but I luv raspberry IMBC. Oh, gosh, I want some now. Just fold in some raspberry preserves, oh yum! Died and gone to heaven for sure.
No offense to your recipe prterrel, but tastes like wilton's meringue powder to me!!! Maybe those church ladies like that 
, but I don't!
Going to try this again using powdered egg-whites (I'm really just too lazy to crack an egg at this point). 
Thanks for everyone's input, you ladies (and gents) are the best!!!
No offense to your recipe prterrel, but tastes like wilton's meringue powder to me!!! Maybe those church ladies like that
, but I don't!Going to try this again using powdered egg-whites (I'm really just too lazy to crack an egg at this point).
Thanks for everyone's input, you ladies (and gents) are the best!!!
Well, like I said, I generally use the Country Kitchens meringue powder, not the Wilton's. The CK meringue powder doesn't even have that stale odor that Wilton's sometimes does. 
Good luck on your re-try! As long as you find an icing that works for you, that's all that truly matters!
Oh shoot! Raspberry preserve SMBC is my best seller! With that double chocolate cake from Epicurious.com!
Ohmygosh, Jamie!!! I used the same thing for my wedding cake and just added some white chocolate to make white choc. raspberry SMBC. Drool. I'm craving some now.
never heard of making imbc with meringue powder of any brand.. i always use real egg whites.. dede wilson and wbh recipes.. yummy!!! prterrell... i am fixing to make your recipe.. using WILTON brand.. can you believe i said that... i have ck brand too. but i want to use WILTON ..... never used shortening in it either.. always all butter.. can,t wait to see how good your recipe tastes.. will let you know....
http://cakecentral.com/recipes/5453/the-well-dressed-cake-swiss-meringue-buttercream-with-variations
Easy peasy and deliciously decadent!
Thanks Jamie for the suggestion. I just did it! My first time and it turned out perfectly!
http://cakecentral.com/recipes/5453/the-well-dressed-cake-swiss-meringue-buttercream-with-variations
Easy peasy and deliciously decadent!
Ok...I made this recipe last night and at first I wasn't blown away, but I thought I should let it sit overnight to get a more accurate tasting.
I now find it absolutely delicious...the only thing is, to me, it tastes VERY similar to indydeb's, with a slight difference in mouth-feel.
Hers is easier to prepare so I'll probably stick with it.
Btw, because I only made half the recipe...I ended up measuring the 3rd egg white, and it filled my 1/8 cup, so I threw it in a bowl, beat it for a few seconds to break it up, then measured out 1 Tb. for the 1/2 a white.
Can someone post the link to the Great Buttercream Experiment thread? I did a search, but nothing came up. CC's search engine hates me. It has NEVER worked very well for me.
Thanks!
Well, like I said, I generally use the Country Kitchens meringue powder, not the Wilton's. The CK meringue powder doesn't even have that stale odor that Wilton's sometimes does.
Good luck on your re-try! As long as you find an icing that works for you, that's all that truly matters!
Didn't realize you said you don't use Wilton's. That must be the difference. Either way, I think that has made me realize I prefer a crusting bc anyways - just a prefrence. Thanks. 
Cooked 3 c sugar and 1/4 c corn syrup until it boiled (I don't have a thermometer) Slowly added the syrup while whipping (let it cool for a few minutes first)
I suggest you get a thermometer. Just bringing the sugar and water to a boil isn't sufficient. The sugar must be cooked to the soft-ball stage before being poured into the egg whites (at which point the water you have used to moisten the sugar has already cooked out and you are working with pure sugar, NOT a syrup). It can be done without a thermometer (I don't use one), but you need to know what the sugar should look, sound, and feels like at the proper stage, so it helps to learn with a thermometer first.
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