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Help! Italian meringue buttercream

1K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  drirene 
#1 ·
Hi! I recently tried to make Italian meringue buttercream and I need some help on what I might have done wrong.

Here’s what I did/recipe I used
I put 400g granulated sugar and half cup water in pot brought to boil at 230 degrees I turned room temp egg whites(8of them) on high speed they got chunky (not sure if that’s what they mean by stiff or if it over whipped?) by the the time the syrup reached 240 degrees. I slowly added the syrup to the egg whites (not sure how long it took but felt like forever) and whipped for an hour before the bowl cooled down to barely noticeably warm. Add my very very soft room temperature pound of butter a tbsp at a time beating for about a minute before adding next piece. It went soupy at first piece of butter then started to come together again but it never got any stiffer than soft peaks, if that. I beat it for probably 15-20 minutes more after the butter just hoping it would stiffen up. It Wouldn’t cling to the whip at all. It was thankfully stiff enough to hold the shape of rosettes but very very soft. What might have I done that I should change for next time?

P.s. I made it on a very humid rainy day I had no choice it was a last minute cookie cake for Neices party the next day.
 
#4 ·
So I have another question. I know if you put it in the fridge you have to whip it before you can use it because it seperates, what keeps it from separating after you put it on the cake to apply fondant and decorate it especially if it's going to take while to decorate it and then serve it?
 
#3 ·
ok tried this at work as i do a italian meringue evryday for our desserts,
so....
i take my sugar to 115 -c
2 whites, vinegar the bowl
3/4 cup sug just enough water to make a syrup.
suagr on
and 3/4 whipped my whites and then had it on low spinjust to keep em moving
pour sugar in grad and whip it hard.
this builds the volume i then added 2 tea spoons of room temp butter 1 at a time once the meringue was 3/4 finished

seemed to come out ok. no issues
i put on top of red velvet cake
 
#5 ·
I've never had separation after frosting a cake, but then again I don't let my buttercreams get warm.

When my frosting gets too soft while whipping, I plunge the bowl in icewater for a littte bit or take a towel with some ice and wrap it around the bottom of the bowl while it is on the mixer stand.

If you've applied your buttercream, you may want to refrigerate it before you do the fondant.

I'm not a chef, but controlling temperature works for me for all the buttercream types I've made, even the broken ones.
 
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