How to make Italian meringue buttercream

Love this recipe! How many cupcakes can you do with one complete batch?

Hi! Would this recipe be good for piping flowers/flower petals on my cupcakes or would a traditional buttercream work better for this? Thanks! 🙂

I made it today and it was really delicious i got i at the first try it was Nice and fluffy and delicious

I made this recipe before and it was wonderful, this time I had a problem. When I started adding the sugar syrup, my egg whites slowly started to turn to liquid. is there any way to save that it that happens again? I know when it does happen after adding the butter, whipping will help to stabilize, but I haven’t added butter, so please let me know. Thank you

My grandma and I tried to make some, but the syrup keeps crystalizing within seconds of finishing. It’s really odd. We tried it twice and had the same issue both times. Does anyone have any ideas on what went wrong and how to fix it?

I made this tonight and its amazing! So soft and fluffy. So delicious. Can’t wait to use it.

Hi this look amazing . I have been lookin for a good recipe i will try this one. But i have a question. After we boil sugar and water do we leave this to get cold? Or do we put hot syrup into egg whites? Thanks

I love this frosting it’s the only buttercream I use and everyone goes crazy over it. I make half batches by cutting all ingredients in half and use it for cupcakes and for filling my French Macaron.

Can this recipe be cut in half?

Fresh egg whites work much better. Adding such a high ratio of sugar at that temperature actually cooks and stabilizes the egg whites so you don’t have to worry about pasteurization.

Hi, your recipe looks amazing! But I wanted to know if it was possible to half the ingredients? would the result be the same?

I made this tonight and followed the recipe exactly, but during the cooling phase when the meringue is meant to be beaten on high for 10 minutes, my meringue went hard and crumbly! I re-made it and beat it on low instead until the bowl was cool, and that time it turned out perfectly. Gorgeous!

Thank you for the recipe! Can IMBC be left at room temperature? For how long?

I have made this recipe heaps and heaps of times and never had a problem. It is a fabulous recipe. The last three or four times I made this I substituted a third of the butter ratio with crisco for hot weather conditions and it was fine but I didn’t like the taste that much and it was still a bit soft. I then made another batch using high ratio shortening and for the first time ever my buttercream fell apart and nothing I could do would fix it. However taste was nice! What am I doing wrong? Please help me!!! 🙂

Hi. This looks amazing! I am making my daughter’s christening cake and hate fondant icing. I am making a rainbow cake with 6 layers and hope this will be enough! How much syrup do you add to the egg whites because you say to discard what you don’t use – how do I know how much to use or discard! Thank you!

Hi Louise, have been following your blog for quite a few years, just wanted to tell you that your IMB is the best and so are all of your tutorials. Thank you for sharing.

What a great recipe! I had never made Italian meringue buttercream frosting before. I followed your instructions and came up with the most beautiful and tasty frosting. The only question I had was how long it will keep in the refrigerator.

Oh my…After a terrible failure, I wasn’t about to give up. Ran to the computer and found this recipe. Cleaned the kitchen for the mess i had just made and printed your recipe. Perfect… just perfect. As it began to whip and get smooth and glossy, I just had to let you know. I never comment but this recipe is a perfect no fail Italian meringue buttercream. Thank you!

You are making the world sweeter I post at a time!

Hi Louise,

I habe followed your site for a good few years and have used this recipe time and time again with great results. Could I please have your advice, I have been asked by a friend to make her wedding cake, she would like a chocolate cake with rasperry buttercream, do you think i could use IMBC flavoured with raspberry puree to fill and cover cake under rolled fondant?

P.S your site is the best there is!

Maria

Thanks heaps. It turned out awesome. I think I may have over whipped it with the butter but it piped really well. Thank you!!

Could I leave the butter out and just pipe it while it is white?

Can it be salvaged if it’s watery and lumpy? Does it need anything to give it more body? Help! :/

Hi, I’m a little confused by the instruction to turn down the heat if the sugar starts to darken quickly. If it gets dark one should probably start over, as the sugar is _way_ past the recommended “softball” stage.

Just tried this recipe today and loved it!! Thanks so much for the great instructions, it made my first time doing this super easy.

Thank you so much for an awesome recipe! My IMBC has worked out beautiful and then I took some out and mixed lemon curd with it. ABSOLUTELY YUMMMMM thanks again

Can I use meringue powder and water instead of egg whites ? If so, how much of powder and water should I use ?

hi, how long would it last in the refrigerator?

Hey,
I am doing my first wedding cake OUTSIDE in June. What’s the best icing to uses and how far in advance could I make the gumpaste roses without them cracking??
Thanks jen

Thank you for conquering my fear of IMBC. I used your recipe for a total gluten free wedding cake for my brides and I loved it as well as her family and guest. I currently offer the IMBC as one of my buttercream choices.

Let me know how to upload a photo of the wedding cake.

Again, thanks for the wondefule IMBC recipe.

Great wee recipe! Worked brilliantly! It will be my buttercream of choice from now on. Followed instructions to the letter and it worked great! I was a little anxious about making sure it reach 248 degrees as other recipes state of I did use my sugar thermometer and it did. I won’t bother with it the next time. More time consuming then conventional butter cream but Definitly worth the effort.

Hi, I so love dis recipe but I have a little problem. Where I come from we have a lot of heat and I want to use dis recipe for a wedding. So I don’t know how long IMBC will last under heat. The temprature in my country is 36 degrees. Is there any thing dat I can add and will not affect the taste?

Hi Louise, just wondering if IMBC could be frozen for a later event? Or would it keep in the fridge in a air tight container? The party isn’t till the end of April & we want to make it easier on the day, we were going to pipe it on the cupcakes on the day.
Cheers

Hi louise, thanks for d recipe. Pls I have a problem here, where I come from, we have a lot of HEAT and d IMBC tends to melt quickly and I want to use d recipe for a cupcake fountain for a wedding. So I don’t know wat to add to make it last longer wit out melting

Hi! We dont have caster sugar in vancouver. Can i use granulated or icing sugar?

Hi Louise, thank you fr this recipe! But my IMBC came out buttery and heavy…is it suppose to be like that? I was expecting a light and fluffy heavenly icing…I did double the recipe thought, you think that was my mistake? I’m sad is not what I expected 🙁

pls can we also color d meringue? cause i tried once and it gave me a bitter taste.

Should I always use pasturized eggs/egg whites whenever I bake?

Thank You for sharing. This is a great tutorial. I was afraid making italian meringue buttercream, not to mention that I have no candy thermometer. I read Your tutorial once and my buttercream turned out wonderful. I am so happy! I’ve just made the most smooth and delicious raspberry flavoured buttercream ever!
Hugs! :)))

hi,
Icing looks amazing, is their any way I can make this without egg whites I so want to try this recipe but I cannot use eggs as we are vegetarian.

Love your website very helpful 🙂 thank you for sharing with us.

I also wanted to add that after I added the syrup, and mixed it for a good amount of time, I put it into the freezer for about 10 minutes, just enough to make sure it was thoroughly cooled. Last time I added the butter into the mix (even with the scrambled bits) and it melted! I ended up turning my first batch into a sugar cookie recipe!

I made this tonight, used only 4 egg whites because I had only 6 oz of butter and it was still really good. I’ll add the rest of the butter tomorrow. The first time I made this I didn’t pour the syrup as slowly as I needed to and there were tiny bits of ‘scrambled’ egg whites in it. That was a bummer! This time, I simply poured it extra, extra slow and into the whisk, with my kitchen aid on a 10 speed- it got tempered correctly. WORKED OUT FINE! Sure am happy that this frosting freezes because it makes a very large amount. I’m going to use it sandwiched between two chocolate chip cookies!

Great recipe!

Hi i have a few questions hope not to overwhelm you:) i recently started baking cakes and i just dont like buttercream im from belarus so most of our cakes our soft creams that cannot be used under fondant.i been using heavy whipping cream,cream cheese and sugar. Yumi but fondant jc is just too heavy. I have been managing but its so risky is this buttercream tasty and can it be used under fondant. I made buttercream twice and even after cooled cakes it seemec to just melt inti the cakes. So no icing between the layers. Any tips and suggestions. Thank u so much

Great recipe. Ususally I use traditional butter cream for cupcakes and will try this recipe to see the diffences.
May I know after putting this buttercream on top of the cupcakes, do I have to keep the cupcakes in fridge? or just keep in room temperature is fine?

Thanks!

Okay, after reading over 400 comments I am terrified haha!
I have been reading the steps over and over and over again and I’m still afraid of wasting that much eggs and butter but I’ll try it anyways, (because I love to bake). I don’t have a candy thermometer (only a cheap one for only meet) but I’ll use it if I get nervous or anything!
And I will update! 🙂

If your buttercream split your whites were probably just a tad bit too warm. Butter melts below body temperature, so you have to make sure you feel NO heat coming from the bowl. Also, if the mixture looks a little curdled after adding all the butter try adding just a bit more!

I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS RECIPE!!! I have made so many variations in flavourings and it comes out a winner every time! Raspberry was to die for, Maple syrup & spice for Pumpkin cupcakes, Turkish delight bits with rose water was a hit, Cola with popping candy rocked. And of course the good old vanilla has replaced my usual vanilla buttercream (which i could never seem to get a smooth consistency). Ym yum YUM!!!!!!

I love this recipe! I have never had a fail! It was always salvagable! I have used this recipe for 2 years now for both my boys cake! Everyone loves this frosting! Thanks for the visual! I truly love it!

I made swiss buttercream but when i refrigerate it it get real hard.
Does the Italian buttercream gets hard too.

hi for the italian buttercream can i use a hand mixer as well?

I think maybe your issue w/ the whole soupiness when adding sugar + egg whites was using pasteurized egg-whites. They usually flop in comparison to freshly separated. Other than that it was a great recipe.

Looks yum! I made a swiss meringue buttercream recipe off the martha stewart website and when i added the butter, it wouldnt combine and just became a runny split mess. What went wrong? :s

Awesome AWESOME recipe! Thanks!

how long does this icing keep

I know that it is buttercream but it always tastes like sweetened butter, it pipes beautifully but I just wish it didn’t taste like you put a heap of sugar into a pound of butter and whipped it. Beautiful pictures BTW.

Can I use meringue powder instead of egg whites?

I have not tried this recipe but just wanted to make sure. Don’t the egg whites start ‘cooking’ when hot boiling sugar syrup is added?

Brilliant recipe! My first ever IMBC… Will use this again! Thank you…

The instructions for this were not necessarily the best. I had to make this 3 times and look at someone else’s site for advice before I got it right. My IMBC was turning soupy because when you whip the egg whites you need to whip them to stiff peaks, not just for 2 minutes. I also added a pinch of cream of tartar to the egg whites before whipping. The sugar syrup needs to be at 248 degrees Fahrenheit before adding it to the stiff egg whites. Hope this helps.

Sometimes the mixtures gets a bit wet and curdled. To fix that, mix it on med/high for quite some time. Eventually it will form a perfect consistency.

Love this recipe! I halved all the ingredients bar the butter and when it came time to add the butter I had it all cubed ready. I added each piece until the mixture started to pull together and look like buttercream and then I added a bit more just for good measure! 😛

Thank you very much! I will be using this again and again 🙂

Hi,
It looks like a great recipe, only the amount of butter is really big.
Is it possible to reduce it? I want to use it to decorate an ELMO’S cake, so I need to color it and spread it.

hi this looks like a simple recipe…can i leave the IMBC iced cupcakes at room temperature for a couple of days??

