I have to say I’m very lucky as from the very first time - I’ve not experienced problems with the mousseline! It is a breeze to make, and now I know the recipe by heart!
I think a few key pointers - you must use a thermometer, follow Rose’s instructions in detail (the egg whites will reach the correct peaks in sync with the syrup - I assure you), and don’t be impatient - allow the egg whites to cool sufficiently before adding the butter.
I really should be working on a cake for this evening, but needed a break…..
For grins and chuckles, I make IMBC in my 20 qt Hobart on a daily basis. Some days I go through 40+# of butter in just a morning.
The batch size is: 30.5 oz whites in the bowl; 10.5 oz sugar for the whites when they are ready. 1# 4 oz of water, with 1# 15.5 oz sugar in a pot. 6# butter I don’t beat the butter first.
In school, we learned to pour the sugar syrup directly from the pot into the beaten whites. We also learned that if the syrup was ready before the whites, to add some water to the pot to buy more time for the whites. The temp of the syrup is more an indication of how much water has evaporated and that the syrup is at the right concentration for the recipe. So if you have a Oh No moment when you realize you haven’t added the sugar to the whites yet, and your thermometer is reading 239 - add a little bit more water to your boiling sugar!
Hi, this thread is so helpful. I have an idea! After whipping the egg whites for the MBC with the KitchenAid, why not lift up the mixer, remove the whisk, and add the sugar syrup to the KA bowl using a hand mixer? Then you could return the KA whisk for the butter addition. I haven’t tried this yet, just wanted to throw it out there.
One other idea off the top of my head triggered by this thread… Rose, it would be so neat if your new books referenced several url’s to YouTube or something similar showing a short video of you demonstrating each of your different recipes or techniques. You could refer to the book for the ingredients and measurements so the videos couldn’t be used in place of the book, and people happening upon the videos would want to go out and buy the book! Just think how amazing it would be for us readers to have such quick and easy access to a demonstration by Rose! Think Martha Stewart—how her show references her magazine and website and vice versa. This could be the next wave of the future.
Oh, never mind the second idea. I just realized that people would start posting the recipes and ingredients with the video. Maybe one day in the future we will be able to download short demonstations on this site. In the meantime, these forums are wonderful.
Deona,
I can’t tell by your post if you know, but there will be a video demonstration DVD with the new cake book. Were you talking about putting clips from this DVD on youtube? I agree that a few would be great “viral video” marketing.
I too have had trouble with MBC. The first time I made it, it went all gritty ugly on me. I had used organic “European style” butter so I had like $15 worth of butter committed. I like totally panicked. In desperation I resorted to an egg yolk. In a small double boiler it wisked one egg yolk until it was @160 then I drizzled it into the mixer while it was running and voila! The sloggy messed turn all smooth and silky in seconds. I probably lost some volume but it was a perfectly acceptable MBC. I probably didn’t have to “cook” the yolk but I was worried it might color the MBC and the wisking turned it a nice lemony color.
Hmm, thats interesting. I’ve never heard of doing that before. I’ll have to keep it in mind if beating the crap out of it fails to produce results in a future batch. Thanks!
The first time I made IMBC, it was great, the second after that… well it always seems to soup, but I agree that it is a temperatur thing. As Julius mentiones, it creams together well after they get to same temps.
BTW, I use a whisk for the whites AND to whisk in the butter, have I been wrong in doing this???
BTW Holly, did you say you pay $8 for butter? Is that for a pound?? I don’t know what everyone pays, but the most I’ve paid is $1.89/lb in California. I know if I go to Safeway or similar I will pay about $4/lb, but I found a local store that sells for small local restaurants. they have wholesale type prices for the general public. Still a little higher than maybe a higher volume bakery, but good for those of us who don’t produce as much.
Maybe you can hunt one down?!
Uncooked Egg whites. It always worries me a little to use uncooked eggs. A food safety friend of mine is just horrified at the idea. She says eggs shells are covered in horrible bacteria. So when I do use recipes with uncooked eggs I wash the eggs in mild soap before I crack them. Does anyone else take this precaution and do those of you who make cakes as professionals get any flack from health departments about this issue?
Well, I sometimes do wash the shell before cracking them especially when making IMBC. I have taken the serv safe clases, they arre really helpfull, not only does it gross you out, but informs on how to keep everything sanitary as possible. I’m just as paranoid, but remember that the sugar actually pasteurizes the eggs so it makes them safe to eat.
To pasteurize you need only to bring the egg temp to 140degrees (i think that’s the temp). Egg shells are pasteruized in the same manner. It’s all about temp. I have even checked the temp of the meringue once I pour in the syrup (i pour from the heat directly to meringue I don;t let it sit at all) and checked the temp and it reaches the 140.
Also, for recipes that call for “raw” eggs, you can pasteurize by using a bain marie. STir/whisk and they are heating and remove from heat as soon as it reaches 140, anything higher and you get scrambled aggs. It seems complicated, but it’s not really and with practice, it becomes a no brainer.
