Hi everyone, 

I usually make either chocolate buttercream (all butter) and vanilla (half butter/half crisco) buttercream. I live in the UK and it's a bit of a pain to get crisco. I was thinking of trying out SMBC but I have a few questions about it. 

My cousin asked me to make her daughter a fairy toadstool cake. I'm going to make it using a 1lt pyrex bowl for the cap and an inverted giant cupcake base for the stem. Does anyone know roughly how much SMBC I'd need to make to cover that? I was going to use the Martha Stewart recipe which yields about 9 cups, I'm guessing I probably need less than half of that. Does that sound about right? 

Also is SMBC shelf stable or does it need to be refrigerated? I'm going to make a few practise batches before the big day. 

Thanks so much for reading and for any replies! 

SMBC/IMBC are the best IMO.

Though many of us leave product for our families out on the counter for a few days, with no ill affect, It should be refrigerated until you're ready to bring it to room temp and serve. At room temp Rose Berenbaum recommends an 8 hour time limit. 

One of the great things about a butter based BC is that it will harden completely in the fridge, so your crumb coat really holds everything together while you decorate. 

As to how much you need, I can't advise, but it holds up great in the fridge and also freezes really well, so you'll never go wrong making more than you'll use in one sitting. 

There's a long-standing thread in this forum called, "everything you need to know about buttercream." you might want to check that out too. 

thank you so much! It's good to know I can refrigerate/freeze the excess.