The measurements must be off – it made a complete mess as there was too much fluff. Plus at 7 mins my sugar syrup was golden brown (no mention of this in the instructions). Still working on it, will be upset if 10 eggs and 700g of butter is down the drain.

as we’re in a very warm spot, putting the finished bowl into the refrigerator for 5 minutes really helped! excellent recipe.

After covering the cake with this IMBC, can I keep it at room temp? Or refrigerate? If so how many days?

What is caster sugar?

Hi there,

Do you think some of the butter could be replaced with cream cheese to make a cream cheese IMBC? If do what quantities should I use?

Thanks 🙂

Hi Louise… After ready how long the IMBC remains without losing the detail of the tip? I am Brazilian and I love it all here. Thanks in advance! Hugs

Hi Louise!
Loving your webiste, can you please tell me how do you keep you icing white? My icing turns pale yellow

This buttercream is now my goto.. I may never go back to powdered sugar again, except to top my cinnamon rolls and lemon bars. wow.. can’t emphasize enough, quality butter and sugar for this one. My candy thermometer broke and your timings are perfect

Can you add food coloring to this frosting?

When you say caster sugar, do you mean karo syrup?

Turned out awesome! One question, do the cupcakes need to be refrigerated or is the IMBC ok at room temperature?

What does this frosting taste like? I tend to avoid buttercream because I find it to be heavy and rich and too sweet. I usually hand whip heavy whipping cream with a little sugar to get a light whipped cream to top cakes, but its not great for decorating Does this have a lighter flavor than traditional buttercream?

Hi, new to this site and love it! this is probably a silly question but, how long can you keep the frosting for and how would you store it?

Quick question, I notice on your picture you have a flower decoration – what is it made of?? I have mastered this buttercream, (it is by far my favourite. Extremely silky!!!!) and I make decorations like your fantasy flower (from rolled fondant, shaped & dried)) but after they have been on the cake for a day they go soft & lose their shape. 🙁 I guess the moisture from the IMBC interferes with them? Or am I doing something wrong?! Thanks 🙂

I have tried this 3 times and failed at all the attempts . I get as far as the whipping the sugar in stage and as soon as i add but all down hill from here. I really dont know what do. I live in a small Caribbean island called St.Lucia and i cant find a high quality butter.

Hi Louise,

I have just tried this and the syrup looked fab UNTIL I turned the heat off! Before it was even all in the egg whites it had crystalised and the meringue is now mixing but lumpy!

Am I going to have to throw this away as the egg whites will surely be raw?

ANY help would be great as I promised my boys cupcakes forthe fete tomorrow!

xx

this recipe was too big for my kenwood mixer it was almost overflowing when it turned to meringue i would suggest using just half the recipe at a time.

I’m betting the reason your meringue turned soupy was because of the egg whites. Because you bought them the way you did instead of using them fresh, they didn’t react the way they’re supposed to react.

i love this recipe, first batch in bin 2nd batch perfect 3rd batch still good but i have one question you say 1 cup egg whites = 10 eggs whites when i put the egg whites in my cup measure it came to 6 egg whites, also when pouring sugar into meringue i get hardened sugar on one side of the bowl so i then have to transfer the mixture into another bowl so as not to get the sugar bits in my mix

I don’t have Lurpak butter here in TX…What other brands would be considered high quality butter or what qualities should I look for to choose a high quality butter?

And you are the best Chef!… you never hide anything from us, you tell all your secrets ;)Thanks for your help & advise Mwahhhh GiGi 🙂

Yeyyyyyyyyyyy… i did it and it tastes more than super delicious, its true when you advised for the use of high quality butter!!..Wow, i tried it before with standard baking butter and it tasted very buttery, but now when i used Lurpak, it makes all the difference in taste, its very creamy, smooth, satiny and super delicious!! Yummy 🙂 so thank you for the post of using Lurpak!!! its a great success!!! Thank you Louis for your recipe, I encourage everyone to give it a try 😉 GiGi

Can this buttercream stand the heat of the sun? I’ll be selling my cupcakes in the middle of the summer and I’m worried which frosting should I use.

I tried making the IMBC. It looked great until I added cocoa powder and then it looked like it sperated, not smooth. What would cause this to happen and how can I avoid this happening again?

Hi Louise,

Would I be able to substitute the egg whites with meringue powder? If so, how much meringue powder must I use? Or may be you can let me know how heavy is ur 1cup of egg whites?

Thank u.

Cindy from Spore

Its realy nice way to make and decorate cakes and ice cream….thank to share this…
keep it up

IMBC is the ONLY buttercream I use. As mentioned quality unsalted butter is important and I buy mine from a local creamery so I know it’s fresh. I also cook the sugar water to 250 F before adding it to the meringue. If the mixture become soupy after adding the butter, keep blending, it all comes together as the mixture cools. I love this the IMBC because I will not use anything shortening based in my baking, it takes purees, flavors, liquors, and holds up well. I bring it to room temp. and remix it to cream it up after it’s been stored and prior to icing a project.

I hesitate to comment because I admire Louise and feel that my talent is not a tenth of hers; however, I may have a solution to your problem. I have found that the quality of butter that I use, makes all the difference in the world to the taste of my buttercream. I don’t know how the butter is in the UK, but here in the USA, there are different qualities of butter. I scrimp and save in every other aspect of making cakes, but when it comes to butter, I buy the best. 🙂

delicious! will cupcakes iced with IMBC need to be refrigerated because of the egg whites?

I tried the recipe and it was really nice and creamy but it had a really butter type taste, what would you suggest? (I have already tried adding more vanilla essence and I am trying to not add any flavours)
Please help! 🙂

Wow this is awesome so delicious and perfect on cake thanks Louise i love u

Thank you so much for the recipe. Can I ask could you use this to replace the buttercream on a big cake…ie with jam or lemon curd in the middle and under fondant on the top……I hate buttercream so would be lovely to find an alternative . If you can how do u store the cake before eating, as u cant put fondant in the fridge ..can u?
Thanks

Great!
I’m Italian Blogger, your recipes are fantastic and well explained.
Congratulations!

Laura

I would love to use this icing on an ice cream cake..how would it hold up being put back in the freezer and then out to eat. Thanks

Thank you so much for this recipe and clear instructions!! I was a bit worried when it curdled but Martha steered me right! I know this is an old post but it’s the only one that worked for me and was delicious! So excited to ice my cake now!!

THERE ARE A FEW THINGS TO HELP WHEN MAKING ANY BUTTERCREAM 😉
I LEARNED THIS IN PASTRY SCHOOL. MAKE SURE YOUR EGGS ARE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE-AN ALWAYS IN BAKING. TO HELP COOL DOWN THE BUTTERCREAM AFTER YOU ADD THE HOT SYRUP PLACE ICE PACKS AROUND THE BOTTOM OF THE BOWL WHEN WHIPPING TO COOL IT FASTER ;)MAKE SURE YOUR BUTTER IS AT ROOM TEMPERATURE ALSO-NOT MELTED OR TOO COLD.

Hi Louise!Thank you for all your recipes…about this one I want to ask you if I need to refrigerate the cupcakes frosted with it…or can I keep them in a let’s say 24 degrees temp?(will it melt with the fondant decorations?)

Hoping you can help> I love this recipe but am nervous to use it on my cakes> I want to put it on my cakes as a filler & under coat for my MMF. I normally take 2-3 days to decorate a cake then deliver. Is the IMBC still safe? I don’t keep my cakes in the fridge as I bake from home I don’t have a extra fridge. If you do freeze or keep left over how long are they safe for?

I am so excited I found your site via pinterest! I used to always give up when the finish product looked like cottage cheese and watery. Now I know just keep on whipping. I also put butter in right after pouring in hot syrup and had to put in fridge to become firm again. So yummy…worth the effort.

Hi, thanks for your quick replied. May I ask, how early can I make the cream cheese frosting a head of time, and do i have to keep it in the refrigerator? and do you know how long I could leave the cupcakes up at room temp?

Hi, Your cupcakes look amazing! I’m a fan of whipped icing just because I think it’s less sweet. I want to make a bunch of cupcakes for a party, but want to make them ahead of time, but whipped icing won’t be great for that, I think. I was wondering, how do you make buttercream that’s not too sweet? I would love to hear your opinion.

Hi Louise,
Ur site is lovely……Can der be a substitute for egg whites in the above recipe???

Hey Louise!

I am about to take on my first big project and I am excited to try your vanilla cupcakes with the imbc, however I want to flavor it. At what point would you add flavoring and how? I’m thinking chocolate and maybe a strawberry…

I want to make this frosting but the mixer stand I have isn’t kitchen aid, meaning the paddle doesn’t rotate the bowl does. Will this recipe still work, I’m afraid I will not get the stiffness needed. And also does this frosting tend to melt because of the butter?

Hi Louise,
I always make crusting buttercream to cover my cakes so I can later smooth them. The IMBC looks delicious and I would love to try it, does the IMBC crust as well?

I cut the recipe in half and after boiling for 4 min, it started turning a caramel color so I started pouring it in. By the time it was half poured in, the remaining half was a dark caramel. This made the buttercream ivory (which I think is pretty) but I don’t know if that was supposed to happen.

Also, my buttercream is kind of “pitty” (has little pits when I pipe it) and isn’t as smooth as yours in the picture. What could I do to fix this? Thanks

Hi Louise,

I followed your tutorial to the letter as i really wanted to learn how to make this frosting. I had tried it once before and the mixture became runny and gave me a lot of problems. So few days ago i did it your way (ofcourse did 1/3 of the recipe just to be on the safe side) and i must say it came out so well. The frosting looked exactly like yours. I was thrilled. Only concern was i would have liked it a bit sweeter which i will work on next time. But other than that thank you so much for this website. It is an inspiration for a self taught baker like me. Keep up the good work!

Wow! I made this for my husband’s birthday cake, and he said that it was the best frosting he’d ever had– and he’s quite the contessuer. I made it with rapadura sugar that went through the food processor, and it worked perfectly. First successful buttercream ever! The tips on timing were so welcome and helpful. And the tea towel! Thank you for telling us about the tea towel. What a mess! Lots of love to you and your site! Thanks again! ~~Alena

You can just use a handheld, no problem.

Fra: Disqus [mailto:]
Sendt: 16. oktober 2011 21:33
Til: louise@cakejournal.com
Emne: [cakejournal] Re: How to make Italian meringue buttercream

NOTE: This comment is waiting for your approval. It is not yet published on your site. ======

you could make the IMBC and then add a homemade caramel.?

I got the recipe from Karinne writer of this site http://www.gateauxdulac.blogspot.com/
1 cup white sugar
3 tbsp water
2/3 cup maple syrup
3 tbsp butter
1/2 cup cream (cooking 15% fat)
1/2 tsp salt (optional)

Combine sugar and water in a sauce pan and boil for until medium brown Without whisking or moving the pan.

Add the maple syrup and cook for a couple of minutes until the mixture is well blended (5 min)
Remove from heat and add butter and cream. Stir until combined.

Let it cool completely before adding the salt

Fra: Disqus [mailto:]
Sendt: 22. september 2011 08:31
Til: louise@cakejournal.com
Emne: [cakejournal] Re: How to make Italian meringue buttercream

NOTE: This comment is waiting for your approval. It is not yet published on your site.
======

If the IMBC turns soupy and looks like cottage cheese, simply just place it in the refrigerator to cool a bit. Then start whipping it again. It is impossible to ruin this bc and it will always comes together in the end. You just need to let your mixer whip whip whip.
Fra: Disqus [mailto:]
Sendt: 5. november 2011 18:57
Til: louise@cakejournal.com
Emne: [cakejournal] Re: How to make Italian meringue buttercream

NOTE: This comment is waiting for your approval. It is not yet published on your site. ======

Hi Louise,
I just recently discovered your website. Great!
I have a question: how long can you store Italian Merengue or IMBC?

