Cake Central › Cake Forums › Cake Talk › Cake Disasters › Completely Frustrated with IMBC
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Completely Frustrated with IMBC - Page 2

post #16 of 31
2/7/12 at 5:29am
Thread Starter 
So I finally did it! I was able to make 3 beautiful batches of SWISS Meringue Buttercream! I gave up on the Italian Meringue. I went to FromScratchs blog and read and followed her directions exactly! I believe my issue was that I wasn't allowing the meringue to completely cool down to room temp. I would start off whipping it on medium high, then switch to low and let it run for atleast 25 minutes. I noticed that my kitchen aide was hot to the touch so I assume that it was releasing heat to the meringue, by letting it run on low it didn't let off much heat.

Thank you all for your help and advice!!
Reply
Reply
post #17 of 31
2/7/12 at 5:57am
Have you tried Rose levy's recipe? You need a digital thermometer for accuracy. The butter needs to give to your finger when pushed ,but not be greasy looking. I always beat on med low speed for aprox 2 to 4 minutes and slowly add the butter chunks( I stick my very clean finger into the mixture to see if it is cooled down). If it is too soupy you can beat it over an ice bath and whisk quickly, Taking it off the ice to beat with a whisk. Hope that all makes sense.
Reply
Reply
post #18 of 31
2/7/12 at 7:58pm
Thanks AnnieCahill and LisaPeps. I'm going to try again this weekend. I believe I will stick with IMBC, for some reason I have had more misses with SMBC.
Reply
Reply
post #19 of 31
2/8/12 at 3:47am
Glad you had luck with the SMBC, but you would have had the same results with IMBC had you let the bowl cool down. For those who have never tried IMBC , find Warren Brown's video on YouTube. He goes over the whole process, including letting the bowl cool down.

The Dude abides.

Reply

The Dude abides.

Reply
post #20 of 31
2/8/12 at 5:23am
Glad your SMBC worked, but I would suggest that the Artisan is to blame. I have a Pro6 and a 15 year old heavy duty. These two are great mixers.

The Artisan is the one giving off the heat. It is also my newest mixer and there have been design changes that have cheapened these mixers.

The fact that you are using a lower speed on the SMBC is the key to your success. You can do the same thing with your IMBC plus pack the edges with frozen vegetables. Wiping down the head with a cool cloth while mixing will also help.

So if you want to try IMBC again, be aware of the issues with the mixer and you will have success. I personally prefer IMBC. Because the whites are transformed into a confection, they are more stable. I use SMBC, but only on certain recipes. IMBC is also less labor intensive (if you don't have to babysit your mixer) than SMBC.

My advice to anyone looking at a KA mixer is to save and go for the Pro6. The smaller ones just don't compare. We keep these things forever so it is worth having the full use and enjoyment of this machine.
Reply
Reply
post #21 of 31
2/8/12 at 5:41am
Thread Starter 
I will try IMBC tonight, like many of you mentioned, I believe I wasn't letting my bowl cool off long enough. With my SMBC my mixture never went through that weird stage of being soupy or looking curdled, it just whipped perfectly!

Ooooh, I've never heard of putting a wet cloth over my mixer, I'll try that again tonight, it does get quite warm. I'll keep in mind the Pro 6 mixer also!

Thank you for all of your advice!!
Reply
Reply
post #22 of 31
2/13/12 at 5:33pm
oh. I never let my meringue cool down to room temperature, because I don't have a stand mixer and don't want to stir hot meringue for four hours. I usually add the butter right away, and yes it gets soupy.

But that's because the butter melted. As everyone knows, butter hardens at cold temperatures. So a soupy imbc goes into the refrigerator.

One thing I've noticed is that if I put the imbc in the fridge after I end up melting all the butter in the meringue, it doesn't solidify into a solid rock no matter how cold it is.

This makes it way easier to whip it up the next day because I can just start whipping, instead of having to remelt the butter stone. Still have to add heat until is passes curdling stage and then goes into glossy stage, but I've never had it fail on me.

(except for that one time in school that mine crystallized slightly right before a practical test. I cried, lol)
Reply
Reply
post #23 of 31
2/13/12 at 10:06pm
Speaking of "whipping" SMBC and IMBC back up. I tried that and ended up with an aerated mess, air pockets everywhere. It tasted more like butter than the velvety emulsion I had before putting it in the fridge. It got me thinking, does whipping the meringue back up not destroy the delicate emulsion I toiled so diligently (on low or medium-low with a paddle attachment) to create in the first place or am I missing something here?
Reply
Reply
post #24 of 31
2/14/12 at 7:38am
If you put a meringue buttercream into the fridge, you need to let it come back to room temperature before you start to 'whip it up' again. If you try to mix it when it is cold, the buttercream will lose some of its fluffiness, and the texture and color will change.
Reply
Reply
post #25 of 31
2/28/12 at 8:25am
While we are on this topic, I made IMBC and SMBC for the first time a couple weeks ago. I had a failure every time I tried to use egg whites from a carton. When I did it with egg whites straight from the egg, there was no problem.

Anyone else have this issue?
Reply
Reply
post #26 of 31
2/28/12 at 9:43am
I've only ever made IMBC and SMBC with pasteurized egg whites in the carton. I have found I tend to have better results with my store brand egg whites rather than the fancier brands.

I'll probably try fresh egg whites but I'm so paranoid about Salmonella.
Reply
Reply
post #27 of 31
2/28/12 at 9:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by AquariusB

So I finally did it! I was able to make 3 beautiful batches of SWISS Meringue Buttercream! I gave up on the Italian Meringue. I went to FromScratchs blog and read and followed her directions exactly! I believe my issue was that I wasn't allowing the meringue to completely cool down to room temp. I would start off whipping it on medium high, then switch to low and let it run for atleast 25 minutes. I noticed that my kitchen aide was hot to the touch so I assume that it was releasing heat to the meringue, by letting it run on low it didn't let off much heat.

Thank you all for your help and advice!!



Congrats thumbs_up.gif
Reply
Reply
post #28 of 31
2/28/12 at 10:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LoriMc

While we are on this topic, I made IMBC and SMBC for the first time a couple weeks ago. I had a failure every time I tried to use egg whites from a carton. When I did it with egg whites straight from the egg, there was no problem.

Anyone else have this issue?




Many brands will not work. Most that will work will state it on the package and have ingredients to help it whip. Unless you are making large quantities (and then you can buy large quantities of whites wholesale that ARE made for whipping) it's probably best to just use fresh.
www.superstarpastrydesign.com
Reply
www.superstarpastrydesign.com
Reply
post #29 of 31
5/3/12 at 9:57am
Could someone share with me where to find Fromscratch's blog I would love to see what everyone is reccomending to perfecting the meringues.
Thanks in advance
Reply
Reply
post #30 of 31
5/3/12 at 10:30am
Google is your friend.

Type: "Fromscratch SMBC." It's the first link.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Cake Disasters
Cake Central › Cake Forums › Cake Talk › Cake Disasters › Completely Frustrated with IMBC