Should I use Italian meringue buttercream?

[wowihaveagardennow]

Hello MN and MN bakers!

I am planning on baking my DC's birthday cake (she is turning 1!) and I would love to try doing a vintage type cake (I've attached a photo). I'm super excited about it.

I've never iced a cake like this before.. however I do bake often, but they're generally nothing too fancy. And I ice lots of cupcakes but usually either regular buttercream or cream cheese frosting. And I've absolutely never made icing using egg whites before. I'm a bit intimidated by it to be honest. And so my questions are:

• To get the effect (smooth icing) on the cake, googling tells me Italian meringue buttercream is best. Has anyone used any other type of buttercream and had success achieving this look?
• is Italian meringue buttercream complicated to make? And will I need a free standing mixer?

And lastly, if you do have any advice on how to make good IMBC, I'd be very grateful if you shared any tips.you might have. Thank you!

Personally I find Swiss Meringue Buttercream easier to make, same effect but not as much need of a sugar thermometer. Secondly yes I do believe you need a stand mixer for either of the meringue buttercreams, might be possible with a hand one but you're in for a long time standing there mixing and it's a bit lacking in power for the amount and speed of mixing required. To be honest a bit of practice piping is needed to get that sort of finish regardless of the icing used, a meringue buttercream is smoother than a standard type but that finish is more about the expertise of the decorator than the medium used.