Finally managed to crack this today. First time I did it and it turned to milky soup like you say. I figured the trick is to make sure that you beat the eggs and dont skimp on time. So yummy! Thankyou (Works with trex (using 500g) but you will need to add a flavouring or else it tastes too ‘fatty’ lemon, vanilla and almond are all yummy!
Lou x

Hello love your blog! I just want to know if its possible to use regular white sugar instead of caster sugar. Thank you.

I use pasteurized egg whites all the time so that could not be the problem. I have never seen it being overworked. I have not tried it with powdered egg whites. I think that you can but just don’t expect the same consistency/flavor. You can always whip it back together.

anyone tried to freeze this??

Hi. I’d like to try this but the problem is, I don’t have a mixer with paddle attachment. 🙁 Does this mean I won’t be able to get it to this consistency without it? I’m only using a hand mixer, by the way. So only whisk and beaters are available. Thank you so much. I love your blog, and I hope to be able to bake well in time.

I keep mine out for 1 day only, If they are stored in a cool room. If not served right away. It can last well covered for 2 weeks in the fridge. Take it out the day before you plan to use it. On the day take 1/3 of the IMBC. Place it in a bowl and gently heat it for a couple of seconds. It may get a bit liquid. Place the rest of the IMBC in the mixing bowl and add the heated part and give it a good whip. It combines beautifully.

is there any way i can make this without any dairy or eggs?  D: halp

Thanks for the recipe, i have always wanted to try and make italian meringue buttercrem, now i definitely will be, it looks yummy, yummy, i love experimenting x

this recipe was the easiest to follow, I have tried making italian buttercream before and failed miserable, this came out perfect on the first try. Thanks!

HI Louise! I’m really looking forward to making this! About how many cupcakes does it cover? Thank you!

hi there, thank you for your recipe, may i ask, how long do you have to refrigerate cake with IMBC frosting before covering with fondant?

I have just edited my answer to Maui. Hot sugar syrup makes the best meringue. I would not replace it with corn syrup. You will not get the same texture.

I made this and it just tastes like butter could this be made with more sugar syrup or less butter or maybe even margerine

As I live in UK could you convert measurements to grams or ounces please, just cant get my head around cups and have been meaning to try this icing for a while. I have been asked to make cupcakes for my grandson’s first birthday and they love mascapone frosting but in the heat it doesn’t hold up too well. I am hoping this will turn out to be a good substitute and they like it just as much as the mascapone one.

Question ; what temp should the butter be ? I tried it at room temp and my meringue became a soup that wouldn’t want to rise back, even after I put it in the fridge to cool…..

I have only tried to freeze leftover icing not if it’s on cupcakes. The sets perfect in the refrigerator though.

its  a desaster.. the end its a soup.. buttercream soup!! what happened?????????
help me pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

You can make it with a handheld mixer but it takes time… Also you need to hold it and cannot do anything else while mixing. But yes, it is possible. If you want to halve the recipe, you should try the one from Cake Love. There are a link at the end of the post.

I’m so sorry that this is not working out for both of you. I have had problems same type even with pasteurized egg whites. It helped me when I bought some new egg whites. I am no expert when using egg white powder for this butter cream. However it should have helped placing both bowl and whisk in the refrigerator to cool down. I know that it can come together but if it’s very hot and humid it can give you trouble. I hope it works out next time.

THATS KOOL

so nice ,i love it

My husband doesn’t really like the taste of buttercream and that’s basically all that I have been using since I started baking insanely for the past 6 months. I tried this recipe today and got it on the first try and it is delicious. My hubby liked it so much better than regular buttercream. I used the meringue powder, but think that I’d like to try regular egg whites, because the powder does have a different taste to it. Thank you so much for this post…it’s amazing!

Thanks for the beautiful recipe. Please can you advise how I can achieve a pure white colour with this recipe. Is it possible to add something to achieve this?
I find the end product is a light cream colour and I need to produce a pure white cream for a project.

Dear cake journal,
if i were to heat the sugar syrup on an induction cooker, how many farenheit should i cook it on? Also, should i start the 7 minutes timer as i start the fire or wait until the sugar syrup boils before starting the timer?
Please help me, and thanks alot for your recipe. Have been really concerned about not having a candy thermometer. 🙂
Could you reply me at lim.yingxuan@dhs.sg?

I made my first IMBC a few weeks ago and it was so nice! Loved not having that overly sweet gritty regular butter cream. But, as others said it did seem a but buttery tasting for me. I would love a blend of the just meringue and the meringue buttercream. I saw people asking about reducing the butter, did anyone ever try this? Or do you think it might work to make a half batch of the IMBC and half of just the meringue and fold them together?

It can be difficult to tint the IMBC properly. You will only get soft muted colors. But if you want to color I would add it after its combined. Use the mixer. In general with BC or RI, you can use powdered food colors, but I would recommend you to use gel colors. Powder is great for coloring gum paste flowers.

I know that some have used the meringue powder from wilton but the taste and consistency was not the same as with real egg white. So you must do a test and see how it goes.

I made these for a customer to use at a dinner party as lemon meringue cupcakes – I tasted the extra one I always make with new recipes and this is absolutely the finest topping I have ever made

hi I have made this Italian meringue buttercream
it’s so easy and it very light and I have used it for a 2-9 inch cake and 24 cupcakes …p.s. can I cut the sugar down a bit? and thank you for this recipes!

I needed to make mini wedding cupcakes for an upcoming shower so I decided to practice. I got both the cake and the icing right on the 1st try thanks to this tutorial! It was perfect and now that I have done it once, it wasn’t nearly as difficult as I feared. I followed the recipe exactly. I piped the buttercream on the cupcakes and then sprayed PME Pearl Lustre Spray and sprinked edible glitter and pixie dust. I put pearl jimmies or opal sanding sugar on some of them for variety. They would also be great for a little girls party. They were like a sparkly dream cupcake…I got the best comments from people. Thanks for making me look good!

oh and another thing: I want to ice the cupcakes at least a day before the party, does this cream keep well in the fridge? how long can i store it in the fridge?

Hi Louise,

thanks for this post. I’d never heard of this cream, as i avoid buttercream at all costs, preferring fresh double or whipped cream any day. However, I am planning to make a cupcake bouquet for my little girl’s party, and I am not sure if the whipped cream wont slide off when its in the bouquet at an angle…so I am keen to try this recipe. can i ask how many cupcakes u think this mixture would suffice? would it be “strong” enough to stay put on the cupcake rather than slide off? Hope u can help, thx.

Oh and ur cupcakes look soooo yummy!

S

I love your blog! I wish I have the time to bake…

This is an amazing recipe. I have always wanted to be able to make this frosting and I followed your recipe to the letter last night. It worked perfect
Thanks

I look forward to trying more of your tips and tricks

Thank you so much for the best buttercream recipe and such amazing instructions! I linked to this post on my blog, since I used the recipe for a friend’s wedding cupcake tower. I hope that is okay. Please feel free to let me know if it isn’t.

hello … what is caster sugar?

I love a good silky smooth frosting. Your cupcakes are so cute.

I know the recipe several years and believe it is the best.
The most beautiful but it is how I saw it with pictures!

Very nice job Louise

Hi,

I tried the recipe, all was perfect no soupy meringue, until the butter was all incorporated and suddenly everything became curdy !
After many chill and beating session, everything separate, some beating later I finally filtered the liquid from the buttery block and beat the buttery block until smooth and added little by little the liquid, eventually it’s in one part now lol I don’t know if it has the right consistency but at last it looks like something !

Hi I just love your tutorial it was very easy to follow,I am taking a Wilton cake decorating class at the moment and I am adamant not to use shortening or meringue powder. I made the Italian buttercream recipe with fresh egg whites and cream of tartar, everything turned out wonderful, until I got to my class and my icing that had been sitting around for 2 hours already started to separate!! In a jam I added A LOT of powdered sugar from a co student which did bring it back together to a medium consistency, but whilst icing it softened again from my hands and my flowers started to become un defined. I made do with what I had but needless to say my cake design was the worst in class ( as everyone else had pearly white wilton/crisco/meringue icing! )When I got home I refrigerated my cake for 30 mins and it set beautifully, We are still eating the cake today, it tastes great with no greasy bitter taste that you do get from the wilton recipe. My question is what can I do to the icing to make it stiff and stay stiff for this weeks class besides taking a cooler filled with Ice…LOL any help would be great I would hate to have to make the crisco version, my Daughter has never eaten food made from it and I would prefer it to stay that way.

i find making a lemon filling easier, specially since i will have so so many unused egg yolks. so i just wanted to know if it would be ok to substitute the lemon curd with the lemon filling?

also my mixing bowl is plastic. is that a problem when pouring in the hot sugar syrup?

hey so i wondering, is the paddle attachment absolutely necessary? because my mixer doesn’t include one. I really hope you can reply quick. i want to make this for my nephew’s birthday.

I’ve just finished making this for the last week, had some major problems with curdling and separation, I just ended up with a cottage cheese solid and a gloopy liquid. I tried chilling it and rewhipping but to no avail.
But today I took most of the solids out and melted it in a bowl on top of a pan of boiling water, and rewhipped it – and it worked! So for all those who have trouble with a soup of cottage cheese, melt it 🙂
I made this with an electrical handmixer and no paddle attachment, so it is doable, just makes your arm tired

I make cupcakes for friends and family and can’t wait to try IMBC, I have been asked to make some cupcakes for a friend’s grandchilds christening.As I live in the UK could you please convert the recipe into grams or ounces as I am so confused by cups and I really want to get it right! Thanks.

I just started learning how to bake. In school we kitchen stand mixer. For now I only have electrict hand mixer. My question is, can I still make IMBC using my elect. Hand Mixer? My son’s teacher asking me to bake her a bday cake, i’m afraid i can only give a cake without the cing. Please Help!

IMBC is the best! Thanks for all the tips!

It is dead easy. If your mixture turn’s soupy it is because the Merengue is to warm. Cool your merengue in the fridge and once it’s cold enough (not too cold else it will turn lumpy) it will come together.

hi!

I’m studying to become a pastry chef and they thaught us in school that you shouldn’t heat the sugarsyrup to more than 121 degrees celsius when making italian meringue. When the syrup is about 100-110 degrees you start to beat the eggwhites and they should be at the soft peak state when the syrup is 121.
Maybe your syrup was to hot and that’s why the eggwhites collapsed?

Hi Louise,

I tried making IMBC using your recipe and it turn out well. So glad that I have found this website. Thanks for sharing and greatly appreciated!!!

Hi Louise, I really enjoy your website! It is fun to see all the great cupcakes you have made. I have a question though. What is the difference between Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Italian Meringue Buttercream?

hi Louise your webbie is awesome.
would like to try this recipe when I find the time. thanks for sharing!!!

Hi Louise,

This is a fantastic recipe and a marvellous website. I added a little more vanilla extract to the IMBC as the butter taste was a bit strong. I need to hurry up and put it on a cake as I keep dipping in with a teaspoon!

Hi Louise!
I tried making this buttercream the other day and I don’t know if there is such of a thing called over mixing for swiss meringue buttercream but just as it seemed to get thick and creamy…. The buttercream started to separate. It seemed like the butter and egg whites separated. Do you know why this happened.?

