Buttercream Or Crisco-Cream?

Decorating By crazycakes-eu Updated 20 Jun 2014 , 3:30pm by AnnieCahill

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crazycakes-eu Posted 11 May 2010 , 2:12pm
post #1 of 57

I am new to this site, only joined today, after looking through the site i have found it interesting that alot use crisco instead of butter in their buttercream, doesn't this taste funny? i am from england, we don't use crisco as a rule here. Not that i have heard?? I have always used full butter to give a lovely creamy taste, and surely it can only be called buttercream if there's butter in it? i would be interested in why so many use crisco and what the difference is, and if i should try it out? thanks x

56 replies
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tesso Posted 11 May 2010 , 2:21pm
post #2 of 57

hi, and welcome to CC.

I used to use Crisco. I live in a very humid, hot state and i just felt better about using crisco, to keep my designs from melting or losing shape. Real buttercream has not been good to me icon_sad.gif However, I just switched to Sweetex instead of crisco. It doesnt leave a greasy feel in your mouth. and it holds it's desing shapes beautifully.

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luvbuttercream Posted 11 May 2010 , 2:21pm
post #3 of 57

I only use butter. I think it tastes way better and I don't care that it doesn't crust like Crisco (shortening) does. Sometimes it is about taste.
luvbuttercream (aka CustomCreationsCupcakes)

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LindaF144a Posted 11 May 2010 , 2:28pm
post #4 of 57

I use butter too. But I am not a cake designer who has to deal with all those elements. I bake for my family enjoyment.

On the Mother's Day cake I made I used SMBC for the frosting and piping. The flowers were made of the Wilton icing recipe which used Crisco. And that was because I had it made up for my class and it does dry to some degree to be able to make them ahead of time. I didn't eat them, but my kids did.

I want to get some hi-ratio shortening some day and I am learning how to use RI in my class. So I may switch to that for flowers like I made of my cake.

I too was surprised to find out that butter cream did not necessarily mean butter. icon_lol.gif

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elliespartycake Posted 11 May 2010 , 2:30pm
post #5 of 57

I agree with luvbuttercream, it's all about taste. Would you rather eat fat from a can or would you rather eat sweet creamy butter???? Give me butter any day. It can be more difficult to work with in the hotter climates/seasons, but with care (and refrigeration) you can do it.

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jennbrownrigg Posted 11 May 2010 , 2:32pm
post #6 of 57

I use half butter, half shortening. It gives the nice creamy butter taste but a little more stability.

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leah_s Posted 11 May 2010 , 2:33pm
post #7 of 57

I really don't like the taste of the all butter buttercremes, and I certainly don't like their performance. I use Alpine, not Crisco. (Crisco is a brand name.)

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Maria925 Posted 11 May 2010 , 2:35pm
post #8 of 57

I use both, but I love the flavor of all butter best. I actually have a friend who prefers the shortening one...huh???? But I live in Florida and have done cakes for outdoor parties and I just trusted the shortening recipe. Has anyone ever done a mixture of the two? I'm curious how that would turn out!

The hi-ratio stuff is new to me as a hobbyist, so I'm eager to learn more about that as I keep seeing it referenced on various posts.

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Maria925 Posted 11 May 2010 , 2:35pm
post #9 of 57
Quote:
Originally Posted by jennbrownrigg

I use half butter, half shortening. It gives the nice creamy butter taste but a little more stability.




Oh...that answers that question...LOL!

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mamawrobin Posted 11 May 2010 , 2:45pm
post #10 of 57

I use shortening based buttercream 99.9% of the time. It's extremely hot and humid where I live and butter doesn't work for me. I do use one receipe that uses half butter half shortening but very seldom. I prefer the stability of an all shortening based bc.

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mariana7842731 Posted 11 May 2010 , 2:48pm
post #11 of 57

i used sweteex one time. worked great, but when i went to do the cleanup and saw how it virtually would not melt and it was hard to wash off of my supllies, it made me think about what it does to your insides. ack!

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Manotas Posted 11 May 2010 , 3:03pm
post #12 of 57

I use half and half and add meringue powder so it crusts. I live in Canada, so most of the time I don't have issues with hot and humid weather . However, in the summer months I use indydebi's Crisco based butter cream, it tastes way better than the plain Crisco one.

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Melvira Posted 11 May 2010 , 3:06pm
post #13 of 57

I also use hi-ratio shortening and adore it. It's stable, easy to work with, and I add enough flavorings, etc. that it does NOT taste like grease like it definitely CAN if not prepared well. I agree about not liking the taste of butter based buttercreams, and that's really saying something because I can almost eat butter straight off the butter dish! Me and Paula Deen, butter babies!! And I am not a fan of the meringue buttercreams either. I'm a true midwest-American! But my icing is almost legendary in my area. Many have tried to get the recipe, but to no avail! icon_rolleyes.gificon_lol.gif

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PinkZiab Posted 11 May 2010 , 3:17pm
post #14 of 57

In my humble opinion, if there's NO butter in it, it has no business being called buttercream lol. I'll go for a 50/50 mix when needed (never crisco/standard shortening--always hi-ratio), but never 100% shortening... My standard American buttercream is all-butter, and most of my cakes are a meringue-based BC anyway. The thought of eating frosting made from 100% shortening nauseates me a little and every time I have been served an all-shortening buttercream I usually don't get past the first bite because I can't handle the greasy feeling in my mouth.

