I am fairly new to this site and I just read through the last day of this post. I have quickly learned that some of the best knowledge and generous willingness to share comes from Melvira. I copy and file much of your information and I appreciate someone who shares her trial and error journey, thus making my learning curve much shorter. We all have things in recipes that we like to change due to our particular taste. But people who have successful recipes seem to have their finger on the pulse of the majority of clients, not just one. So thank you, Melvira for taking the time to share your wisdom.
I completely agree! 
I am fairly new to this site and I just read through the last day of this post. I have quickly learned that some of the best knowledge and generous willingness to share comes from Melvira. I copy and file much of your information and I appreciate someone who shares her trial and error journey, thus making my learning curve much shorter. We all have things in recipes that we like to change due to our particular taste. But people who have successful recipes seem to have their finger on the pulse of the majority of clients, not just one. So thank you, Melvira for taking the time to share your wisdom.
I completely agree!
Thank you, both of you! If, at the end of the day, even one person has found me entertaining or informative, I've got more than enough reason to keep trying! I really do try to share, not because I think I 'know so much' or am any more important that anyone else (nor is my experience greater, nor my opinion more valid) but I share simply because I can... and sometimes, there are people who actually DO want to hear what I have to say! Personally I think they may be a little soft in the grey matter for it, but I love 'em anyway! 
But I have learned a lot from others here, and I just like to keep the information flowing. Full circle... you know!
On a side note: Chassidyg, is your ticker correct??????????
Yes, it was one of my original due dates. Ive been given 5 dates, they are going to finally take her out on the 18th of August!
Oh, you poor girl. The final weeks are the worst, I can't imagine how anxious you are to be done. Hope it goes quickly (and sooner) for you.
No problem. Not sure where you are, but I usually use the Kroger store brand. In fact, store brands work best for me.
I usually buy extra cartons, because even the store brands don't work 100% of the time. And the ones I use DO say "NOT recommended for meringues....etc" .... but they DO work!
I posted a link earlier in this thread to a thread I started a week or so ago showing what the brand I use whips up to. I'd say 90% of the time it works beautifully.[/quote]
I usually use Harris Teeter brand (says not for meringues but I haven't had an issue). I do have Kroger about 20 min away, good to know that works too in case I'm running errands in that area. Good idea to buy extra cartons just in case, would hate to be stuck in the middle of making icing and have it not whip up and no extra egg whites on hand. Esp. since I'm always making my icing during naptime.
melvira - you are evil and must be destroyed!!!! i reconstituted my icing from when i made it 2 weeks ago (hoping it wouldn't work) and added ...dum dum dummm..... baileys!!!!
Oh dear lord, it was heaven in a bowl!!!!
I'm not a regular poster but wanted to say thanks for sharing your recipe and advice.
I love SMBC too and use it for piping cupcakes. I chill it and rewhip it then stroke all the air bubbles out with a spatula. Only good in winter and chilly UK spring though.
This is such a long thread that I don't know if anyone has already mentioned this but.. substituting regular brown sugar gives you yummy CARAMEL SMBC.
melvira - you are evil and must be destroyed!!!! i reconstituted my icing from when i made it 2 weeks ago (hoping it wouldn't work) and added ...dum dum dummm..... baileys!!!!
Oh dear lord, it was heaven in a bowl!!!!
Ohhh, ohhhh, stop it! I feel so... so... HUNGRY! I love the taste of Baileys!! My grandma is a Bailey's lover... I'll have to make some of that for her! I bet she would flip! She's not (normally) a drinker, but she loves Bailey's in her coffee!
swakeleyscakes... I saw that brown sugar idea in the link that someone posted (fullhouse, was that you? I'll have to go back and look!) and I am DYING to try that. I LOVE caramel!! And really... butter and caramel? There is not any kind of conflict there. You normally use butter to make caramel, so it fits perfectly! I'm quickly finding that there really are no flavors that don't 'go'. 
I would like to know if anyone has used alcohol to flavor this icing (rum, tequila etc)? I am making a variety of cupcakes this coming weekend and wanted to try an MBC for a couple of them. I am doing a Pina Colada and a Margarita flavor and would like to try and incorporate the liquor into the frosting.
Any thoughts?
The alcohol flavor really isn't going to be noticeable in the IMBC for the amount that you would be able to add to it. I would just add rum extract or, better yet, LorAnn rum and lime for the margarita flavor. Now, definitely add the alcohol to the cake though! Makes a lovely texture and flavor.
I completely agree... with this icing you'd be better off (for example) to add tequila to the cake batter, then add a little lime to the icing. Something like that. You want Pina Colada? Add coconut and pineapple extracts, etc. Keep the booze in the cake where you can take more liquids!
thanks for the tips GrandmaG and Mel. I was totally intending to put the booze into the cake, but just wanted to see was the concencus was about the frosting too. I will stick to the extracts/flavorings for that. Thanks!