Dear Louise, I am doing research on a suitable icing for teachers’ day cupcakes. Do you know how long this icing will keep outside the fridge? Where we live, it is always hot and humid. I can keep the cakes in air-conditioned room. Do you think it will still keep for at least 48 hours? Don’t want the poor teachers to get sick.

I tried this for with half of the ingredients and it turned out superb! I had to keep it for 10 mins in the fridge and then beat it again but it was so hassle free and easy. I tastes great too and so so smooth! I always have problems with the usual buttercream which sometimes is a bit grainy.

I just want to know whether I could flavour it with lemon? how much lemon juice should I add? would it affect the consistency?

2 1/4 cups of caster sugar (530ml)–> is 530ml the same with 530 grams? sorry if it looks like a silly question

Hello,

I tried your IMBC after doing lots of research. I found that you have a great thing and I like the amount that it makes. I am pretty new to decorating cakes and I have sold all my cakes with IMBC. Why would anyone use the other stuff ever again.
Thanks for the recipe and Blessings to You.
Marnée Kaufman

Hello,

I tried your IMBC after doing lots of research. I found that you have a great thing and I like the amount that it makes. I am pretty new to decorating cakes and I have sold them. All with the IMBC Why would anyone use the other stuff again.
Thanks for the recipe and Blessings to You.
Marnée Kaufman

Hi what is the difference if I add in icing sugar to the egg white and later add in the butter instead of cooking the sugar syrup?

Thanks so much for the reply, Louise. That is indeed the same recipe and they are indeed really yummy! I did make homemade graham crackers (easy!) and caramel sauce (burnt the first batch, second was great), but I don’t have the meringue part down yet. This last time I made them, by the time I got the cakes unmolded, the meringue was breaking down a bit. It still tasted good but wasn’t quite as pretty as I’d hoped (no swirling peaks to brown — more like humps:) Originally I was thinking that if the meringues were frozen on the parchment, I could just peel the parchment off the bottom and then set the meringues on top of the cakes. Probably won’t work but would make an interesting experiment. Thanks again!

Suzanne: I must say pass to your question on making the IMBC with maple syrup. I just dont know if that is possible? dont know if it can be made “thick” and then just added as a flavor?

Emilie: The cakes sounds delicious. I did some research and found this (apparently from the same recipe you use) Like it says this is a speedy cake to make. So im not sure that the freezer thing wil work. How will you get the meringues off the parchment? I would just go with the speedy serving Mmmmm I must try these. http://moogieland.blogspot.com/2010/06/frozen-lemon-cream-cakes-with-toasted.html

I just discovered your site, Louise, and love it! Will definitely be checking your posts frequently. In the meantime, I have a quick question for you regarding freezing meringues. I’m making some frozen lemon cream cakes (from the current issue of Fine Cooking), and when I made them once before, I found that by the time I’d piped the meringue onto the top of the 3″ cakes I’d just removed from the freezer, and then browned the top of the meringue with a kitchen torch, that the cake was starting to melt. I’m sure doing it in the heat of summer doesn’t help. Anyway, I was wondering if I could pipe the meringue onto parchment (having drawn pencil circles of the cake diameter on the back side), and then freeze them. Then when I’ve unmolded the frozen cakes, I’d have the meringue ready to set on top and then brown. So I’m wondering if:1) it would work to freeze them like that, and if so, would it work to take them out of the freezer and brown them right away, or would they need to thaw slightly first, so they’d be the right temperature to brown and the right consistency when served. Hope that’s not too many questions! Thanks!

Hi Louise, I’ve made your buttercream over and over, always came out perfetc. Now I am asked to do a maple imbc; can I substitute the sugar syrup for maple syrup, and if so, would I use the same quantity? (i.e. 2 3/4 cups (water + sugar) or 2 1/4 cups – just the sugar quantity)? And do I still boil it for the full 7 minutes?)

Thanks so much for a great recipe!

Felicia: Well since it is different on the safety by using raw eggwhites from place to place I will advice you to follow the health regulations in your country. I can not use raw egg whites so thats why I use pasturized. If you see the video in the CakeLove link at the bottom of my post.Then you can see that he use raw eggwhites but I will not recomend you to do so unless you know that there are no “danger” using raw eggwhites. You can also use meringuw powder, but I have heard that it wont give you the same texture and there can be a slightly difference in the taste.
I would not recomend making this buttercream if you dont have a mixer, stand or handheld. Sorry!

Also remember not to serve raw eggs to elderly weak, pregnant and small kids.

Hi Louise,

I’m wondering what is the substitute for pasteurised egg-white? Is it possible to just use normal egg-white? Or is there a no egg-white option?

Also, if I don’t have a mixer, could I just manually whip the cream?

Thanks for sharing! 🙂

I love buttercream!

smiles, Fe

Millie: I honestly dont know. Im not sure that you can boil Splenda into a sugar syrup the same way that you can with normal sugar.

Can this recipe be made with Splenda?

pankake: Of course no stoves act the same. But if you want to make sure that the sugar syrup have the correct temp. Then use a candy themormetor and cook on low heat then until the temp reach 120 C

Hi There,

I don’t know what I am doing wrong, but I cannot get this recipe. I cannot cook the syrup on medium high for 7min because it burns, or of I don’t leave it on as long I go to pour it down the side of the bowl but before it hits the egg whites it sets on the bowl and what does make it to the egg mixture goes hard and doesn’t mix in. Please help me as I really want to make this but have no idea what I am doing wrong.

Thanks

Valérie: No, sorry I have not tried that.

Mandy: I know this is late. But I know that this question have been asked many times before. 1 tablespoon of meringue powder mixed with 2 tbsp. of water is equals with the white from one egg.
You need 10 egg whites. Thats what I always use.

Bippo: It is so good with the LC.

Valerie: I dont know really. I just pipe. I think that it can go with 24 cupcakes. Depending on how big the swirl is of course but I have never counted when I piped on cupcakes.

Hi, thanks for the post.
Just wondering how many cupcakes can i pipe with this recipe?
Thanks!

Oh my God! I made some lemon curd and whipped it in to some left over IMBC, and it was the most delicious thing ever! So creamy and sharp. I highly recommend it; it made for the best butterfly cakes.

Thank you again for this recipe.

Thank you so much for sharing. I am a beginner and have now made this recipe 5 times within the the past 2 months and it has worked perfectly each time. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Hi Louise,

I’m going to bake cupcakes this weekend and I’m planning on using IMBC as the frositng. However, how much of meringue powder should I use to substitute the egg whites? Hope to hear from you soon! and i can’t wait to try this delish IMBC!! You are awesome!

Your step by step recipe is just perfect, I’m going to try it this week to cover my cousin’s birthday cake ! I have a question : do you know how to use titanium dioxide to have a very white BC ? Again thank you for the recipe and for your help !

Thanks for this tutorial even though i tried it and it became soup but i’ll try again. Thank you so much for all your tutorials, it is helping to add xter to the kids cakes i make.

Leigh: I hope that it went good?

Kara: It is very important that the meringue/bowl is cool to the touch. What I do is that before I add the butter I scrape down the meringue. This also helps it to get cold. But last time I made it. My butter was not soft enough so I put it in the microwave for a few secs. Some of the butter was meltet and luke warm but it did not ruin the process of the IMBC.

If it get runny, you just need to let it whip whip whip, it will get smooth in the end.

Sarah Bell: they are made out of fondant with some tylo powder, I let them dry in my cornstarch box: http://astore.amazon.com/cakejoucom-20/detail/1565076796 and when they are firm I dust them with pearl powder dust.

Crislyn: If the CC’s can stay in a cool room just until serving it should not be a problem I think. You can store it in a airthight container at room temp. for max 3 days. If its in the refrigerator then you can store it for 3 weeks. Take it out 1 day before you are going to use it and bring it back to room temp. You can beat it very lightly before use.

Bippo: Great that you had luck in making smaller quantities. I failed badly when I tried.

I made this on a hot UK day, and it worked well. Knowing to keep whisking when it looked curdled was helpful.

I made quarter quantities, guessing the amount of castor sugar (130 g) because you only gave volume. I boiled the syrup until it looked and behaved like softball syrup when stirred (all that failed fudge finally paid off!) which took about 4 minutes.

The finished product was more like sweet whipped cream than what I expect from buttercream. Certainly an interesting, less sweet, option, although I think I prefer normal buttercream in most contexts.

I used raw egg whites because I’m pretty confident of the Lion mark in this country, but everyone has to assess their own risk. If I’d been feeding a pregnant woman, or someone immune-compromised, I’d probably have avoided it.

PS – How far ahead can I make this frosting and store it in the frige? How long can the cupcakes with this icing stay un-refrigerated?

Hi Loise. I love your site. Wanted to ask how you think this recipe would hold up on a warm summer day. Want to do a cupcake tower for my mom’s 60th birthday and it will be in July in California. Of couse, it wont be in the direct sun, but it will be a warm day. I really, really dont like using shortening and need a buttercream that can “take the heat” 🙂

Where did you get those large pearlised balls from. I’ve been searching on the internet and can’t seem to find any? Really like the recipe by the way. 😉

So, I am trying this recipe for the first time and am really enjoying the flavor. My problem comes when I add the butter. Up to that point, it’s perfect consistency and all that jazz. Than I add the butter and D:< happens. Right now the second batch is sitting and cooling. I wonder if it isn't waiting until the meringue is cooler. I waited the 10 minutes, but I wonder if 15 wouldn't be better?

Hi Louise,

Thanks for this recipe, I cant wait to try it. I have just read through all 182 comments and its been a really good learning experience. Have made notes about some of the great advice given above next to where I copied down this recipe, so fingers crossed, the recipe will work for me!

Bunnie: Normally you should have been able to rewhip it when it have been in the fridge, but if the weather is hot like it is in Malaysia it can cause problems when making IMBC. I dont know what can be done to get this icing to love hot conditions,

I tried making this the other day but it was too runny. It was splattering all over the place when i added the soften butter. Do you think weather has anything to do with how this icing turn out? I am living in Malaysia and the weather is hot and humid most of the time.

Another thing, I did put the whole bowl and paddle into the fridge for awhile hoping it will harden up but it did not. Could you please help as I really like the taste of this icing.

Sarah: Im not sure what cause your problem. When I add the SS it turns into a thick fluffy meringue. I have never seen bits of cooked eggwhites. After adding the butter remember now and then and scrabe down the sides of the bowl.

Hi 🙂 I have just made this recipe twice. Tastes great! My issue is the texture of the eggwhites, once finished whippping (before adding butter) there’s little ‘bits’ of cooked eggwhites through it. I made it a second time (using vegetable shortening instead of butter as I needed it white- the taste isn’t as fantastic but an ok compromise) and poured the sugar syrup in slower- but still had the same issue. Can you help?

Hola Louise!

Im from Costa Rica and I´m a huge fan of your blog. Im a totally amateur on this but I love all this pastry stuff and I actually have a little pastry business here in Costa Rica. Thanks to people like you and all your tutorials and advices I can apply all this techniques in my business and it is letting me grow.
Thank you thank you ¡Muchas gracias!
Hope you keep doing this cause it is a beautiful thing you make!

Kim: I have not tried it with meringue powder and I know there are some of the comments that are about that so you will have to browse through them.

