Hello everyone!

I made Italian meringue buttercream icing today, only to have it quite literally disintegrate before my eyes. Is there any way to salvage the icing? I'm not too keen on throwing out the batch if it can be saved. Also, how can I prevent this from happening in the future?


Thank you

Did it liquefy, and at what stage did this happen?

it gets runny if it's too hot or too cold. gah...someone put it in a handy way but i can't remember. something like, if it looks like curdled milk, it's too cold? if it looks like cottage cheese, it's too hot? something like that. anyway, you can probably save it if you get it to a happy temperature.

Forgive me if these questions seem basic, but I'm just trying to help you troubleshoot. Did you use the whisk to incorporate the butter? Because a paddle is ideal. Did it ever "set up" before you put it in the fridge? Have you already tried whipping it back into shape?
Are you in a super humid climate? Did you use a candy thermometer for the temperature of the sugar?

The only time I ever had IMBC not work for me was when I tried to double the recipe in my small mixer.

it took me a while to get a groove going with an IMBC recipe that worked for me. in my first attempts it would go into liquid form after i added my butter. later i concluded that the meringue was just way too hot and i should have let it cool much more before incorporating the butter. if i got it stable, refrigeration would then make it separate (you could see crystals forming but also get soupy).

i found this video of Warren Brown from Cake Love making IMBC incredibly helpful:

Yes, make sure your bc is at a cool room temp and beat it into submission (I would say at least 5 min rather high). If that doesn't work you could try adding a small amount of melted cooled white chocolate or white chips, something with lecithin that will help emulsify your fats and liquids. Or you could add touch (1/8 tsp or so) of xanthan gum (from health food stores) which is a great emulsifier and is tasteless.