Ive tried smbc with cream cheese and it was delicious. Just wondering if there are any other options out there that don't involve powdered sugar. Has anyone ever added cream cheese to a southern cooked frosting perhaps?

Hi, how much c/c did you incorporate with the finished smbc. Did you frost with it or just fill with it. I have a recipe , but it is for filling only. Then all i have ever made is with the original recipe, using butter , c/c and powder. I don,t add the crisco, because it takes away from being the original c/c recipe. it is not as tangy.So again, can you tell me your ratio of c/c to smbc. thanks

I'm not really sure of the exact proportions as I was just randomly experimenting. It was something like 5c of smbc added to 8oz of super softened cream cheese. I didn't add a ton of cc just bc I know it can break down the icing.

Cream cheese frosting is the only thing I use powdered sugar for. I hate the stuff. I haven't tried it yet, but I want to try FromScratchSF's SMBC recipe but use IMBC.

I make cream cheese IMBC by just taking softened cream cheese and beating it until it's soft then adding it to the IMBC (to taste-if I want it more cheesy then I add more cream cheese). It's always come out good for me.

Well, I tried adding cc to the cooked icing and it was a disaster. Tasted delicious, but no matter what I did, I couldn't get it to come together and stay that way. It was a curdled mess. Oh well... It was a tasty experiment!

Annie, I think FromScratch mixes the cc to soften in another mixer and adds the SMBC to that mixer. I have wondered about just adding it to IMBC in the end. I think you and I use the same recipe. I thought it was sturdy enough to handle cc. I certainly add quite a few tbsp's of alcohol and it never loses stability. Thanks for the heads up. Susan

Susan, we both use Warren Brown's recipe right? I always just whip a block of cream cheese that's been softened, then just mix in several scoops-full until it tastes right. I have never had a problem with it separating on me. And I also use several tablespoons of liquid/flavoring in WB's recipe and it always comes out fine.

Annie

Annie, do you keep the same amount of butter in the IMBC and then add the cc? And yes, WB is a real favorite. Try his peanut buttercream and do all the steps. Outrageously phenomenal. I use this on top of my chocolate cc with a Reese's PBC in the middle. I finish it with chunks and crumbs of Reese's PBC's. That recipe uses muscovado sugar and I add Tupelo honey from the Amish Market. It's one of my best frostings.

Wow the IMBC is the only recipe of his that I've tried. Do you have his recipe book? I might have to pick that up so I can try the PB buttercream!

Someone on here said his yellow cake recipe, using potato starch, was a really good one. I haven't made it yet.

Yes I do make the regular recipe, not making any adjustments. I have only used it for a filling so what I usually end up doing is setting some of the BC aside and then adding the softened whipped cream cheese to it. I usually just use a spoon to mix it together since it's not that large of a batch. Actually, I made that filling for one of the tiers of my wedding cake (which was a pumpkin spice).

I'm the fan of the yellow cake. Definitely get the book. His recipes are so innovative, not slight alterations of the same recipes. He's a Harvard lawyer turned baker... self taught. He has six locations in DC. The muscovado sugar is in Martin's in the health food isle. I also use the natural peanut butter from Martin's. Many of his frostings are custard based, the manipulted like a European buttercream. And the potato starch is used instead of flour or cornstarch in the custards... a very smooth alternative. Have I convinced you?

If you decide to make the yellow cake, pm me for some changes I make that you may like. The yellow cake is on his site, but definitely get the book. Do you remember when he had his own show on FN?

If i am not mistaken, FromScratch cream cheese smbc is used only for filling. I have her recipe and i think she uses it only for filling , not frosting . It is too soft to frost with, she says.I think imbc is a little more sturdier than smbc, but make both. Love both.

She did say that, but my guess is that these European buttercreams are more stable than using a straight cream cheese recipe. But less stable than the buttercream without it.

here is one i just found, can,t wait to try this one.


http://www.kitchensidecar.com/2009/07/swiss-meringue-cream-cheese-frosting.html

Susan, I remember watching him a long time ago. I think Oprah had him on her show as well when he was first starting out. I will definitely check Amazon for the book-thanks for the recommendation! I have a whole list of yellow cakes I need to try including Sylvia's and Buddy's.

I do remember the IMBC mixed with cream cheese being soft, but then again I think all cream cheese icings are on the soft side. I only used it as a filling so I can't comment on how it would be to ice an entire cake.

I use SW's as a combo of her two recipes with my own changes too. I like what I can do with WB's better. His cake will take on any flavor, handle a brushing with liqueur, and it can take additions easily. I can cut a chunk out for my lemon meringue cupcake and it still holds up well. Moist too. Buddy's is extremely good, but odd. I call it my Italian custard cake and have it as a flavor on its own. It is too unexpected in texture to call it a go-to yellow cake. I describe it as having 2 cups of pastry cream in the batter so that they know what to expect. I made 180 of Buddy's cupcakes for a charity event. They were filled with gourmet raspberry preserves and the frosting was FBC with the preserves. They ended up with about 140 people. When I came back that night to get my tower, every single cupcake was gone. That blew out the idea that only 70% eat the dessert. If it is good, they will eat it and cut out something else in their diet later.

If you decide to make WB's, pm me for some changes I made that you may like. I have really worked on this one.

If you make Buddy's, follow his advice about cooking the custard longer for more thickness. Mine is very thick.

Thanks for the tips Susan. I was wondering how the texture of Buddy's was with all that pastry cream. I envisioned it as having this kind of heavy wetness to it, which I actually like. I was going to experiment with it to make a creme brulee flavor which is why I posted that thread a while back about needing a heavy-cream based pastry cream (for the filling). For SW's yellow recipe, do you mean you combine the old recipe with her new one (with all the added milk and ginger)?

Oh I wanted to ask you, is the Hershey's Black Magic cake your go-to for chocolate? My girlfriend wants a chocolate cake for her wedding, and I was thinking of making the Hershey's version. For my wedding, I made one of the tiers the Double Chocolate Layer Cake from Epicurious.com and it was demolished. But I love trying new recipes so I am open to anything.

I'll have to look it up, but I think I take the old recipe, add 1/4 c to 1/3 c of the milk and the touch of ginger. I dont like how it shrinks that little bit. I haven't tried it, but adding the touch of ginger to my already adjusted WB recipe would probably yield a better result.

For Buddy's, yes, moist and firm. Use lots of vanilla bean paste. It also does not brown so watch it carefully. With all that moisture, I think I bake it at least a minute longer in cupcakes and a few minutes on the cake. Both Buddy's and WB's get eaten at my house with no frosting, but WB's is the favorite.

I use Hershey's for some cakes. It is great base to my odd fillings and frostings. It doesn't take center stage. I also have two premiums... one with Guittard DP cocoa powder and one with stout. I just bought John Scharffenberger's cookbook and the first recipe in the book is one using his cocoa powder in a recipe developed by Dorie Greenspan. This is on my list to try. It has to be good. But this will be another premium that features the chocolate. I forgot, I have a dark chocolate cake too. That cake is almost black. I use Hershey's Special Dark in it and pair it with light frostings. Currently I use it in the Chambord cake... Chambord liberally brushed on top of the layers and filled and frosted in a Chambord IMBC. I don't like chocolate, but I love these four cakes. As a small batch baker, I have the fun of using different recipes.

I am not a chocolate person either. I love vanilla bean everything. I have been dumping NM vanilla bean paste in everything lately. I have to hide it from my husband because he would probably dump it in his coffee behind my back.

Admittedly I have never tried a Dorie Greenspan recipe. I heard her Perfect Party Cake was good. It seems that a lot of food bloggers like her recipes.