For your question on transfering a picture to the cake are you thinking of this? http://www.cakejourna.wpengine.com/nggallery/page-2609/image/65

I cant remember the tip size, just know that it was really big.

whats the tip used to frost those cupcakes dear

Thanks for the response dear ..
wanted to ask one more quick question Here in our place we wont get pasturized egg whites can i use meringue powder will it givethe same results as with pasturized egg whites in that case what would be the measurement . and one more question i wanted to ask i dont know whether it would be appropriate to ask in meringue section . many times i tried to draw the picture and transfer it on to cake with piping gel and melted choclate but results are in vain .
can u pls share your ideas on this so that i wanted to give one more try .
looking forward to hear from u soon
once again thank you for ur great recipes

I love Italian Meringue BC. Last night my first attempt to make this BC and i’m very satisfied the result! The taste is so yummy! Very light tescture but still stiff.

Kim: You can make it with a handheld, You might get tired holding the handheld 😉 You can take it outside only if it is burning hot it may not stay nice for long. I have only tried it on cupcakes for a couple of hours and that was ok. The IMBC is super for borders, ruffles ect.

Isabell: OUCH!!! Sweety I am so sorry to hear that. I have made a note in the post about NOT to scrape out the rest of the syrup only pouring. I so hope that your wrist will get better.

Jeniflufft: I think that you may be right on the taste after 1 day. But I eat it anyway lol!

Firstly, I adore your website! Secondly i just wanted to say WOW! I usually buy the tubs of American frosting which i don’t really like the taste of, but they pipe well. I decided to try this recipe yesterday and it is amazing! The taste is like ice-cream and the texture is silky smooth, i will never make normal buttercream ever again! Also mine turned to soup, but i kept on whipping and whipping as suggested and it turned out beautiful. The only thing i would say is that it didn’t seem to taste as sweet the next day, but i might just have eaten too many and become immune to the sweetness!

Thanks for your great site, it is one of the best!

I tried making the imbc and i burned my self horrible… when i tried getting out the rest of the sugar sirup and i had it on the spoon and it droped from the spoon on my wrist…
i have a huge hole in my writs now, since 2 months…
>-<
and it didnt work out after all because i think it wasnt warm enought…

Hi Louise, yes, the egg whites did go very runny and the sugar syrup clumped and went quite hard. I will try adding some sugar to the egg whites next time. Perhaps adding some cream of tartar may help stabilise the egg whites too? Thanks for your advice. I love your site 🙂

Hi
if i want to use this italian cream for birthdays can i take it outside i mean how long it would stay ..
can i use electric beaters instead of kitchen aid ..
can i go for piping borders and flowers
really looking forward to hear from you soon
thanks again for great recipe

Yvonne Smith: did the egg whites turn liquid? because that what happend to me once. I think that you maybe can avoid it by adding 1-2 tbsp of sugar when you beat the egwhites. Or try and look at the IMBC from Cake Love/youtube video because he add some of the sugar to the eggwhites too.

Hi Louise, I tried your recipe for IMBC and the first time it came out beautifully. However, the second and third times I tried it the sugar syrup clumped after I added it to the egg whites. I was very careful to add it slowly and to not let it hit the beaters. Is there another reason that this may have happened? I have not tried it again since then.

Ruby: I know that some dont like the greasy taste of the IMBC. Im not sure it would be a good idea to cut down on the butter. But you can try, if it goes well I would love to know.

fiona: To me the swiss and the imbc are the same only with a differennt way in the making of the two.

Luisa: Castor sugar, white sugar just dont use powdered sugar.

Hi Louise,thank you for the recipe i was just wondering since here in Canada I’m having a hard time finding castor sugar can I use regular sugar or any other type of sugar?
Thank you so much ( sorry if you gave the answer before too many posts to go through 🙁 )
Thanks again

Hi there !!! Can you tell me if this is much different to Swiss Meringue Buttercream ( which I love !) it looks so similar and has the same ingredients I am wondering what the differnce is in the finished product ?
Thanks ! Love your blog x x

Hi Louise – thank you for your reply. Pls don’t apologize, I was hoping you would reply, but it was the weekend! I have to say, I was nervous to try IMBC. I read about all the problems some bakers had, and I didn’t want to waste a pound of butter. I read your instructions carefully, got all my ingredients ready, bought a candy thermometer, read again and it came out perfectly on my first try! I was expecting the soupy/curdling to happen, but it didn’t! And, the IMBC held up nicely the day after. My coworkers were so impressed. I got huge compliments and I was able to tint the IMBC a nice dark shade of pink.

I would like to say that I thought the taste was very smooth and silky, but a bit greasy tasting. It was very light and fluffy, not sweet at all, but the taste was a bit greasy, just my opinion.

I wonder if the recipe would work with just less butter?

Lastly, I still cannot perfect my swirl, I keep trying, but it’s the end part I can’t get, I am decorating from a 90 degree angle and when I end, I pause before lifting straight up, but not getting a good result. I use several different Wilton tips, including the famous 1M 🙁

Dre: I guess that a regular buttercream or the IMBC would be the best choice if you are making “fur”. I dont have a favourite BC recipe, since I mostly make this IMBC.

Molly: You’re right it is difficult to work with in hot weather.

Kassandra: Thank you for the tips!

Ruby: Sorry I’ve been out of the house this weekend. I guess that you could store them in the car. The IMBC itself can be stored outside the fridge for 2 days. But if you have decorations on the CC’s I think that they will go soft and sticky if in the car. If you have a cooler room inside best to store them there.

Do what you feel best. Im sure that they will not taste bad.

The pink comes from raspberry pure. It is a little hard coloring IMBC in dark colors.

Hello again – your picture of the cupcakes at the top is beautiful. What color did you use to get it so pink? Would it be the Wilton icing colors, and if so, was it pink, rose or maybe a touch of red?

Hello – I hope you can reply to my comment as soon as possible, I plan to make the buttercream in the morning.

My question is that I am frosting the cupcakes on Sunday afternoon and then bringing them to work the next day (Monday).

Should I store the frosted cupcakes in the fridge (I don’t have room so I could leave them in my car, it is cold here in Toronto) or can I leave them out for the next day?

Secondly, do you think they will keep well for 2 days, depending on your answer to how I can store it.

I read about how to store the buttercream, but my question is more on frosted cupcake/cake.

Thank you

thank you for the recipe. i tried it this morning and it turned out well. my family loved it. it wasn’t sweet (my family prefer that) and the texture was really smooth. the icing was perfect for the 2 dozen sponge cupcakes i made 🙂

thank you again for sharing this recipe.

I love the rasberry flavored kind. The water is always best at room temp. Also you can make this recipie into fruit dip by trading cream cheese for water and adding brown sugar and maple syrup to taste

Also, meringue frostings won’t set if it is humid. I did 300 cupcakes for a friend’s wedding and I ended up pouring the frosting over all of those cupcakes! ugh!

What a great website! I was wondering what kind of frosting to use to decorate cupcakes. I will be using mostly a hair tip since I will be making Sesame street character cupcakes. I dislike canned frosting and that really sweet frosting you get from a grocery store cake. Thank you 🙂

Tee C: You are not the first one with this issue 😉 My guess is that this recipe should not be dived into 1/2 batch. So thats proberly why you ended up with the “wrong” taste. I have not found other recipes made with only “half” measurements yet.

Have you tried to make it with the “right” measurements once?

I am a novice decorator/baker and try many different recipes. I LOVE this site and tried this recipe. Can you please tell me what I did wrong? I tried to divide the recipe and make only 1/2 a batch, but in the end it tasted like eating a sweet stick of pure butter! I couldn’t stand more than a fingertip full. All it tasted like to me was lightly sweetened butter (even though the texture was great). Maybe I had the incorrect measurements for the butter once I tried to divide the recipe?? Please help and thank for taking time to put together an awesome cite.

Noeleen: Well eventhough you didn’t like it in the end, Im happy that you gave it a shot. Oposit you I dont like the real buttercream which is too sweet for my tooth. So what a luck that we all can have a frosting that we each love the most 🙂

wendi: Thank you so much for your feedback on using the meringue powder instead of fresh egg whites. I do agree with you that even though I do have a metal bowl Im not sure that I would trust the raw egg whites either.

For your crusting buttercream without crisco please see what I found on the wilton site: http://www.wilton.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=7&threadid=95885

Thank you for your IMBC guide it took a lot of stress out of the process. I made two batches of IMBC, the first using meringue powder to replace egg whites and the second using fresh egg whites in the same quantities as cakelove.

The mix with the meringue powder was horrible. According to Wilton meringue powder label use 2 teaspoons meringue powder and 2 tablespoons water for each egg white. All I can say was the texture was lovely it came together well but the taste was ‘powdery’.

The egg white IMBC also came together perfectly, I was a bit worried about using raw egg whites and my mixing bowl is not metal so i wasn’t sure it would retain enough heat to cook the egg whites.. I’m still not but the only pasteurized egg whites in Australia that I’ve been able to find are frozen and their label says they are not suitable for whipping. The taste of this mix though is absolutely wonderful. Now i just need a crusting BC recipe that doesn’t use crisco as it is not readily available here. Again many thanks 🙂

I tried this recipe, and I was so super excited to try it! It sounds so wonderful, and I thought I would experiment with it. I usually make the Wilton buttercream recipe, which my family loves, but I thought I would just try something different for my sister’s birthday cake. Well, let me tell you, it took close to a half hour to get the meringue anywhere near what it should have looked like, and even then it was a little too liquid-y. So I decided, after much frustration, that I would just start to add the butter. Well, to my surprise, it started to take shape. By the time I was done, I had a fabulous looking icing, and I was very pleased. I took a fingerful and was even more pleased. Then I told my mom to try it, and she didn’t like it. So then I tried it again…this time taking an actual swipe from inside the bowl rather than from the edge. Well, I just don’t like it. It was too butter-y for me, and not nearly sweet enough for my sweet tooth. In fact, just imagining it that evening made me physically sick. I still used it, and my family still enjoyed the cake, but I couldn’t eat any, and they all agreed that they prefer the Wilton recipe. Go figure.

While I didn’t like it, I am happy to hear that so many people did; and though I am slightly disappointed, I can certainly chalk it up to a learning experience.

Thanks for all your hard work and effort that you put into this wonderful journal. I absolutely love reading about your creations, and seeing them come to life. It sure is a pleasure!

Eva: If it is too soft then put it in the refrigerator for a while. This will help it to set more. It is not a problem that you dont have a paddle. Many makes it only with a whisk.

I have followed the steps.. but my IMBC is a bit too soft and not thick enough to hold up the swirls. I’m not sure if you understands me…
I dont have the paddle so I used whisk all the way. Is it because of that?
Need some help please =)

Pamela: Im not sure that the texture will be the same if you cut down on the butter. I think that it would be better to add some sort of flavouring instead.

For the coating, Yes you should be able to use choc or coffee paste. The problem is with the fruit puree= fruit acid, it simply melts the fondant cover.

Hi Louise,
I made this IMBC and it indeed taste way better than all other bc.
I find that the buttery taste is slightly over-whelming, is it ok for me to reduce ?

I am going to use it as a coating before covering with fondant, u said can only use the vanila flavor? what abt other non-fruit puree like choc, coffee paste ?

Thks millions !

Nadine: Well its hard to take out the butter flavor when its a buttercream that you are making 😉 I really like the taste of the IMBC than a regular BC. So its different from one to another to like the butter taste or not. But you can add extra flavor if you like.

Hi Louise,

Thanks for the easy to follow step-by-step guide to Italian Meringue Buttercream. I’ve always been too afraid to try it out but your recipe makes it a lot less scary. Thanks so much!!!

