I just tried SMBC for the first time and LOVED the taste. No graininess from powdered sugar, light, and not cloyingly sweet. I wondered if anyone familiar with SMBC can tell me how long it can be kept out of the refrigerator without it going bad, hours, days? Also, is there a way or special technique to prevent air bubbles? The flowers I piped on my cupcakes had so many air bubbles, or is this something I can't do anything about? Help, please!!!!!

I use IMBC, practically identical except for the cooking method, but I get a silky-smooth texture by adding the last pat of butter and running the mixer for another 5 minutes or so at medium speed. If you change to the paddle attachment for another 2-3 minutes at medium speed, you get rid of the vast majority of those pesky air bubbles and the icing is creamy and smooth like whipped cream.

As for storage, you can freeze it for months, refrigerate it for about 7-10 days and keep it out for 1-2 days in the cooler months of the year or less than a day in the hotter months.

Thank you so much for the reply. I've been trying different frosting recipes to try and find one that isn't too sweet and loved smbc. Can you tell me also if this is okay to use under fondant? I have two daughters having a birthday party next month and they want a castle cake. I'm thinking of using smbc for the crumb coating and then fondant over that. Will that work?

By the way, I'm a big fan of your work! And LOVE your royal icing recipe. It's my fav for making my sugar cookies.

Thanks!

Yes, I use meringue buttercream on all my cakes....whether it's the filling, the smooth outer coat, or underneath fondant. (I usually go a little heavier than a crumbcoat though. Generally at least 1/4" to 1/3" thick on the buttercream under fondant though, to have a very smooth cake without having to use a very, very thick layer of fondant overtop to prevent bulging filling, etc.)

SMBC is my standard icing. It can be left out up to 2 weeks, depending on the environment (heat, etc...). Trust me you will KNOW when it turns. Smells awful. I do a full coating under my fondant. Before you ice the cakes fill your mixer bowl alll the way up and use the paddle on low for as long as it takes (20 min plus maybe sometimes) until it gets as smooth as glass w no air pockets. Its a dream to work with.

2 weeks !!! Oh My......I wouldn't recommend that......we are talking about butter, and egg whites after all.......

I use IMBC only and I would not keep it out for more than a day.....I agree with antonia74 above with her recommendations on how long it can be kept out.

It is a dream to work with and oh so yummy............but I wouldn't want to eat eat after it has been left out for 2 weeks !!!

The smbc I made is soft like whipped cream, did I do it right? When doing a thicker crumb coating, do you refrigerate first before covering with fondant so the smbc won't squish out? If so, will the fondant still adhere well? Sorry with all the questions, but I just want to make sure I do this right...

You did it right!

Fill & ice the cake, chill it for at least a few hours...or overnight is fine too. (I actually put the cake in the freezer for 2-3 hours to make it nice and firm before I fondant it. Yes, the cake does get condensation on it...but that evaporates after an hour or two, just don't touch it! It works really well to have a nice, solid cake to smooth the fondant onto.)

If your going to make SMBC, and leave it out. It might be a good idea to use pastuerized egg whites. Leaving it out for two weeks is, looking for a quick trip to the hospital.

Mike

I really wouldn't leave it out that long, pasteurized egg whites or not. The icing sugar/shortening "buttercreams" are okay to leave out for a while, but not the meringue buttercreams. Just because the sugar was taken to 240 degrees doesn't make it a fully-cooked and stable product in the guidelines of the health inspector. Their strict regulations won't even allow a restaurant to keep pats of butter for bread out overnight....much less a bucket of buttercream.

Using meringue powder instead of fresh egg whites might be safer....but really, why would you have to keep it out of the fridge for that long anyway? If you need it everyday, just take out what you need in the morning to thaw and re-whip.

Just some friendly advice to keep us all out of small-claims court and our customers healthy, not meaning to start a war here or anything.

Thank you so much for all the great advice. I'm planning on covering with fondant probably a day before and just leaving it out all night till the girls' birthday party the next day. My fridge isn't big enough to fit the entire cake with all the stuff we usually have stocked in there especially the gallons of milk. We have young kids so we go through milk like water. I just wanted to be sure it will survive the 24 hours without any of the guests (mostly kids) getting sick.

Or maybe I should just forget it and just use the icing sugar/shortening buttercream. It gets really hot here in June, even with a/c in the house I'm still worried since it's mostly young kids consuming this cake. But icing sugar/shortening bc is just so sweet to me....what to do...

Young kids? And they're not all YOUR kids? And it gets hot in the house?

I'd go with the crisco buttercream.

i used smbc all the time and leave it out for several days with no problems. i would not worry about making anyone sick over it. also, you can sub a small portion of the butter for veg. shortening (i like Smart Balance, no trans fats) and it will be even more stable.

I definitely recommend spending the extra $$ on pasteurized eggs! I hightly worry about eggs being contaminated especially since it is left out. Although, I do eat cookie dough (all the time!!! and love it!) and have never gotten sick from it, it's not like I leave it sitting at RT for a couple of days before baking.

Also, I will leave it out at RT (even in the hot months) for a couple of days. Never have gotten sick from it. In fact, I just made a cake (stored in fridge until time to deliver) on Friday and it was left out until Sunday (of which the extra was eaten by then).

I also use smbc all the time--it's fine in at cool room temp for a couple days. No worries. Margaret Braun in her book on page 211 says "...these fillings do not require immediate refrigeration. A cake filled with any of these (which includes the smbc and a bunch of variations) can stay on a worktable in a reasonably cool kitchen for at least a day and a half." So with that you have it in writing too.

You'll be fine. Just like Margaret ain't exactly shabby huh??!!

Can I ask what the benefits are to using smbc over regular buttercream?? Is it hard to get smooth?

Like Antonia74, I use IMBC but I use powder egg whites...I order it in large quantities from http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=241 as the price is much better than "Just Whites" at the grocery store. I have left my BC out for up to 4 days with no problems. If it's a hot day just be sure your air is turned on in the house. I also put a normal coating of IMBC on my cakes under my fondant and refrigerate.

I feel comfortable leaving it out 2 days or so. I ususally refrigerate anything leftover.

Okay... I'm going to try the recipe for the Well Dressed Cake Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

Can't wait to taste it. I always hated the heavy regular buttercream and can't stand that I'm the one making the cakes and still scraping my own icing off. Hopefully this will make me a happy decorator.

Gotta go to the grocery store today and get my ingredients and then it's off to the kitchen.

Oh WOW!!! I just made it. It's so much better. Can't wait to put it on a cake. I might make cupcakes just so we can eat it!

Thank You Thank You Thank You!