Trying To Understand Smbc From A Decorating Standpoint
Decorating By crpchristian Updated 6 Feb 2010 , 9:37am by moscakes5
I use Czech BC, which in my opinion tastes and and feels like SMBC or IMBC, but I stabilize it (if that's the correct word) with a "cream" made of Wondra (just like kids very soft cream of wheat). You don't taste the flour in the icing as it is cooked, but what I am going to say is, it is not that "soupy" like IMBC, it is more creamy and workable when decorating. Maybe you could add the cream in your icing.
Thanks ZlatkaT that sounds worth a try. Tell me how you make your "cream" with Wondra(in the blue canister right?)
Yes it is flour in a blue canister (Vons or other supermarkets has it) it is flour commonly used for making gravy.
Put 3 TBSP in 1 cup cold milk, whisk, then cook until it thicken; when out of heat add 3 Tbsp Crisco, vanilla (or chocolate to melt) and let it cool. When cool add to your whisked butter, add PS to taste and there you have Czech BC 
Hah, I love how lol cats savy this forum is.
I'll try this new recipe and see how that stuff goes, that cakes canada recipe for SMBC looks like the kind of icing i was hoping to get judging by the pic so I'll try that, thanks for the mention.
The Czech BC sounds interesting, I'll have to try that too, I'm in very much in the experimental icing phase.
When i make SMBC (the only thing i use) i add the butter right out of the fridge, but even if i dont just keep whipping it if its watery, or add alittle more butter if it still doesnt come together, like 2 Tbsp at a time. I add it turn out watery on me one OMG it was terrible, tried frosting a cake and it just watered all over, and when it happened again i threw it out.... now i know if it is the right temp, just add more butter.... HTH
Yes it is flour in a blue canister (Vons or other supermarkets has it) it is flour commonly used for making gravy.
Put 3 TBSP in 1 cup cold milk, whisk, then cook until it thicken; when out of heat add 3 Tbsp Crisco, vanilla (or chocolate to melt) and let it cool. When cool add to your whisked butter, add PS to taste and there you have Czech BC
Those seem like such small amounts how much does it make?
And how much butter?
You can make SMBC with a wisk if you really wanted to (and have the strength 
).
I have heard that people make it with high ratio shortening... maybe mixing that with your smart balance would help. 
You can make SMBC with a wisk if you really wanted to (and have the strength
). I have heard that people make it with high ratio shortening... maybe mixing that with your smart balance would help.
Good lord a whisk I'd lose an arm.
But that's how they did it in the 1800's.
The first time I made SMBC I did it with my hand held mixer. I wonder if I didn't whip right and maybe that's why it was not stable. Yeah the butter I know I know.. good new there I talked to someone who uses the stick form of the same stuff and she said the water content is less and it works great.
LOL... I have some Smart Balance Light in the fridge. My hubby uses it since he is dieting (I use it too from time to time). It doesn't taste bad on toast or on asparagus. Never used it in baking though. Does it come in sticks? As a general rule, stick margarine wrks better in baking and all that, so maybe if you can find a stick margarine like Blue Bonnet? Stick margarine has less water in it than the tub margarine if I remember correctly.
But here's the kicker... margarine is always salted right? And making SMBC or IMBC wth salted butter is, IM(not-so)HO plain icky. It just tastes like butter with sugar in it... good on a scone... not so much on a cake. So maybe finding a way to do it with shortening is they way to go. Since margarine is basically the same as shortening with some water and butter flavor and salt thrown in... it might be a decent alternative. Get yourself some high ratio shortening and use that and a little butter flavoring? Not ideal for me, but it just might work. I might have to grab some HR shortening and some clear butter flavoring and see if it does. It would be nice to have a non-dairy alternative.
Ok - jealousy happening over here! Is it possible to make either IMBC or SMBC with a bench mix master or is a KA a must have?
I make SMBC with a hand mixer when I vaca to my mother's... she has no baking supplies, i even have to by the hand mixer somewhere for 10 bucks...
I'll give some suggestions on what to do with that Smart Balance all right....hee heeeee.
I'll butta ya biscuit!
Mine is Earth Balance different from Smart Balance. I think the Smart Balance has an even higher water content and is more aerated. Any who I am going to go get it in schtick from and try that.
Is it salted? That's the only thing that would ruin it for me. I can't stand SMBC made with salted butter, and I LOVE SMBC so it pains me to say that, but it's the truth. Even made with 1/2 salted and 1/2 unsalted... yeck! It might not be worth wasting your Earth Balance unless you can get it in unsalted form. I know that is not cheap.
Oh good!! Did you just sub the Earth Balance for the butter? Didn't add any extra or anything? Good to know there is a dairy free option.
The reason to lose the Smart Balance is taste LOLOL. If someone is worried about thier heart, let them eat a rice cake.
Mike
Great answer!
If it's not BUTTER it's not SMBC is it??? Never had a problem with adding the butter; I do it from the fridge and at room temp (if I remember to take it out of the fridge). Works great and tastes soooo good.
The reason to lose the Smart Balance is taste LOLOL. If someone is worried about their heart, let them eat a rice cake.
Mike
Great answer!
True to a point, when you have dairy allergies you are used to what you are used to. And SMBC and IMBC are so yummy and way better then ABC So making it with what we are used to tastes fabulous to us. Straight out of the container you can tell the difference between it and butter, But on toast or in recipes you really can't tell the difference is so slight.
Yeah.. I get what you are saying, but they call "buttercream" made with 100% shortening and powdered sugar buttercream so I say still you can still call it SMBC with Earth Balance margarine.
Ha ha ha short-cream.
Blaagghhh.........vomit!
[/quote]lthiele wrote:
Ok - jealousy happening over here! Is it possible to make either IMBC or SMBC with a bench mix master or is a KA a must have?
I make SMBC with a hand mixer when I vaca to my mother's... she has no baking supplies, i even have to by the hand mixer somewhere for 10 bucks...
Excellent - thanks for that, I just didn't want to blow up my mixer! I guess if I used a whisk - it'd be the cardio I needed to work off what I was about to eat! 
(Oops - haven;t figured out how to do multipe quotes in a post! Messy! 
)
Alright, well its been a while but I finally got around to attempting SMBC again, and I killed it (saying that in the positive, slang way )
I think the key was making sure the sugar completely melts, making sure the butter and meringue are both room temperature, using good/real butter, and just adding it slowly but steady bit by bit.
It did not take very long to make this time and turned out really really well, i'm completely sold on SMBC now.
Thanks for all the input everyone, i'll go to bed with a smile on my face tonight heh.
http://www.dyannbakes.com/index.php?post_category=icing
There is a great video that I like and think may be helpful. Although she is not producing further videos I really like site.
Also I like Dede Wison's IMBC from her Wedding Cakes You Can Make: Designing, Baking, and Decorating the Perfect Wedding Cake
Both taste great!
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