Hi,

I made the recipe, but only needed half of it. Everything looked great, but at the end it tasted too much like butter.. did I do something wrong of does it has to taste like this? I thought it would be fmore fluffy… I didn’t take too much butter, because I used 340 gr.

kind regards from the Netherlands,

Nadine

Shira: Im not sure that I would try and do it myself. Please try and look at the end of the post there are 2 vidoes and both of them use raw eggwhite. But still im not sure that I personly would trust it for beeing safe made that way. Again that Warren Brown from CakeLove knows what he’s doing I think?

Xine:
1 tablespoon of meringue powder mixed with 2 tbsp. of water is equals with the white from one egg.
You need 10 egg whites. Thats what I always use.

You add the flavor when the imbc is done. Try the raspberry or lemon curd flavor YUM!!

Follow up question, at what point in the procedure would you add the items in the flavor options part, For example the “2 tbsp of instant coffee mixed with 2 tbsp of warm (not boiling) water pr 3 cups of IMBC” do you add it to the finished buttercream and beat it?
Thank you.

What would be the liquid to meringue powder ratio to get 1 cup of eggwhites? 250 ml liquid and how much meringue powder?

Hi Louise,

In Singapore it is hard to find pasteurized egg white except using meringue powder, so I had the same problem like some of the ppl who read yr blog. Then find this solution from http://www.about.com on how to make pasteurized egg… I read about this in one of my Chinese cook book selection written by a Japanese pastry chef. So hope this is useful. and I’m going to try it.

“Pasteurization is a process where food is heated to 140°F, killing harmful bacteria. Egg yolks would normally start to cook at 140°F, but you can use a microwave to pasteurize egg yolks without cooking them, so they can safely be used in mayonnaise and other preparations requiring raw egg yolks.”

Hi Louise,

Happy New Year! What a wonderful recipe. Lately I do lots of cupcakes and trying to search for a icing recipe that is not as sweet compare to traditional butter cream or royal icing. Again, you make my day ;>!!!

this looks delisiou i cant wait to mke it for my moms suprise party bash. i know wow

My first time trying to make this and your step by step is great! So easy to follow and it came out beautifully. I have to make a cupcake shaped cake and a bunch of cupcakes for a birthday party this weekend, and it’s the perfect frosting! Thank you!

noura: Did it melt on cupcakes or cake?

it tasted so good but it melted sooo fast:( is there anyway for it not 2 melt

siobhan: It needs to get back to room temp and then try and test the texture of it to see IF it needs a rewhip. It can seperate but it should be able to get it back togehter. it have happend to me once on a very hot day and it was still a little cold I could not save it either.

hi louise! thanks for letting me know this can be stored in the fridge for 3 weeks – do i let it sit out back to room temp and rewhip it? i have tired before and the butter in the icing was separating and melting from the rest of the icing – yikes!

Thank you so much Louise, i did it, it’s delicious, it tastes like whipping cream… Thanks for all of your tutorials.

Nani: You can use normal granulated sugar for this or if the sugar is more fine I guess that would work too. Just don use confectioners sugar (like flour) as this wont work.

Hi Louise,
Thanks for sharing all your baking an decorate experiences. I have a question, i don’t knowu all the types of sugar, granulated, caster, confectioners and icing… in my country y found granulated, another called “azucar flor”, it’s finer than granulated, and “azucar impalpable”, it’s even finer, like flour. In IMBC you used caster sugar, and i don’t know what it means… Plase help me, because i really try this recipe. Thanks, and sorry for my english, i´m from Chile. i hope that you understand me. Bye.

I just mad this today & I have to say it was very easy,ive never even made a meringue,Ive never boiled sugar or done anything like this,it turned out perfect & it tastes soooo good,a great alternative to regular buttercream,im using it for my sons bday this weekend & the kids already love it (had to taste test it with the kids ;)Thank you so much.

siobhan: I have tried with a smaller batch but that was not a good idea to do. I think it has something to do with the amount of sugar/water and the cooking time for it. If you stil want to try, then do it with a handheld mixer and a smaller bowl. But im not sure that it will work though.

In fridge well covered 3 weeks.

Hi there – I tried this recipe and it is the BEST i have ever tried – thank you SO much – just 2 questions – how can i make a smaller batch? and, can i store this in the fridge and for how long?

thanks for all your help!

Jacqueline: Great 🙂

Kitty: All the flavors sounds yum.

Glidz: Good to hear.

Hi Louise,
I just wanted to thank you for sharing this recipe. I tried it just this weekend and it turned out great! I will be using this recipe for an upcoming birthday party next weekend. Thanks again and I love your website. I am so glad to have stumbled onto it. Keep up the great work!

Hi Louise,

Kitty from Perth, Australia here. I will NEVER use normal buttercream again. I made a batch of this and everyone that has tried it, is in love with it. It is just so silky without being overly sweet. We made; lemon curd; white chocolate; raspberry; chocolate (just with cocoa powder); orange cream cheese & vanilla. Every single one tasted perfect. I can’t thank you enough for posting this! :0)

You’re right, I made it again and it tastes just like ice cream…plus everyone just loved it! I will never make basic BC again. I also love the way it spreads!

Jacqueline: Swiss or IMBC is very close the same thing only with a few changes in how you make it. It depends on how much is buttery to you, I personal cant take the normal BC, but like IMBC so much more. Yes it has a buttery taste but there is a BIG difference in the taste, if you make it with unsalted butter. Imbc spread just as smooth and softly as swiss.

Lee: Yep, it is the most gorgeous buttercream 🙂

Hi Louise,

I have been a long time lurker and fan, and today I finally got around to trying to make IMBC and I have one word for you! WOW! What gorgeous buttercream, will definitely be my favoured BC from now on.

I used pausterised egg whites and followed your instructions to the letter and it came out perfect! I was a bit skeptical at the beginning when i add the syrup and it just like like a puddle of white liquid but once i added the butter it was great!

Thanks a million!

Thank you for

Hello, I just recently made SMBC and it tasted very buttery to me almost like eating softened butter, I realized after the fact that I had used salted butter. I’m going to attemp the IMBC but was wondering will it have the same strong butter taste as the SMBC. I have been using the basic BC (icing sugar, butter, short ing) and don’t really prefer it. Now that I have a KA mixer I want to switch to SMBC/IM. The Swiss spread so beautiful and smooth, loved it! Just a lil uneasy about overly buttery taste. Thanks

Carol: Yes, its YUM!

Hi Louise, I swear i have never tasted anything like this, It is the first time i have made it and i think im in love lol, It is delicious, thank you for sharing 🙂

dina: Im sorry but I dont know. Apparently pasturized egg products is not a common thing worldwide. I know that some use meringue powder and some just use raw eggwhites. Here in denmak we just dont use fresh eggwhites unless they are being used cooked, boiled or baked.

Have you seen the video from CakeLove at the end of the post? he talks about the use of raw eggwhites.

where do you find pastuarized egg whites? They are not sold in the grocery store here in Virginia.

Taz: I haave not tried it myself. But what you could do is to glue the image on a fondant disc. instead of placing it direct on the IMBC

Lorrine: It should be able to be stored outside for three days. It can be a bit sensitive when the weather is very varm and humid. For 1 night there should not be a problem if you have made your cut outs whit tylo powder or they are at least very very dry. They can go soft by beeing on the IMBC

Hi Louise,
Since fondant cannot be refrigerated, can I place fondant cut-outs on IMBC without refrgeration for 1 night, our weather in Malaysia is hot & humid ?

Hi – thanks for posting this wonderful recipe!!

I was wondering if you could you use an edible image with IMBC?

Hope to hear from you soon!! Thanks sooooo much! 🙂

Anne: pasturized eggwhites is liquid, some does use meringue powder but there can be a small difference in the taste of it. Most american makes it with either fresh eggwhites or meringue powder. But due to the risk of salmonella infection I always use pasteturized eggwhites.

Hello,
I am dying to try this recipe! Just wondering about the pasteurized eggwhites… is that the same as meringue powder?

Thank you! 🙂

Cynthia: Great to hear that the plastic guard can be used as well. Because it is soo messy 🙂

Nofi: You can use your HM only be prepared that the mixing can take long. I would use the wire beaters for the HM.

Hi Louise,

I don’t have a Kitchen Aid mixer (K.A) – it’s on my wish list for Christmas =P.. so I’m confused what to use using my hand mixer (H.M)..

Whisk on K.A = whisk on H.M? (there’s only 1 in the box)
Paddle on K.A = dough hook on H.M?

Can I use the wire beaters (H.M)?

Thank you for all of your recipes. I love it.

Loved this icing! I made two batches and the second one I put the plastic guard on my bowl (Kitchen Aid stand mixer) while whipping the meringue and it was much less messy. I still used the towel but my mixer was less coated in goo! I used 1/2 t vanilla and 1/2 t coconut to go on pineapple and coconut flavored cake for luau party.

Tashia: At the moment I only have a cake stand gallery with the readers cake stands. Im glad that you liked the mmf & IMBC 🙂

What a great site Louise! I have been glued to your blog and comments over the last couple of days in my first attempt at MMF and IMBC and wow was it helpful! I have succesfully made both and the cake looks great! Thanks for your time that you put into this to help all of us out! Is there are way to post pictures of made cakes or view other cakes that have been made by other bloggers? Just curious! Thanks a lot!

Just to let you know Elma, I managed to salver it by popping in the fridge for 10mins before whipping on full speed for 5mins

Hi Elma, I just had the exact same thing happen – after I added the syrup it went gorgeous and glossy and thick but as soon as butter was added its become soupy and bitty I’v just put in fridge for 10mins and am gonna beat again and see what happens – I hope I can save it!!

hi louse,

sory to say that i did that i put the whole thing in the fridge for a day then i whip it again but its still soupy, i gave up but thanks anyway.

Elma: If it turns liquid or like cottage cheese then put the whole thing including whiskers in the refrigerator to get cold. Then you can whip it up smoothe again. Its can go wrong. You just need to whip whip whip.

You can use meringue powder but the exact amount I dont know. I think someone have written it in one of the comments.

and a follow-up, do you know how to use meringue powder instead of eggwhites? if so, how much meringue powder will i use for this recipe? its such a waste if i dont use it? where can i use it anyway?

hi louise,
:(, i made this last weekend, it didn’t turn out as yours, it became soggy when i added the butter. i used an ordinary mixer, that’s all i have, when i beat the eggwhites and sugar syrup it was ok, foamy and all but when i add the butter it became liquid…how i wish i didnt add the butter. it gone to waste…what did i do wrong? pls help.

Theresa: It is devine, but im not sure that it would hold up for 6-8 hours unrefrigerated of course depending on how warm the room temp is. I would contact the local health dep. just to be on the safe side.

What you maybe do at home may not be wise if you are selling your cupcakes.

Jessica: Thank you for that.

just a comment on cooking the sugar syrup: the lower the temperature under the syrup, the longer it will cook. and the longer sugar cooks, the more caramelization you get. you always want to cook sugar on high heat!

I have a drean to open a cupcake shop and have always used ABC. This recipe sounds divine. After making and icing cupcakes if I use pasturized egg whites are they fine to sit in a unrefrigerated case for 6-8 hours and will they hold up.

Angie: Please read Inblooms comment I think there is help on the way 🙂

I just made this recipe for the very first cake I’ve ever made, and it worked perfectly! Thanks so much for the clear and concise directions. I really appreciate everything on your site — thanks for all that you do!

