524342 Sat May 31 08:05:33 -0700 2008 3 31 Home Cooking 0 3736995 My italian merigue buttercream seems a little soft. Making a cake for a friend's shower (mojito pound cake). Everything seemed to go fine as I was making it. My beaten egg whites were stiff. I thought I had the sugar syrup to the right temp. Could it have been a little too cool? I let the meringue mixture cool as I was whipping it, so I don't think that was it. It was ok to use and I frosted the cake with it. But it is soft, not stiff and I'm wondering what went wrong for future use. My main hypothesis is that maybe the sugar syrup was a few degrees off. I was measuring it with the thermometer but maybe I was measuring the temp of the bottom of the pan and not the syrup. Any ideas? The cake recipe came from this link: http://erincooks.com/2008/05/19/cakelove-mojito-pound-cake/ (Parenthetically, a couple of interesting things about the cake itself. It has some potato starch in it. Why? And it is supposedly important to refrigerate it for at least 4 hours before frosting. I would think that would make it dry. Again, why? I just followed the recipe. I guess the proof will be in the eating.) Sat May 31 08:05:34 -0700 2008 123744 karykat 1 3737174 Ive never made a Mojito cake but the chilling will stiffen it up, making for easier handling. If the frosting is too soft to handle you can always beat in a 1/4 C of powdered sugar. Do it slowly, as it will occasionally stiffen up faster then you expected. Sat May 31 09:32:18 -0700 2008 3736995 22220 Kelli2006 1 3783434 According to my cake decorating instructor, Susan Holtz, you MUST calibrate your thermometer before making the sugar syrup. You must boil water first, take its temperature as soon as it starts to boil. If it boils at anything other than 212 degrees Farenheit, you must factor the difference into the reading when you boil the water to make the syrup. Sun Jun 15 22:28:28 -0700 2008 3736995 196419 Kate is always hungry 1 3783505 Potato starch is low in gluten. It will contribute tenderness and a finer crumb to the cake. Sun Jun 15 23:55:19 -0700 2008 3736995 10756 PBSF