Which Do You Prefer. Italian Or Swiss Buttercream?
Decorating By crystalc818 Updated 22 Oct 2011 , 1:24am by scp1127
I want a piece right now too. Where's my German boyfriend's mom when I need her? lol. It's usually red currant jelly...but you can substitute.
http://germanfood.about.com/od/cakes/ss/How-To-Make-A-Frankfurter-Kranz_2.htm
Hey imaginethatnj I'm in NJ, Sussex County
Me too, middlesex, but I only go there to sleep. lol. I'm in NYC the whole day looooong...
I have a quick question...
I have made SMBC once, (the brown "mike" cake in photos) and I piped it into ruffles. It was light and airy and perfect for this application.
I am frosting a cake tomorrow and was considering ABC, but now I'm interested in using SMBC. My question is, is it TOO light to frost a cake with? With ABC, you just use a bench scraper and can push pretty hard -- how would I smooth out SMBC without taking it all off? I am going for a smooth finish, with small border if necessary.
TIA!
Anyone that uses a MBC pretty much use it exclusively, so no, it's not too light to frost a cake!
Biggest difference between ABC and a MBC is with ABC you manipulate consistency to get the results you want, with a MBC you manipulate the temperature to get the results you want. I have a tutorial on my blog that I did because the last time I tried to make and use ABC it was a disaster on my cake. So, there are many ways to do this, this is mine:
http://fromscratchsf.wordpress.com/2011/07/18/swiss-meringue-buttercream-how-to-make-your-cake-look-awesome/
Anyone that uses a MBC pretty much use it exclusively, so no, it's not too light to frost a cake!
Biggest difference between ABC and a MBC is with ABC you manipulate consistency to get the results you want, with a MBC you manipulate the temperature to get the results you want. I have a tutorial on my blog that I did because the last time I tried to make and use ABC it was a disaster on my cake. So, there are many ways to do this, this is mine:
http://fromscratchsf.wordpress.com/2011/07/18/swiss-meringue-buttercream-how-to-make-your-cake-look-awesome/
Thank you so much!
I'l tell you all where I am... did I ever mention how much I hate wedding cakes??? My niece is getting married on Saturday and I am making her cake. I am so obsessive. I baked the 12 inch layer twice. I mean not two times, but 4 times (one pan). I thought I could make it better changing the temp. Nope. All the same and all perfectly fine. So now I have red velvet overload in the kitchen.
I always use cream of tartar in my meringue. I use it in IMBC and in my egg whites for cake batter. When I was little, my grandmother taught me that it was an insurance policy. And it's a natural ingredient used since I guess people have been making wine. I especially like it for the batters wher the whites must be folded in. I'm not sure if it will help with overbeating. Once I almost overbeat some whites, so I think they can still be beat to capacity, where in a baking application, they must have room to expand more while baking. But I have not looked this up so I could be completely wrong on this.
The next time I make GBC, I will get the amount of custard to butter. Then I can report the ratio and any custard can be used. Grandma's words of wisdom again... in every custard, even if it calls for flour, I add cornstarch and a little more flour. This way, I don't change the flavor, but I have a thicker than usual, stable (not safe, just firm) base. I use some great custards as fillings. Tonight it is a pecan caramel custard in my Bailey's tier. I don't need a dam because my custard is so firm. On Boston Cream, the same thing. I use the structure of the bakery, Bread and Chocolate, so my cream must be able to not only stand alone, but be cut by a knife. I think my overly thick custards are also the reason for my success with Buddy's custard based yellow cake. Buddy even advocates the use of a hand mixer when making custard and the results are more stable.
So back to GBC, it is a little softer than the others. But because almost all of my cakes must be refrigerated, it isn't an issue for me. For example, on this wedding on Sat, I told my niece that the cake can't sit out. I'll bring it out about 45 minutes before the cutting. This is basically how I have to do them all because I only make the wedding cakes with my regular recipes. If someone wants this kind of cake, it can't sit there all day. Once I explain, it doesn't seem to be a problem. But people don't ask me to do their wedding cakes for my design ability (simpler compared to most), but for the taste. So, GBC works for me. It is tons stronger than butter based cream cheese frosting. I only see it softening sooner at room temp. But it will keep its shape. In my opinion, a cake can be iced in GBC, and piped borders would be fine. Just not tiny detailed things.
The beauty of GBC is that all of the flavors of those great custards can be converted to buttercream. You make the custard, pour it in your mixer hot, mix for 10 minutes or longer until room temp, just like the others. Then the butter is added, again like the others.
If anyone wants to try my favorite, it's WB's Peanut Buttercream with my multiple changes, as usual. Notice I didn't say Peanut Butter. It starts with sugar and milk steeped with peanuts. I could not believe the taste the peanuts infused into the milk. Then the peanuts are drained and set aside. Then a custard is completed. In the mixer, I add Tupelo honey, a bit of natural peanut butter (no sugar too), and some more tweaks. Last, the butter is added. Then the peanuts are covered in sugar, baked until candied, cooled, and added to the buttercream. This buttercream tastes like nothing you could make with the other European buttercreams. It is truly good enough to eat with a spoon like a stand alone dessert. I'm a stickler for copyright laws, so I won't post the recipe. WB really is a great baker. Even if you don't like his flavors, his recipe style can be applied to any recipe. This recipe alone is worth the price of the book.
So if anyone has that recipe, or it is posted on his site, Let me know and I'll post my changes. But his way is absolutely perfect too.
It is time consuming because of babysitting the custard, but the results are worth it if you can charge enough for it. Right now in my bakery, I don't charge a premium because when anyone orders it, I make more to use on samples. I send them out on the same day. This is the kind of product that I want to represent my skills and my business.
Soooo.. I did the 'over-beating' test with only 3 egg whites just in case it would go wrong. I went ahead upto 50 minutes 
(and added the cream of tartar which normally don't use). I have to pick up my daughters from the school now, so I'll post the pictures later if anybody is interested. I'd like to know your opinions.
QTCakes, I have to be careful of my applications for FBC, but my recipe is very neutral, just like my IMBC. In fact, they are similar. I think in FBC, the recipe is more important. With the combination of butter and yolks, I stay away from vanilla, but the richness is great for chocolate. My jam/extract additions seem better in the FBC also. My favorite FBC is a small amount of espresso in the FBC. It goes with an ultra light banana cake.
If you really like GBC, have you considered a higher tier pricing for these recipes? You may be surprised. Another pricing tier wouldn't make you look more expensive. You could just market them as some personal favorites that are available at a premium.
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