Imbc Photos For Inspiration Please!
Decorating By crazycakes2007 Updated 22 Aug 2011 , 10:36pm by litlecuchi
Shirley and Antonia, your smoothing tips are great, and I will definitely be trying them. They don't sound as time consuming as the upsidedown technique (which, again, worked great the time I used it). So much of getting a smooth finish with IMBC seems to be plain old practice, but it is worth it! It is great to get these tips from you pros. Thanks.
Gengen, here is the link for Shirley's recipe:
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2426-Italian-Meringue-Buttercream--Shirleys-Method.html
ok now i feel like an idiot (again) i did a search for imbc here and the search result came up 0. would some one be a dear and pm me the recipe?
Here is the recipe I use.
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2426-Italian-Meringue-Buttercream--Shirleys-Method.html
Ok....sorry but what is the upside-down smoothing deal.
Shirley and Helen, thank you SOOOO much for your wonderful information. I feel so fortunate to have stumbled across this thread while you two were posting 
. I can't wait to give it a try again.
Patrice2007, here's a link to the CC article on upside-down smoothing.
http://www.cakecentral.com/article6-Upside-Down-Icing-Technique-for-Perfectly-Smooth-Icing.html
yup, thank you guys, its great information!
oooh, the GM orange imbc sounds soooooooooo good....chocolate cake ? mmmm
helen, the tip on REMOVING the extra icing not building up and patching...thats good. i've been realizing the truth in that lately. thanks!
another question...is this also the best way to prep for fondant, or is there another process?
Okay, this might be a dumb question, but can one use dried egg white or meringue powder instead of fresh egg white?
SSCakes, I always use powdered egg whites for my IMBC (too many pregnant women in my family!). It works great (though the reconstituted egg white smells a little funky, its fine once the IMBC is complete). I wouldn't use meringue powder though, there is other stuff in there along with the egg white.
I use ShirleyW's recipe and for the egg whites, I use 24grams of powdered egg white and 180mls of warm water. Sprinkle the egg white powder on top of the water, whisk briefly and leave for up to 30 mins (some of the powder will be very clumpy to start with, but just give it a mix every 5 mins or so and it will dissolve)
Kelly
Kelly, how does your IMBC made with powdered egg whites pipe? Is it the same consistency as IMBC made with egg whites? (Pregnant women aren't supposed to have raw eggs?? I don't remember that one!)
My IMBC made with powdered whites is exactly the same consistency as the one made with fresh egg whites.
When pregnant we are advised to only eat eggs that have been thoroughly cooked (and boy did I crave fried eggs with runny yolks when I was pregnant! LOL). Most of the risk of salmonella from eggs is in the yolk and on the outside of the shell, but due to the risk of cross-contamination I (and my pregnant SILs) would rather be safe than sorry!
Kelly
I , too, just made the IMBC with powdered whites. And it turned out great. Whipped up just like 'real' ones. Shirley and Helen will you be my Best Friend ? You are wonderful and it's so great that you both share your information with us. Hopefully some day I too will have the skills you posess!
Okay, this might be a dumb question, but can one use dried egg white or instead of fresh egg white?
SSCakes, I always use powdered egg whites for my IMBC (too many pregnant women in my family!). It works great (though the reconstituted egg white smells a little funky, its fine once the IMBC is complete). I wouldn't use though, there is other stuff in there along with the egg white.
I use ShirleyW's recipe and for the egg whites, I use 24grams of powdered egg white and 180mls of warm water. Sprinkle the egg white powder on top of the water, whisk briefly and leave for up to 30 mins (some of the powder will be very clumpy to start with, but just give it a mix every 5 mins or so and it will dissolve)
Kelly
Thanks Kelly.
