LOVE this post! As a young mother, I learned the W_lton way of cake decorating using American buttercream and made all my children's cakes. A few year's ago I picked up one of Dede Wilson's books and my world was never the same. IMBC is now a staple for my cakes. I have tried the Swiss, but my eggs always seem to cook before the mixture reaches 160... Anyway, it was right back to IMBC for me. I teach food safety, so for me real egg whites were never even considered. I have tried both the meringue powder and the powdered egg whites. The only difference for me is that the powdered egg whites beat up to a fluffier meringue, at least in my humid climate in VA. I love the Vanilla Crush in this buttercream, and I don't care about the speckles- they prove I use the Real Thing ;P and FLAVOR comes first! My favorite flavor combination so far is to use the Vanilla Bean IMBC in between the layers of Vanilla Bean Cake, then to pipe a frosting dam around the outside edge of the cake and then add a layer of cool fresh home made strawberry freezer jam sandwiched in between the frosting and the next cake layer. Mmmmm... heaven! Wow, I want to eat cake at YOUR house! Susan

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