I just wanted to share that I finally made IMBC (was intimidated by it) and it is soo awesome!! I am so glad that I finally tried i. I did modify it a little by using less better and a tad more sugar because many people were commenting on how it was too buttery. Thanks to ShirleyW recipe from this site, my IMBC came out perfectly and tastes wonderful. I followed her recipe except I added 1 1/2 cups sugar and did not add the orange extract, but added 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. So much better than the sickly sweet powdered sugar versions. Of course, I will still stick with my regular BC I have been using due to time and money but will also use this as often as I can. Also wanted to note that if you are going to make this, be sure to use pure vanilla extract, not the clear or imitation kind, it just won't be the same!
Just wanted to share and to encourage all of you to try this!

Just wanted to add that I also used unsalted butter but added about 1/4 popcorn salt to the mixture. Even my husband likes this buttercream, he hates the other stuff!

Hi,
I'm new here and was wondering what IMBC stands for. By your description, it sounds superlicious. Could you tell me how do I retrieve the recipe. Thanks so much

Really glad it worked for you. I had cut that amount of butter from 16 oz. down to 12 oz. because it was too buttery for me. But you say you cut it down even more? How did it work for you with smoothing, was it light and airy like beaten eggs whites or smooth and buttery, and how much butter did you use? I add that small amount of orange extract because it does cut the sweetness factor, it doesn't taste like citrus, just a clean fresh taste. I like it flavored with nearly any extract added along with the vanilla, the rum is very nice. I think now that you have made it once you will find yourself using it more often.

iedel, IMBC stand for Italian Merangue Butter Cream. It is a buttecream made with cooked sugar and whipped egg whites. You can find it on this site under recipies in the frosting section.

ShirleyW,
I guess I was not really clear when I said I used less butter. I meant I used less butter than the tradition IMBC. I used the amount you recommend in your recipe. I cannot imagine it with any more than 3 sticks! I took it out of the fridge today and rewhipped it for my cupcakes and found that it was almost not sweet enough so I think I will continue to make it with 1 1/2 cups sugar and the 3 sticks of butter.

can you do decorations with imbc? Like ruffles and borders and such? Does it crust so you can smooth it with parchment paper? I've been waiting to try it out

You can use it for borders, figure piping, stringwork and writing. It is a bit soft for piping flowers in my opinion. It does not crust, so you can not use the Viva towel or the foam roller method. All you need is an icing spatula for icing and I use a flexible blade chocolate scraper (warmed) for smoothing the sides.

opera tortes call for imbc as the filling you flavor it with mocha paste (i made my own mocha paste, strong coffee and cocoa powder) It came out quite delicious.