I can’t believe I was successful with the IMBC the first try! It must be easy. I have a cheap mixer without the whisk or paddle attachment for one. I also cut the recipe in half as I wasn’t going to be using this batch really, just trying it out. With half the recipe, the 7 min. was too long and my syrup turned to sugar again so I did that part over and the second time around I just waited until it was syrupy … and I though oh no way is this gonna work – and it did! My husband who hates sweet stuff tried it and was like “Oh my God, don’t ever make that other stuff (BC) again”. YEA! I’m new to all of this but loving it and your blog will be one of my favorites. Thanks!!!

Thank you for the great directions and pictures! I don’t usually like buttercream, but I think I’ll love this. I just tried this recipe and after a few tries, I couldn’t get it to work. It finally dawned on me what I did wrong…I was thinking that I wanted to try a smaller amount first, so I cut the recipe in half, but that wouldn’t work with the same boiling times, would it? I kept ending up with rock candy mixed with egg whites. Do you suggest that if I wanted to cut the recipe in half, that I should measure the temperature of the sugar syrup (and if so, what temperature). Or would you know what boiling times to use?

Dear Louise,

at first congratulations for your page, I have tried some recipes and they are delicious.

I have been looking for this recipe, I will try this today

wish me luck! 😀

Shanna: It is soo good to pipe. I dont think that this can be made any stiffer since you dont use icing sugar to make it.

I have tried several buttercream recipes and for some reason have failed miserably. It comes out so so. I made this recipe yesterday expecting to be throwing it all out and I made it PERFECT first attempt. It was light, fluffy, buttery and not over the top sweet like some buttercreams are. I didn’t try piping with it – I just spread it under a cake I was covering with fondant. Does this pipe well? It seems a little soft. Unless there is a way you can make this stiffer so it holds shape when piped. Excellent recipe and pictures. Thank you

Rani: Pasturized egg whites have been treated so that there are no risk of salmonella. I am most sure that I did read about a new product in the UK for pasturized egg whites. I think it was in one of the cake magazines that you can buy at your news stands. It is not in a powder form but liquid.

Hi Louise,

Fantastic post – thank you!! I live in the UK and i’m confused about the pasturised egg whites! Are these fresh eggs? Or a dried powder?? I really want to make these today and my supermarket Tescos had no idea what a pasturised egg was!!!

Thanks for you help!!

ilove making cakess! Yours look so delilouss!!!!!!!!! (:

Yes!!! that sounds Yummy!!!!
please let us know how it works out!!!
Thanks a bunch..

Bri: Was it melted white chocolate? Im so eager to try that out.

ana: I use this IMBC for covering cakes before fondant. It is fantastic to get a smooth surface better than regular buttercream. Note that you can only use the plain vanilla one and not one with fruit pure because that would melt the fondant.

I dont think that you can get anything better than IMBC…. well maybe chocolate ganache? Btw: Im going to try it with white melted chocolate soon. Yummy 🙂

Hello Louise!

I made this frosting for my mother’s birthday cake and I flavored it with white chocolate. It was delicious! Sweet but light. This might be my new favorite frosting.

Hi louise!!
Love this recipe.. I have tried it to cover cakes and cupcakes and pipe, it is delicious!!!! but, is this the same buttercream you use to cover cakes which you are going to cover with fondant too? If not can you share a buttercream recipe similar to this for fondant covered cakes that taste as good as this???

Thanks a buch!!!
Ana….

Teresa: 1) I would store the cupcakes in a airthight container. But do let a bit of the lid be open because the cupcakes can “condense” and get sticky.
2) you can use the IMBC right away, and if put in the fridge it will just harden but get soft again after 1-2 hours outside the fridge. 3) if you cover the cake the night before then just store it outside away from heat. If stored in the fridge the fondant will start to sweat when taking out of the fridge, but most cake do dry up nicely. Good luck!

Florence: Personally I would not use raw eggs but pasturized but thats because the danish health dep. do not recomend to use raw eggs if you can not be sure it is cooked properly. You can however use a meringue powder instead. For the covering of the cars cake I think that I would use fondant I love the look of fondant cakes.

Hola! Louise, I found your wonderfull page looking cake tips in general but now it was for a good and homemade buttercream, this one is exactly what I was looking for. Since I lived in Venezuela where the weather is always warm, and a little chili by November to February, and about the eggs we should be very carefull, therefore II wanted to be sure that eggs were cooked, I should taste how it will behave the butter and warm weather together. I am starting my business and I should deliver a Cars cake next wednesday for a school birthday. Do you think it would be a good idea to made it buttercrear or will be better a foundant since kids will be all around?
I want to thank you to provide people as me around the world with your knowledge about cake solutions.

Just had to read the questions and answers and all mine noe have been answered. I have a bowl over so in thje fridge it goes till thursday. Again Many Thanks Louise. PS: I love your blog

Hi Louise

I have just made this buttercream and it is brilliant. It will be my buttercream of choice from now on and it tastes great too. Many Thanks for the recipe. Simply the Best.

Wow! Louise, I am so impressed with this site and with you! I am new to baking and many of these terms I am just getting familiar with, so please forgive my questions if they seem silly. I would love to make a cupcake tower with cupcakes decorated with pink IMBC for my daughter’s birthday. But, still am not clear on a few points-(1) If I make the cupcakes first should I refrigerate them until ready to decorate or leave at room temp (I would only make them 1-2 days before) (2)Once I make the IMBC can I pipe it on to the cupcakes right away, and finally, once that is done (say the night before the party), can i store the decorated cakes in the fridge or will that ruin the IMBC? I also am considering making her own personal cake with the same BC then covering in MM fondant–have I learned correctly, that fondant should not go in the fridge after it is on the cake? If so, how should the cake be stored since it does have the BC under it??

I love this recipe for IMBC, i took a huge risk and tried it for the very first time on the morning that the 85 wedding cupcakes had to be delivered, Mmmm!!!! but i had a back up plan if it all went wrong.

I don’t have a kitchen aid mixer, so used my hand whisk,
i didn’t have a paddle, so used dough hooks,
and i didn’t have a metal bowl, so was concerned the hot sugar would melt my plastic bowl one.

But it all went perfect!!!, i flavoured one batch with lemon curd, and a second with peppermint and a hint of soft green colouring, the guests at the Champagne house wedding reception were raving about them and i distributed a few left overs to my local fan club for free advertising.

Thanks so much C x

lmn: Sorry to hear that you could not save it. It should have worked when you chill it. did you use the whisk or the paddle when whipping?

I find it best to use the paddle before you add the butter. I hope that you have better luck next time.

I’m so sad – I tried this recipe for my daughter’s birthday cake and just could not get it to come together. I used egg white powder since my eggs were not pasteurized and got a nice merengue but when I added the butter it was very soupy. I thought maybe it was too warm so put it in the freezer to firm up a bit before whipping again but it never came together despite numerous chill/whip sessions (over an hour of whipping in total!)- it stayed like cottage cheese and the liquid completely separated out. The taste is exactly what I’m looking for so I am hopeful I can get it to work another time. I ended up having to use the disgusting “American style buttercream” to frost and decorate the cake.

Kelly: I have not really tried this in very warm weather yet. I think that I would go on the safe side and use regular shortning buttercream.

Hi! I’m really excited to give this frosting a try.

I was wondering though, will this hold up on a warm day better than the more simple buttercream frosting recipes? I’m making a wedding cake for my sister whose reception is going to be outdoors in a covered area in Washington (state). Its supposed to be anywhere from 85-high 90’s that day. She is insistent on having a buttercream frosting. Should be we ok?

Cinderella: Yes it can, see above photo 🙂

aileenlnbh: I have never made a two toned cupcake. But the way you describe it the you go and make them.

Cherrie: That is the best of IMBC. You can always beat it perfect again.

Well, on my second attempt this worked, and I am sooo glad I attempted it again. Here in Australia, the humidity can be quite high and causes havoc with temperature. My meringue mix was perfect until I added the butter and it turned to soup, then I added more and it curdled. I placed my bowl in a larger bowl of iced water and kept whipping it – voila – it turned out perfect!

hi louise. this is divine. gonna post some cuppie pics i made with this to my flickr that you can see soon. pps have you ever done the swirl on a cuppie that is two different colours – babycakesnz has one just a little scroll down on her main blog page – is it just filling the piping bag on one side with this and then the other side with say the raspberry version – do you have any pics of this ? thanks 🙂

Hi Louise,
I was just wondering if this is the recipie with wich you cover your cupcakes?
As in, can this mixture be piped onto cupcakes, then withstand sugar flowers and so on?
Thank you so so so much,
Your cakes are an inspiration and though I am only 20, I have been baking for many years and have yet to find cakes that look half as good as yours!

Maui: I am pretty sure that you need the sugar syrup to make the thick glossy meringue for the IMBC.

Question for those who used egg white powder: since making the sugar syrup is just to “cook” the meringue to make sure the egg whites are safe, should you make the sugar syrup still, since you used egg white powder instead of egg whites?

Nancy: I keep mine IMBC for 1 week in the refrigerator but you can also freeze it. You should be able to pipe flowers, they do in the Whimsical bakehouse book.

Hi, I just made this and it is wonderful. Someone tried it and said it was a little bit of heaven. My question is How long will it last , can it go in the refrigerator and can you make flowers with it. I heard that once you try this you won’t go back to the other buttercreme. Thanks so much for the recipe.

just tried it it works perfectly, ur awesome!!

dpotter: Great news!!! I will edit the post and write a note that it can work with egg white powder aswell. Thank you for the info.

hey there, just to let you know i made this today using meri-white powder and it turned out great, and tasted yummy…… as ive never made it before ive nothing to compare it to but its definately a winner!!!!!!!

thank you so much for sharing it ……..

Manetta: I have not tried, but I asked a friend who said that some use it but that it can give a funny taste afterwards.

Can Meringue Powder be a substitute for egg whites?

dpotter: The story is that we here in denmark dont use fresh eggwhites if we aren’t sure that they have been properly cooked.

I have not tried meri-white for IMBC though. I have for royal icing though.

Try the dough prongs first. If it dont work then just use the whisks.

and while im here,i only have a mixer with different attachments, i have a dough( 2x single prongs) would this be the same as a paddle and the others would be the same a whisk maybe…….

not explaining myself well am i!!!!

this just looks amazing!!!!! whats the story with pasturized egg whites, im from ireland and cannot find such a thing, was gonna try meri-white powder, have you ever used it?

thanks for all your help

Caroline P: well there is not only Italian but also: Swiss and French to make it even more confusing. So I found this interesting reading online http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-buttercream.htm

For flavoring I like : vanilla, raspberry, lemon, lemon curd, coffee and chocolate.

What makes it Italian?
Just curious!
THANK YOU!
And Also…
What flavoring would you say goes the best with this?
Vanilla or other?

Andrea: I have not had that problem after it was made and it needed a re whip. I just use the paddle and beat it on low speed. The good thing is that it can almost anytime be saved if it seperates.

I dont warm it up.

I made it and it was awesome. My girlfriend made it as well and just took hers out of the fridge and let it come to room temp. She started to mix it and it got all separated. She did not wait long enough to see if it would go back to normal. She gave up. Mine is in the fridge now and I am scared it will be ruined. Do I wait until room temp to put in mixer, then put on high? Or some websites are saying you have to warm up the buttercream while it is mixing with a blow torch on the outside of the bowl? Is that necessary?

Kavita: Sorry but no it wont work with a whisk.

Hi Louise, brilliant tutorial as always!

Quick question – I dont have a mixer or electirc whisk…can i whisk with a normal whisk?

Thanks!
Kavita

Princess: You can half the recipe if you like but the sugar syrup cooking time is still the same.

