- 205
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- Joined Jun 1, 2001
Since I am Miss Light Bakery, and sadly, a sugar fiend, I make a lot of cake.
Lately, I've been playing around with Italian meringue icings, seven-minutes and White Mountains. (I gotta admit, so far they really don't satisfy my icing jones. They're too sweet, and don't have enough body. But anyway.)
In pictures, I see layer cakes with these things. But whenever I've put them into layer cakes, they collapse in the middle, leaving nothing but a sticky syrup between the layers. Is this normal? I've no idea; I grew up with cream icings, and as far as I know have never had a meringue icing other than mine. It happens with both types: sugar syrup, or stovetop double boiler.
I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I use my thermometer; I heat everything to the recommended temperatures; I beat until cool; I read Rose Levy Berenbaum. Are there some secret tips for this? Or do food stylists simply cut layer cakes with meringue icings twenty seconds after assembly?
Lately, I've been playing around with Italian meringue icings, seven-minutes and White Mountains. (I gotta admit, so far they really don't satisfy my icing jones. They're too sweet, and don't have enough body. But anyway.)
In pictures, I see layer cakes with these things. But whenever I've put them into layer cakes, they collapse in the middle, leaving nothing but a sticky syrup between the layers. Is this normal? I've no idea; I grew up with cream icings, and as far as I know have never had a meringue icing other than mine. It happens with both types: sugar syrup, or stovetop double boiler.
I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I use my thermometer; I heat everything to the recommended temperatures; I beat until cool; I read Rose Levy Berenbaum. Are there some secret tips for this? Or do food stylists simply cut layer cakes with meringue icings twenty seconds after assembly?