I am about three miles from the Mexican border in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. The nearest major town is Mcallen...and Brownsville is about 35 miles away. San Antonio or Corpus Christi are over 2 hours away. I cannot find high ratio shortening locally and cannot afford to pay the steep shipping costs to get shortening delivered here to cacti country. There is no GFS, and I am not able to find a local rest. supply place for anything other than equipment. There are two cake decorating stores, both only carry minimal stuff...all being Wilton stuff. (I can't take decorating courses at either as they don't speak English, lol! Had to settle for Michaels, which was fine...)

I did buy some Alpine and had it shipped(was ordering cookie cutters and thought what the heck?) The icing was fab...everyone raved. Can I get the same taste/result from Crisco? How about the no-name brand from WalMart?

Is anyone using the Sugarshack recipe with Crisco or other shortening and having success? I appreciate any help.

Hi
I haven't tried sugarshacks recipte yet but I did make indydeb's buttercream and it was fabulous. It calls for crisco so thats what I used. It went on nice and smooth, crusted well, and I also used for decorating just a little stiffer batch. Hope this helps.

I actually used it with some cheapo brand( just looked it up and it was called American Value from Harris Teeter so I'm sure the WM brand would work too-it was like $2.97 and it was fine. Now, it wasn't in the heat of summer so that could make a difference but for October, it didn't melt or anything. HTH, Terri

I've found that the grocery store brands work just as well. As a matter of fact I prefer the store brand to the name brand version of shortening. If you'll look on the labels the store brands usually have trans fat and the name brands usually don't. Trans fat brands always seem to hold better for me. And it's less expensive too!!!

I have used her recipe with high ratio and with crisco. The high ratio makes a big difference as far as smoothness. I can't afford it all the time so I use crisco more often. When I used the high ratio the buttercream looked as smooth as fonadant.

I just got Hi ratio for the first time., had to try it with all the talk here.......I am in love!!!! HUGE difference with smoothness. I thought the Crisco and off brands were fine, before I knew any better, but they are gritty in comparison. I cannot afford the Hi Ratio all the time Sad when you know what you are missing. IMO Sugar Shacks recipe just isn't the same without it.

I've made 3 batches this afternoon with Crisco and I've got 2 more to go but me AND my mixer needed a little break. I tried SugarShack's icing with CK brand hi ratio but I wasn't thrilled with it for the price of that shortening. I haven't bought Sweetex yet as I live in the south and when I was trying to order it online, it was still hot and they wouldn't deliver.

I think it's okay with Crisco, especially it no one knows any better. However, I would like a little less grittiness which, from what I read, the Sweetex would give me.

Last week, I made a practice cake for my wedding next week and took it to work. I was trying out my new Magic line pans, made WASC cake and SugarShacks icing made with Crisco, vanilla and creme bouquet. Everyone just loved it and thought the icing was great. One co-worker took some home to her husband, a self-defined "cake critic" and he wouldn't stop eating long enough to comment. Then, she said he went on and on about how moist the cake was, the icing was perfect, etc., etc.

So, after all of that, I feel okay about making SugarShack's icing with Crisco. Once I finally get some Sweetex, I might change my mind but if Crisco is all you can get, go for it. It will be fine.

JanH as usual you are a godsend with all of the information you refer us to. Thanks so much for all you do for CC!!!

Yep, Jan, you are a saint for always taking the time to explain stuff to us newbies!

Thank you all for your suggestions. I have some more experimentation to do and more recipes to try!

thanks jan! i wonder how that one with flour works... it's kinda weird... you won't be able to taste the flour?

MissRobin...yep, we are close to Alamo...there is a Barnes and Nobel in Alamo that I go to grab a java and drool over all the cake books! We are "retired" too and altho we are normally traveling in our RV, we are off the road taking care of dh's dad who will be 92 this month! Oh just love the retirement communities....

I was bored to death so I started a Wlton class at Michaels and now I am hooked. Hubby hates it...says the house is like always covered in PS...oh well

It is 91 and sunny today...and the ever present winds are howling.
If you do come to see your mom, let me know...just pm me and maybe I'll still be here playing with cakes!

I do use Mexican vanilla, but right now, nobody is going over the border...too much violence...just down the road from your Mom in Reynosa, there was a GUN BATTLE on the bridge...yikes!

So for right now, I am using Wilton's...

Hey I did try the WalMart stuff and it was ok!