I've always wanted to try italian buttercream icing (made with egg whites and cooked sugar syrup). I'm using the recipe I found on here, "shirley's method" I've never worked with this icing before and have some questions:

1. When icing the cake, do I put a thin layer on first (crumb coat)? I don't think that this icing crusts, so not sure if this step is recommended.

2. Should the iced cake be refridgerated?

3. Can I use the normal color paste to color this icing like you would regular buttercrem?

4. What is the best way to smooth this icing?

Any other tips on this kind of icing would be helpful. Thanks!!

I usually put a thin layer on to seal the cake while I let it settle. Then just ice like you would normally. You can keep it out for a day.. so long as nothing in the cake is perishable. If you are going to keep it longer, I'd chill it. You can use normal paste colors, but candy colors work better since they are oil based. It's easy to smooth.. just use a spatula and as a last step warm the spatula and give it a once over. I have a bunch of cakes in my gallery that have SMBC, which works the same as IMBC.

I refrigerate the cake after icing so that it gets hard then it's much easier to get it real smooth.

I tried that.. and didn't like the result. It looked streaky. For me.. smoothing it before you chill it leaves it nice and smooth.

I can't smooth it after it's chilled ... looks streaky and I've had a couple of cakes where the icing 'shaved' off and it look awful. I learned how to smooth when it's fresh and that's the way I will always do it - much easier for me. I usually do a crumb coat and then chill it to seal those nasty little bits in, then cover and smooth and again.

Smoothing when cold is more like scraping than smoothing. It takes a lil longer also. You can get a dead square top when it's chilled. You can also get a sheen to it. The main issue I see with letting it get chilled to much, condensation. It can be a real pain when trying to finish, and you have water dripping. LOLOL

Mike

See, I just figure smooth it in one step.. rather than making more work for yourself and having to wait. I can get a razor sharp edge just fine, much easier really, without chilling it.

LMAO.. you don't suck..

What I find makes it easiest is to do this..

ice the top of the cake first leaving a 1/8 inch space all around (I just use a #12 round tip to get the icing on the cake).. then ice the sides so that the icing comes up above the top of the cake.. and then, using a small spatula, take off that lip and when you do that the space you left on the top gets filled in. Like this...

(keep in mind that this was just a rough cake that I did a while back to show someone how I iced cakes.. it's not perfect, but you can see that with very little effort you can do it in one step)

I love IMBC, and I smooth is before and after I chill it . In other words, I add a couple of thin layers, chilling between each. If you live in a humid climate, condensation can be an issue as Jean mentioned, but I crank the AC in when it's humid outside... that keeps my kitchen nice and dry.

For my final smoothing coat, I heat a metal bench scraper with hot water, dry it quickly and smooth the sides of my cake while I turn my turntable. It works like a charm and I get very nice straight sides, with sharp corners (see photos).

IMBC is very sturdy when chilled, which makes for easy transporting, but it should be served at room temperature. One of my wedding cakes was in an 85 degree room for several hours, under a spot light, the BC was extremely soft when the cake was cut, but it didn't melt of move or slide or droop at all. It's wonderful stuff (and the flavor is to die for).

Btw, SMBC and IMBC have a very similar taste, but I believe the IMBC hold up better in the heat.

thanks so much for all of your great tips! I have a couple of more questions...if I make the icing the day before I plan on using it, do I need to rewhip it before I put it on the cake? does it need to come back to room temp after being refridgerated before I ice the cake? TIA!

Yes you should rewhip it after storage, or when it sits for a while and starts to look "spongy". WARNING - Don't rewhip when it's cold... it will break and you won't be able to use it. Wait until it comes to room temp before you rewhip it. (and keep it covered so condensation doesn't form in the bowl while you wait for it to warm up).

You are going to LOVE the taste!

If it separates because you whipped it up too cold all you have to do it warm it up and it will come back together. I do this all the time. It looks like cottage cheese and water, but if you hold it over a pot of boiling water a few times beating after each time or take a torch to the side of the bowl it will come together like brand new.

I have had SMBC out in the mid 80's and it was more than fine.

The advise I gave is directly from The Cake Bible. Excellent resource for both recipes and the science involved in baking. The BC in TCB are IMBC... maybe it behaves differently than SMBC (???).

That's cool.. I have done it with both. It could have something to do with how cold it is when you try to whip it too. I have never whipped it up straight from the fridge.

Of course this is my experience and I am not saying that it can't break beyond repair. I tried to put cream cheese in SMBC once and it went horribly wrong. It was 1/3 less fat though so I think that was the issue.

Hee hee, yeah I know about that fear involving waiting for it to reach room temperature, but sometimes you think you waited long enough and then, CURDLE. The stuff is like magic, it bounces right back

No problem ceshell! If I can smooth it anyone can. It's great beacuse it doesn't crust so if you flub up a bit.. add some more and try again.. LOL.

I'm glad that you have found the same thing true about IM/SMBC and whipping it back up a little cold. I agree.. I have waited and waited and thought it was fine.. only to find it was a bit cold in the center(or maybe just a little mad at me or something ) and blam.. an icky, chunky, soupy mess. I almost died the first time it happened thinking I wrecked it. I take my culinary torch to the side of the bowl for a few minutes and like magic.. it comes back.

Ok - I just made my first batch of IMBC! It came out perferectly. I decided not to make it the day before and have to try to rewhip in case I did it wrong. So I'm getting ready to ice the cake. Then I will put it back in the fridge because cake has a cream cheese/whipped cream filling. We will eat it tonight.

Should I let the cake sit out for a few hours before we eat it so the IMBC will be soft and not too cold? I'm thinking it would taste better than straight from the fridge...

Yes.. let the cake sit out for at least an hour before you serve it. The icing gets hard like butter when it's cold. I usually cut slices and let them come to room temp since it goes faster.

IMBC is definitely best eaten at room temp (although I don't mind it cold). I usually allow 2 hours for my cakes to sit out, but that can vary depending on how large the cake is. Don't worry too much about your filling.. it will still be cool. If you slice the cake when the BC is cold, use a hot, dry knife. I like to use a hot knife for every slice... looks so professional .

IMBC tastes way to much like butter to me. Can I make it a little less buttery tasting somehow?

Anyone willing to share their experience with fondant over SMBC icing??

Fondant over IMBC: http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-673052.html
and http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-649234.html

Works great! Best if you refrigerate the cake first: the icing gets rock hard and fondanting it is a piece of...oh, nevermind.

Do you refrigerate if you cover the cake with fondant? Or if you are planning to cover the cake in fondant would you use a frosting other than italian meringue?

I personally refrigerate, but that's my preference. Some people don't believe in refrigerating cakes; and similarly some people don't believe IMBC needs to be refrigerated. If you live in a super-humid area though refrigerating might not be an option. MFF and commercial fondants tend to refrigerate better than straight-up MMF.

Okay just had to look up MFF, that is Michele Fosters Fondant, is that the basic fondant recipe most bakers use for their fondant? What happens if you use MMF and refrigerate it? Also what happens to dried gumpaste decorations and gum paste/fondant blends (bows, etc)? I've tasted Wilton's fondant and hate it, is there any other premade fondant that tastes better?? I've seen a lot of people seem to use Satin Ice, how's that taste?

Satin Ice is a pretty decent commercial fondant--but man is it expensive!  I've heard that Ron Israel uses it, so it must be good.

If you're charging what he's charging I guess cost isn't so important LOL!

I am interested in making my own fondant and will try MFF's recipe.  I tried Eat Now Cry Later's recipe and it tasted amazing but it was hard to work with.