Since one is using butter, which has a yellow tint to it, does that not affect the colour of the buttercream when mixing in colours.
sscakes, the whimsical bakehouse book says that the colors arent as bright and pure, but honestly i dont think that the plain imbc is yellow at all. its a slight cream color , but not one (in my opinion) that would change th color so drastically. but then again, i have not colored my imbc yet.
kelly75 , do you know the conversion from 180ml to cups? i have a scale for the weight.
i know that this post is more about imbc then buttercream with crisco.... BUT have you tried buying a shortening thats not crisco brand. i buy the HEB brand and it doesnt have that new crsico problems. HEB is a grocery chain in texas but i think walmart has their own brand of shortening? i make bc with butter anyways, but in a pinch or if i cant afford alot of butter at the time, ive noticed that this shortening works very well. just a suggestion!
I , too, just made the IMBC with powdered whites. And it turned out great. Whipped up just like 'real' ones. Shirley and Helen will you be my Best Friend ?
You are wonderful and it's so great that you both share your information with us. Hopefully some day I too will have the skills you posess!
Sure, I'll be your friend. The nice thing is that although Helen and I have different methods of icing, we still come out with the same good results, nicely iced, smooth as silk cakes. So try both methods, try different recipes too until you find the one that is just perfect for you.
kelly75 , do you know the conversion from 180ml to cups? i have a scale for the weight.
Sorry to barge in here, but according to this site, http://www.onlineconversion.com/cooking_volume.htm , it says 180ml is just a tad over 3/4 cup, .76 cup.
Antonia, which recipe do you use? Also, what flavoring do you all tend to use? Thanks a ton!
WOW! What a wonderful thread! I've tried IMBC before and while my hubby and I LOVE it (and can eat it by the spoonfuls), my customers preferred the sweet, traditional powdered sugar buttercream! I'm going to try it again, but use different flavorings and perform another taste test w/ some cupcakes! Thank you Shirley and Helen for sharing your tips and talent! You've inspired me to give it another go!
Antonia, which recipe do you use? Also, what flavoring do you all tend to use? Thanks a ton!
I flavour it with tons of things....vanillas, liqueurs, melted chocolates, toasted nuts, fruit purees, etc. etc. It's so versatile!
We created our own recipe, but it's very similar to Martha Stewart's version:
http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=b73761876e70f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&autonomy_kw=italian%20meringue%20buttercream&rsc=ns2006_m2
thank you guys for this post... I was just contemplating a switch (back) to exclusively IMBc
Re: crazycakes' original question, here is an interesting tip about piping with IMBC, found on the link CakeHappy posted early on in this thread:
You can pipe with it, and I have made roses with it with no issue. It gets soft fast though so it's a good idea to have a couple bags loaded with icing so you can put one down for a while so it can cool and firm up.
Re: Shirley's recipe and linked version Antonia74 provided, do you have any insight as to how the frosting changes based on the boiled sugar temp? I've always used RLB's Mousseline BC recipe which calls for: 1) adding uncooked sugar before beating eggs to stiff peaks, and 2) boiling the sugar mixture to 248/250 (firm ball) --your recipes don't use either of these steps. Have either of you tried the MBC recipe before devising your own version, and if so do you know how the final product is different?
I love both of your cakes so much, I'm certainly not questioning your recipes!! I just want to know what to expect when I try to switch, so I know I'm not messing anything up 
.
Thank you!
Okay, this might be a dumb question, but can one use dried egg white or instead of fresh egg white?
SSCakes, I always use powdered egg whites for my IMBC (too many pregnant women in my family!). It works great (though the reconstituted egg white smells a little funky, its fine once the IMBC is complete). I wouldn't use though, there is other stuff in there along with the egg white.
I use ShirleyW's recipe and for the egg whites, I use 24grams of powdered egg white and 180mls of warm water. Sprinkle the egg white powder on top of the water, whisk briefly and leave for up to 30 mins (some of the powder will be very clumpy to start with, but just give it a mix every 5 mins or so and it will dissolve)
Kelly
I didn't realize there was a difference between dried egg white and meringue powder (?)... where do you buy the dried egg white?
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