I added Kahlua to my SMBC last week, the flavor was light but still noticable. I also added some instant espresso (diluted with just a bit of water to dissolve) and a bit of Hershey Dark cocoa powder to turn it into Mocha. I was really happy with the flavor (it was for my mom and she loved it). My dad loved it so much he was sharing some with the neighbors to show off what I made, until my mom found out and told him to stop giving away her cake.
Anyway.... I did add just the Kahlua first to see how it tasted on its own and I did notice the flavor, but it was subtle.
has anyone added cream cheese to this?
This is one of my favorite frostings to make. It's so much fun. and everyone I have made it for just can't get over how smooth and silky it is! Everyone loves it! I haven't had a whole lot of luck making a really good-looking cake with it because I'm still learning with ABC, but it makes gorgeous cuppies. And it takes any flavoring like a champion. As for the cream cheese, I have tried it and it was a flop. I subbed half of the butter with cream cheese, and I beat the buhjeezus outta that stuff and it just turned to soup. I may have done something wrong, but it did not work for me. Curious to see if anyone else has had it work though, because I think it would be delish!
yeah, the cream cheese was a DISASTER!@#@! just got back from kroger to get more cream cheese to go the PS route.... darn it, i had such high hopes. i even added meringue powder hoping to get some sort of stiffness, but then it just tasted like the meringue powder
Your enthusiasm is contagious. I had tried some MBC before but had mixed results and moved on. This weekend is buttercream testing weekend. I don't know WHAT I'm going to do with the vats of the stuff that's piling up around here, but that's another post.
Anyway, I tried this recipe - with tweaks. I am one of those weirdos who doesn't like the taste of butter in icings. I know. I know.
So, I used 4 sticks of butter, 1 cup of Crisco and 6 oz white chocolate. It is DELICIOUS! And I love the texture. But...it IS a little yellow. I put some icing whitener in it, and it didn't help much. I like fluffy icings under edible images. I think they meld so much nicer. So, I'm going to try this a few more times and keep decreasing the butter and increasing the Crisco until the color suits me. And, then we'll just have to see what the flavor and texture turn out to be.
For the record, I used packaged egg whites that say on the carton it's not for meringues or angel food cake. I tend to ignore rules that don't make sense to me, so I forged ahead. I have to admit that it DID take longer to reach soft peak stage than I expected. If I hadn't been using a Kitchenaid, I might have given up. But, I just kept whipping, and eventually, it came around.
Lovely stuff. Thanks for the push!
Oh man, I made some white chocolate yesterday and it was amazing!! SOOO good! And my friend is taunting me about the brown sugar butterscotch, I HAVE to make that. It just sounds SO good! I also made lemon and peanut butter yesterday... can't get enough!!
I know a lot of you are seasoned vets with MBC, but for those of you who aren't, let me add a few important notes. Things that I learned from the video I watched, but wasn't sure if it was *actually* as important as they make it seem! I know that nothing i'm about to say is 'new' information in general, I am just repeating the things I've learned for those of you who didn't see the video, or who aren't as experienced with this. It could save you some trouble!
* When you are heating the egg whites and sugar, no matter what kind of whites you use (shell or carton) you REALLY should keep lightly whisking it the whole time. (I know, I know, your arm is tired!!) I didn't do it a couple times, just whisked off and on... then it took about a million years to get the whites to soft peak stage. She refers to it as 'letting them go flat'. Keep whisking to keep them foamy and they will come to soft peaks in under ten minutes. Let them 'go flat' and it can easily take half an hour or longer! Seriously, one night I think I whipped for an hour!!! It was awful! My poor KA was calling me such names!
* The video I watched called it 1-2-3 buttercream for 2 reasons... those are the steps AND the ratios. That makes a VERY easy equation so that you can make as much as you want in a batch. For example, if you have 1 cup of whites, you have 2 cups of sugar, and 3 cups of butter. Easy peasy! And those steps are just as easy... Heat whites and sugar, whip whites, mix in butter! Done! (Well of course you add flavors and colors as desired, but you know, the 'base' icing is those 3 easy steps!)
* Even if you think you've totally screwed it up and it's just a nasty clotty mess for a long time... usually all it takes is patience. I had a batch that I had stuck in the fridge, got it out and let it warm up a little to rewhip it for use. It turned into a clotty nasty mess, all the water was separated from the solids and it looked... well, just nasty. I just hadn't let it get warm enough before rewhipping. I let it sit at room temp a little longer, then put the balloon whisk attachment on and whipped it for a few minutes and it came back together so nicely! Don't give up!
