Combining Imbc And Reg. Buttercream

Baking By HollyPJ Updated 2 Dec 2010 , 7:00pm by Kellbella

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HollyPJ Posted 13 Jun 2006 , 9:10pm
post #1 of 14

I've seen a few people mention in various posts that they've combined Italian meringue buttercream icing and powdered sugar buttercream.
I'm interested in trying it but am unsure of the method to use.

I wonder if it would be best to mix them together in the mixer or if folding them gently by hand is preferable.

I want to try combining them because I have family members who love IMBC and other who don't like it at all. Same with powdered sugar buttercream.
I think putting the two together might result in an icing of medium sweetness that most people would like. I'm curious to try it, but I wanted to see if anyone out there could share their experiences first.



Anyone?

13 replies
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edencakes Posted 13 Jun 2006 , 9:15pm
post #2 of 14

I have no idea - but I'm interested as well. I find it easier to smooth IMBC, but it doesn't hold up in Memphis summers like good ol' shortening based icing!

Hopefully someone has tried it and will tell us how it worked.

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HollyPJ Posted 13 Jun 2006 , 9:38pm
post #3 of 14

I make my powdered sugar buttercream with all butter (salted) (or occasionally 1/2 butter 1/2 shortening for roses). I am curious about the combo icing holding up in hot weather if shortening is used, though. That would be useful for the people who want the taste of butter but live in hot, humid climates.

I personally love the taste of IMBC and it smooths soooo well. It has such a pretty, glossy look to it. Some people find the butter overwhelming, though, and think it isn't sweet enough. One of my husband's nieces was eating her cake at my daughter's birthday party and asked if I "had any icing with sugar in it." lol. I guess the sweetness of IMBC is more subtle.
Then there are people like my husband who think powdered sugar buttercream is way too sweet.
I guess it's not likely that I'll find an icing that absolutely everyone will love, but I'd like to try!

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bakerbaker Posted 14 Jun 2006 , 12:31am
post #4 of 14

oh my god!
i can't believe that i actually have an answer to your question. i usually read these forums for ideas!
i just did this last weekend for a birthday cake for my younger cousin. i always use imbc at work. it's my favourite(untilnow) but since i was doing a cake for kids i figured that they wanted something sweeter. so i did each batch seperatly and then just threw them together. each recipe had about a pound of butter. and it workd out perectly! i actually prefer the taste and look better! i'll be using this recipe in the futur!

.....and please only use sweet butter for bc!

if you need a recipe just let me know!

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edencakes Posted 14 Jun 2006 , 1:10am
post #5 of 14

Thanks bakerbaker! So - was it easier to smooth (like regular IMBC)? Did everyone like the way it tasted?

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edencakes Posted 14 Jun 2006 , 1:11am
post #6 of 14

Oh yeah - and did it seem heartier (maybe more prone to stand up to heat etc)?

Thanks again!

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GI Posted 24 Jan 2009 , 6:08am
post #7 of 14

Gosh, this post is pretty old. Did anyone get any answers on how it holds up to heat, if it does, did they get theirs to crust? I had a tough time getting it to crust up. But the flavor was like, wow!

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cakesnglass Posted 2 Dec 2010 , 2:20pm
post #8 of 14

Do you have to refrigerate when using the too combined?

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GI Posted 2 Dec 2010 , 4:31pm
post #9 of 14

cakesnglass: I brought a COLD cake, with the ABC/SMBC COLD and HARD to a venue. the Venue was w-a-r-m, and by the time people got around to eating it, the icing had softened naturally and was smooth as silk to the taste. it was awesome.

Trick is to pop it in the fridge just a moment to harden up the icing, like you would butter icon_biggrin.gif , before transporting. I personally would not transport without the icing firming up nice and hard first. Just makes good common sense. icon_smile.gif

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Toptier Posted 2 Dec 2010 , 5:35pm
post #10 of 14

You can also just up the sugar in your IMBC/SMBC recipe, it works fine to just make it sweeter if you and your customers prefer it that way. Also, add a lot of flavoring, vanilla or whatever. Then the butter taste is more in the background.

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blissfulbaker Posted 2 Dec 2010 , 5:44pm
post #11 of 14

I was making some cupcakes for the kids and I had some left over IMBC and powder sugar buttercream in the fridge, not enough to frost much of anything. So I mixed the two together added a little more butter, Sweetex and powder sugar. OMG it was such a tasty throw together. I was also told by a wilton instructor that I should add Sweetex and powder sugar to IMBC to help it stand up to the heat and humidity of the Chicago summers.

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Kellbella Posted 2 Dec 2010 , 5:47pm
post #12 of 14

I just did this last week, I had some leftover SMBC but not enough to ice the cake. I was out of gran sugar and it was late at night..too pooped to go to the store, so I made a quick batch of simple BC filling and mixed the two together and they were great. It didn't crust, but the piping I did around the borders held up nicely. Smooth, creamy and ever so slightly sweet. I might try it again thumbs_up.gif

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blissfulbaker Posted 2 Dec 2010 , 5:49pm
post #13 of 14

I always like to say..."if it's got lots butter and sugar in it how could it possibly taste bad"

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Kellbella Posted 2 Dec 2010 , 7:00pm
post #14 of 14
Quote:
Originally Posted by blissfulbaker

I always like to say..."if it's got lots butter and sugar in it how could it possibly taste bad"




icon_lol.gif I think that's Paula Deen's motto ! icon_lol.gif

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