Line: Mmmmm I have not tried that yet 🙂

Also made it with a hand mixer today 🙂 and flavoured it with homemade strawberry puré. it was hard work but sooo good 🙂

Thanks a lot for such precise instructions! Most of the recipes do not mention the time required for the sugar syrup to reach the desired stage and instead recommend using a candy thermometer which I haven’t been successful finding yet :(.. So your recipe is a real find for me – just one question – if I want to make just half the quantity of buttercream, I assume I would just halve the ingredients – does the time taken for the sugar syrup to get done remain the same even then or do I need to adjust it? I plan to make this cake for my husband’s birthday next week and I would be really grateful if you could help me out with this query before that

Saludos :se ve suave , cremoso y con volumen , voy a probarlo.
me parece muy bien que enseñen estas recetas ya que nos ayudan tanto
Muchas gracias por la magnifica receta

Sonal: I always use three days when making cake. 1st day for baking, 2nd for splitting/filling and maybe decorate, 3rd for decorating and or eating.

I have not tried to let the IMBC stay out for long so I had to ask a friend and we came to 4-6 hours maybe longer. But again I have not tried it.

hi, thanks for the wonderful recipe, i did try this out. i have a qs though. i have iced my cake with thd buttercream, now do i need to refrigerate it? i plan to lay fondanr over it too. how long will the cake with this buttercream last if left outside the fridge? thanks. i need to know because how many days in advance i can prepare the cake before i deliver it! thank you again!

Tara: It can work with a handheld and I am glad that you like the IMBC. also thank you for the tips 🙂

Awesome! Thank you so much for posting the recipe! I just made cup cakes and iced them with the IMBC and I can barely stop from eating them before the NYE party!

I made mine using a hand mixer and it didn’t take any longer to make than your recipe said – i used the whisk attachment and then in place of the paddle attachment i used the regular beaters.

My only tip for people using hand mixers is to make sure you use the biggest bowl you’ve got to counteract the splatter! And also make sure you keep wiping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula!

Thanks again for this yummy recipe! I think it will surely become my favourite icing!

Michelle: YEAH!!! its really nice and soo good. Im glad that you like the way I make the tutorials thanks.

WOW! I’ve never tried IMBC before this but it is now my favorite icing! I too went through the soupy stage (5-10 minutes in the refrigerator to cool it took care of the problem) as well as the “cottage cheese” problem once I started mixing it out of the fridge. But I just kept the mixer going on high and in just a few minutes I had the lightest, smoothest, creamiest icing I’ve ever had!

Thank you so much, Louise, for this recipe! I was amazed at HOW accurate your step by step instructions are! Perfect!

Kris: Im not sure how I get that prize on your blog.

Siri: Yes if its to runny it need refrigerating. Its a dream to pipe with.

Audrey: I have not tried it myself but I dont think so 🙁

I just made your mmf recipie and now I finished the IMBC and I love it!! I don’t really like buttercream, but this tastes just great! I was wondering if it is possible to make it stiffer, so that I can use it for piping? It came out a bit to “runny”. It will probably become a bit better after refridgerating, so I’ll see tomorrow. I do regret only making half a portion though… Might have to make more later!

A prize for you, “fantasia”. Compliments for your blog!

Can’t wait to try out the recipe but it’s very hot and humid here in Malaysia. How many days can IMBC keep at room temperature (around 30C) without spoiling? The traditional buttercream of butter and icing sugar can keep around 4 days but is too sweet for most of my family.

Dorothy: THX

Lara: well yes I guess it is. Pure albumen is dried egg white powder. You will be needing 250 mls to get 1 cup = 10 eggwhites

CakeBreak: It is all normal. But I think that in all IMBC dont like hot weather 🙁

So far I have not tried the cottage cheese stage yet. But it can most of the times be “saved” by whipping it up again.

I made this IMBC and I did go through the cottage cheese stage and I was very disappointed, but I kept the mixer running and it turned out to be wonderful cream, it tasted like ice cream. But it does not hold well where I am at South Florida. If I have left overs, then I have to whip it again after taking out of refrigerator or freezer and it will go through the cottage cheese stage again and then become smooth cream. Is that normal?

Is pasturised egg white the same as pure albumen? Your recipe states :
1 cup of eggwhites (10) .
How much in grams/mls is this please? I am in the UK.
Many thanks – can’t wait to make some. It sounds delicious.
I love receiving your emails!

thanks for the tutorial! you’re super helpful!!

Theresia: I store it in the refrigeator for up to 2 weeks, or you can freeze it. Either way you need to bring it back to room temprature and then whip it smoothe.

You can make it by using a hand mixer. It just takes long and your hand might get tired…. But it can work.

Dear Louise,
Thank you for sharing the IMBC recipe and the tutorial. I search alot of recipes about IMBC and most of them was fail.

How to store the IMBC?, is it possible to make IMBC using hand mixer?

I love buttercream. Sweet Dessert

Becky: yep! It supports really well. But we dont have the heat that you do. But try it. Normally I would make bc from half icing sugar/half butter for crumbcoating but when I can have the lovely IMBC under fondant then I will go for this alltime.

Good idea! I will try the unsalted butter; it is much milder.
Yeah…eating it out of the bowl…guilty!!!
Oh…you use the IMBC and then cover it with fondant? It supports the fondant well enough?

Becky: Fantastic!!!!!
I think you were right on the too soft butter problem.
I would not use shortning in this. If using the unsalted butter the butter taste is not that powerful like if it was salted butter. You could maybe try adding lemon flavouring to it??? Regular buttercream is to much for me. With this I could eat it out of the bowl… lol.

WOW!!! Thanks, Louise…in the *maybe* 5 or 10 minutes from when I posted my comment, the IMBC chilled in the fridge. I took it out, whipped it up, and…voila! Perfection! I think my butter was too soft. I let it get to room temperature, which here in Texas, is 80 degrees. My room temperature is a little warmer than normal 🙂
Thank you SO MUCH for the advice!
Due to oversampling while making this, I now have a sugar/butter high. I absolutely hate using vegetable shortning, but I wonder if it would cut the strong butter taste if my family isn’t thrilled?
P.S. NIckey’s comment helped, but mine never reached the “cottage cheese” step, as it was only in the fridge 5 or 10 minutes, tops.
Now…on to the fondant cupcakes 🙂

Becky: No I have not tried this problem but just cool it and then whip it up again. It will come together in the end. Try and read Nickey’s comment above.

OK, mine turned soupy as well, but it didn’t turn soupy until I added the butter!!! >:( I had a lovely whipped meringue even after I added the hot sugar mixture, but when the butter was added, it turned to soup. It’s in my fridge now…has this ever happened to you?

Carmen: Thank you

thanks for all
your recipe is perfect
your cake are wonderful

Susieshomemade: I know but I had ny troubles with it ;o)

angela: The IMBC wont settle hard unless you store it in the fridge. I dont think that this taste like cold butter more like sweet cream.

Gis: he he…

mrs K: well with the “bad” eggwhites mine turned into thin milk and I just didn’t bother to try get it to ´get it thick. I was just so happy when it worked out with the new eggwhites.

Jill: here in Denmark the food and health dep. advice us to use psturized egg products if it will not be cooked over 167F. So thats why I only use pasturized eggs. I have heard that some says the meringue will be cooked though when the syrup is added. Did you see the cakelove podcast?? he talk about it aswell.

Teri: great to hear that you like it

Lisa: i have seen the Dyann SMBC and i think it is the same thing only made in a different way. I just love how nice it is to coat the cake with before fondant.

margaret: Pasturized egg whites have been heated up so there will be no risk of salmonella ect.. I always use pasturized egg products when I want to be sure that I wont get sick of using “raw” eggs. It will still 1 cup if you use the pasturized eggwhites.

Nickey: thanks for the info :o)

adetutu: Your welcome.

Marie: Great to hear. This is also my new favourite frosting from now on. I just love the silky texture.

Emily S: jep same here….

Jessica N: it will not crust but it is pipeable.

Rena: Good to hear.

Thank you so much for posting the recipe and directions. I just made it and it is perfectly lovely.

Will this butter cream crust? And can I pipe it?

I was completely against regular buttercream until I started using this recipe about a year ago. Everyone flips out over it!

Louise,

I’ve got to tell you that this is the most delicious IMBC I’ve ever had. The directions are so well laid out and easy to follow. After decorating my cake, I put it in the refrigerator and even after letting it get cold, this icing melts in your mouth. Creamy, soft and delicious! Thanks so much for the recipe, I’ll be using it often.

Marie

Thanks for the merrigue butter cream, I will try it.
Thanks for all the tips in making it.

Hey Louise,

I’m offten using this IMBC from the whimsical bakehouse. Everyone is loving it! You can keep it for a longer period in the refrigerator, ad all sorts of flavors and it has a lovely texture……. Just whip it up again after getting it from the fridge, it first gets like cottage cheese, but just continue whipping (you can put the bowl in a bit of warm water to speed it up) and it gets fluffy again!
It doesn’t taste like butter, it’s creamy….its delicious!

Thanks for your good tips, love reading your blogg!

Nickey

Hello Louise -what is pasturized egg whites and if we are using latter, what is the amount?

tks.

margaret

margban@gmail.com

Hi Louise
Thanks for that. I will definitely try it out. I made the Swiss Meringue on Saturday (Dyann’s version) for my daughter’s birthday cake and it turned out awesome!!!! I couldn’t believe how smooth and creamy it turned out, I found it so easy to make as well!! The IMBC seems very similar to the SMBC.
I covered it in the IMBC first, then covered it in fondant.
For those of you who want to have a looksie at my first attempt at a fondant cake, here’s a link to my facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1388568&l=5eaf9&id=533706455
Cheers and thanks again Louise, you’re a champ!!

Hi Louise,
I love the texture!!! Thank you for your great instructions and photos! You are always so helpful and inspiring!!

Jill, the hot sugar cooks the egg whites. Or if you’re worried, use pasturized egg whites.

Aloha!!

Hi Lousise
I subscribed to your posts a while back, but it’s only today that I actually paid attention the the e-mail I got! This recipe is PURE GENIUS!!! It tastes gorgeous. I just happened to bake a cake today and this buttercream was a life saver.
Thanks so much!
xxx
http://www.addicted2rainbowdrops.blogspot.com

I wish I had a bigger kitchen so I could try this. Its looks so good 🙂

oooops forgot to ask !!! Can I refrigerate leftovers??

Thanxx for posting now I’ll give it a try I’ve been afraid of trying this for sooo long.

Do you have to worry about salmonella with this recipe? I wouldn’t want to serve it to other people unless I was entirely sure that it was safe. I’ve read about how to heat up the meringue to kill off any germs, but it sort of defeats the whole timing thing with your very cool recipe….

I actually made a variation of this frosting this past weekend- the recipe I had had me heat the sugar to 245 degrees celcius and it got really soupy but I just kept beating it until cooled and had no problem with it coming back to life…I did learn a while back the trick was not to pour the butter right away (oops).

Oh and another flavor which was a huge hit this weekend- almond. It WAS really good.

OMG Lou, I get this emails early morning i get so hungry! I need cake!!
hihi 😀
Hugs!

Hello… thanks for the lovely instructions… it looks so easy!
Can you tell me though… once I have iced a cake do I have to refrigerate it, and if so, once i take it out of the fridge do I have to let it come back to room temp? I think I had cake once with this sort of icing and it reminded me so much of just eating cold butter — though I am not sure it was this sort – this looks lovely.

Thanks for the post! I have been looking for a recipe for this for a while:-)