* I cannot stress how helpful it is to know that once the whites are hot enough to melt the sugar, they are hot enough to be pasteurized. You don't even have to use a thermometer. That's why I never used to make it because it just seemed like so much work, whisking around a thermometer, etc. It was a pain. And then washing that sticky thermometer... extra work. So, her bit of info about that really changed my opinion of making this icing. Once I don't feel any more grainy bits of sugar, it is ready to move on. No fussing!!
Like I said, this is not groundbreaking info that I just made up, these are just a few of the best tips I gleaned from the video and personal experience. I'm in love with this stinkin' icing now!! It's really not good to have around the house. I tend to pace the kitchen in front of the fridge trying to find a way to stay out of it! hahahah!
I know, for some reason that little tidbit didn't stick in my brain after the first time I watched it, and I was having trouble getting the whites to firm up. Then a couple days ago I watched it again and noticed that she said not to let them go flat, but I don't think she really said why, but I tried it and BAM... nice and whippy-firm right away. So, I guess I'll keep doing it that way even though it tires your arm out! 
Whiny baby.
. So, I guess I'll keep doing it that way even though it tires your arm out!
Whiny baby.
Just think, if you make enough MBC, you'll get nice, sexy sculpted muscules in your arms . Wonder how many spoonfuls of MBC it works off (I'd say at least 5-6).
Just think, if you make enough MBC, you'll get nice, sexy sculpted muscules in your arms
. Wonder how many spoonfuls of MBC it works off (I'd say at least 5-6).
The only thing about that is that I lift weights, so I already get flack from my mom about my 'man arms'. But she doesn't like muscles on men either. She's one of those women that likes the soft bodies of the old glamour Hollywood leading men. You know, they were the height of sexy, but not in shape... slender perhaps in their youth, but never muscular. So I have a few veins... whatever. If it doesn't bother my hubby... I mean, come on! I'm not all steroids, bulging muscles and 'roid rage, so we're good!
Just think, if you make enough MBC, you'll get nice, sexy sculpted muscules in your arms
. Wonder how many spoonfuls of MBC it works off (I'd say at least 5-6).The only thing about that is that I lift weights, so I already get flack from my mom about my 'man arms'.
But she doesn't like muscles on men either. She's one of those women that likes the soft bodies of the old glamour Hollywood leading men. You know, they were the height of sexy, but not in shape... slender perhaps in their youth, but never muscular. So I have a few veins... whatever. If it doesn't bother my hubby... I mean, come on! I'm not all steroids, bulging muscles and 'roid rage, so we're good!
I want nothing more from life than to be cut to shreds like Jillian Michaels. 
I'm sure from the body-builder's standpoint she is a twig, but compared to my soft, post-2-babies fleshy self... 
has anyone added cream cheese to this?
As for the cream cheese, I have tried it and it was a flop. I subbed half of the butter with cream cheese, and I beat the buhjeezus outta that stuff and it just turned to soup. I may have done something wrong, but it did not work for me. Curious to see if anyone else has had it work though, because I think it would be delish!
I've made cream cheese SMBC and yes, it is fabulous. I think the problem is that you are trying to use cream cheese in place of the butter. Just make it normally, with all the butter, then beat in some cream cheese at the end. Mmmm....
I would KILL to kook like Jillian, bit my poor abs after 4 kids 
. No matter how much I exercise there are just some things that can never be. Mel, it feels good to be strong, your mom's views are just her opininion, different generation I guess.
I made Raspberry SMBC yesterday, it is AH-MA-ZING!!! It is taking incredible willpower not to eat it. Just folded in 2tbs seedless rasp preserves for each cup of SMBC.
Oh, that raspberry idea sounds amazing!! I'm definitely going to do that!!
Yesterday for my dad's 70th bday party I made a bunch of different flavors... one of them was devil's food cuppies with PBSMBC. That stuff should be illegal... I'm just gonna say that one more time! But I took a handful of leftovers to church this morning.
We have an intern pastor with us right now, and standing in line at fellowship his wife said to me that she is all about the cake but doesn't like icing AT ALL. Won't eat it. So, she took a PBSMBC cuppy and lost control. She ate every speck of the icing and asked me 'what the heck' I put in that stuff! I told her 'crack' and her eyes bulged out and she said "Seriously! That's what it MUST be! I swear I just told you I don't like icing, but I could eat a BOWL of that stuff with a spoon!!"
It was so rewarding and adorable to hear her say that. She just kept licking her lips and saying "Phenomenal". I just wanted to hug her and tell her I felt the same way about that darn stuff! Maybe later today I'll get to make the butterscotch version.
Hmmmm. Just tried this with ALL liquid egg whites and had to start over. It would never whip up to soft peaks. Not sure what I might have done wrong. My egg whites weren't new, so maybe they don't work so well after a few days in the fridge?
Anyway, I started over with real egg whites and it whipped up like a champ, so all is not lost haha!
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