I keep meaning to take pictures of the process of making SMBC, and today I finally did. 
I didn't take a picture of the beginning.. it's egg white and sugar and it looks like a big bowl of snot. But you place the sugar and eggs in your mixer bowl and whisk them until they reach 160-170 degrees then pop it on the mixer.
My recipe is large, but you can find the scaled back version here:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-5453-1-The-Well-Dressed-Cake-Swiss-Meringue-Buttercream-with-variations.html
For this batch (made in my KA Pro 5) I used:
20 large egg whites
4 cups of sugar
12 sticks of room temp unsalted butter
6 TBSP real vanilla (which I didn't add because I am making some of it chocolate so I will add the vanilla after I remove some)
Place the sugar and egg whites into your mixer bowl and whisk over a double boiler until the mixture reaches 160-170 degrees and then transfer the bowl to your mixer and mix with the whisk attachment on medium-high until it comes to stiff peaks and the mixer bowl feels neutral when you touch it with your risk.. not hot but not cold either. This brings you to picture #1.. a big fluffy beautiful bowl of perfectly whipped meringue. (It is lovely.. and tastes pretty damn good and could top a pie shell filled with lemon curd and be perfect.. but that's another story
)
Switch to the paddle attachment and break open your butter and begin to add it (picture #2) mixing on low one TBSP at a time until it is all in the bowl . While you are adding your butter you will notice a few things. The first thing is picture #3.. your beautious meringue will begin to fall.. and picture #4.. fall some more.. and look soupy. Don't worry... this is TOTALLY normal. Around the end of adding your butter you will notice something like picture #5.. your soup will start to look lumpy and curdled.. and #6.. more lumpy and curdled. Again, don't worry.. this too is completely normal. Soon after you are done adding your butter you will notice, provided your butter wasn't too cold, that your curdled mess begins to start to maybe look like it might be getting better.. picture #7. Then like magic it gets smooth (picture #8 ) and you end up with beautifully smooth and silky SMBC (picture #9)
I didn't take a picture of the beginning.. it's egg white and sugar and it looks like a big bowl of snot. But you place the sugar and eggs in your mixer bowl and whisk them until they reach 160-170 degrees then pop it on the mixer.
My recipe is large, but you can find the scaled back version here:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-5453-1-The-Well-Dressed-Cake-Swiss-Meringue-Buttercream-with-variations.html
For this batch (made in my KA Pro 5) I used:
20 large egg whites
4 cups of sugar
12 sticks of room temp unsalted butter
6 TBSP real vanilla (which I didn't add because I am making some of it chocolate so I will add the vanilla after I remove some)
Place the sugar and egg whites into your mixer bowl and whisk over a double boiler until the mixture reaches 160-170 degrees and then transfer the bowl to your mixer and mix with the whisk attachment on medium-high until it comes to stiff peaks and the mixer bowl feels neutral when you touch it with your risk.. not hot but not cold either. This brings you to picture #1.. a big fluffy beautiful bowl of perfectly whipped meringue. (It is lovely.. and tastes pretty damn good and could top a pie shell filled with lemon curd and be perfect.. but that's another story
)Switch to the paddle attachment and break open your butter and begin to add it (picture #2) mixing on low one TBSP at a time until it is all in the bowl . While you are adding your butter you will notice a few things. The first thing is picture #3.. your beautious meringue will begin to fall.. and picture #4.. fall some more.. and look soupy. Don't worry... this is TOTALLY normal. Around the end of adding your butter you will notice something like picture #5.. your soup will start to look lumpy and curdled.. and #6.. more lumpy and curdled. Again, don't worry.. this too is completely normal. Soon after you are done adding your butter you will notice, provided your butter wasn't too cold, that your curdled mess begins to start to maybe look like it might be getting better.. picture #7. Then like magic it gets smooth (picture #8 ) and you end up with beautifully smooth and silky SMBC (picture #9)