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3LittleBeesCookies Posted 11 May 2010 , 3:35pm
post #15 of 57

I took the Wilton classes and we were given an all shortening based recipe--even though the one on their site is 50/50. I usually obsess over what icing to put on my cakes because I love all butter based BC better, but they just don't hold up as well as shortening based. I haven't been able to find a 100% butter based BC that pipes flowers as nicely as the crisco/shortening based creams. The problem that I have is that it just doesn't seem right to eat sweetened crisco, especially since I grew up on lots of foods fried in crisco. (My Southern family deep fries everything...lol.) So, I'll usually use an all butter BC to ice my cake and then use the 50/50 just for the flowers because I don't think most people eat the flowers anyway.

Just as a side note, the sink in the room where I took my Wilton classes was permanently clogged with crisco from the students cleaning their tips and pipping bags. That, of course, made me think of that stuff sticking to my arteries like another person wrote on here. ewww

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cookiedecorator Posted 11 May 2010 , 3:58pm
post #16 of 57

I use Serious Cakes icing recipe which had more butter than shortening...3 sticks butter and 2/3 cup shortening. It works great for me and has a nice creamy taste. I also like to use Italian Meringue Buttercream, which is great for icing a cake but decorating is a little difficult as the icing tends to melt in the pastry bag when it gets warm in you hands...but it is possible. You have to work quickly and get the cake in the fridge quickly.

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crazycakes-eu Posted 11 May 2010 , 4:04pm
post #17 of 57

I never thought o f the ''weather'' being a factor of why people use crisco... i have never tried it, only had all butter, but i does sound awful to me!! you must use real buttercream surely under fondant, is it only when using on top of cupcakes or buttercreamed/non fondant cakes? I use some meringue powder in mine when i want a crisp finish, it also gives an added 'ice cream' hint to the flavour and is devine!!i just add a few spoonfulls to my normal recipe, wouldn't this work in warmer areas, so you could also have real buttercream with butter?? it really must taste better! I think i would always perfer taste and quality than practicality. x

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Melvira Posted 11 May 2010 , 4:13pm
post #18 of 57
Quote:
Originally Posted by crazycakes-eu

i have never tried it, only had all butter, but i does sound awful to me!!




Depends on who makes it. Mine tastes awesome. But if it's made poorly, it's gross. But that goes with anything.

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BrightDelights Posted 11 May 2010 , 4:22pm
post #19 of 57

I use my own recipe of 1/2 butter and 1/2 crisco, but I'm getting ready to try sugarshacks recipe with hi-ratio. Hopefully it will turn out just as well if I use 1/2 butter because I really like the flavor it adds.

Anyone else use her recipe with up to 1/2 butter?

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amysue99 Posted 11 May 2010 , 4:25pm
post #20 of 57

I use Toba Garrett's Bc recipe -2 c. butter, 1 c. shortening. Tastes amazing, crusts nicely, really easy to work with and holds up fine in hot weather.

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crazycakes-eu Posted 11 May 2010 , 4:25pm
post #21 of 57

what is hi-ratio?? i think i am missing something? It must be an english thing that we use butter x

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mamawrobin Posted 11 May 2010 , 4:35pm
post #22 of 57
Quote:
Originally Posted by Melvira

Quote:
Originally Posted by crazycakes-eu

i have never tried it, only had all butter, but i does sound awful to me!!



Depends on who makes it. Mine tastes awesome. But if it's made poorly, it's gross. But that goes with anything.




I totally agree. I use Indydebi's receipe and the lady that runs the catering business that i work for ask me if I used shortening in my bc. icon_surprised.gif
She loves the icing. I do beat my shortening for 10-15 minutes before adding any of my other ingredients. It makes the icing creamier. I also use half and half or heavy cream instead of milk.

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cathyscakes Posted 11 May 2010 , 4:48pm
post #23 of 57

Especially in the summer I wouldn't trust a all butter recipe at all. I had to deliver a cake 2 hours away in the heat of summer, it had half butter, shortening recipe. It was too soft, and I thought it had a slight rancid taste after sitting for several hours outside in the sun. So I won't use butter in the summer at all anymore. I'm with leah, I don't care for the taste of a all butter recipe.

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Marianna46 Posted 11 May 2010 , 4:51pm
post #24 of 57

In hot climates like mine, you can't use all-butter buttercream because the heat melts it as you spread and pipe. Believe me, I've ruined many a birthday cake trying! I use a half-butter, half-shortening recipe and beat it to death so that it's light and fluffy. It tastes just as good as the all-butter variant, especially with a lot of vanilla and almond extract plus just a touch of butter flavoring.

Let's face it: saturated fat from a can is no better or worse than saturated fat from a cow and no buttercream is particularly good for you (even if it does wonders for your sense of well-being!). That's why cake is only for special occasions.

Strangely enough, however, I've noticed that in this climate the half-shortening buttercream tastes just fine, but when I've made the same recipe in a cooler climate it does leave a greasy residue in the mouth, so it may depend on where you're decorating as to whether you think this is a good recipe or not.

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crazycakes-eu Posted 11 May 2010 , 5:10pm
post #25 of 57

okay... thanks for all your help!! You have all been very informative, and i guess it really does depend on where you live and what you like best!! thanks for answering so quickly x

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mariana7842731 Posted 11 May 2010 , 5:11pm
post #26 of 57

who puts a cake in the sun? i wouldn't expect a twinkie to taset good if it was in the sun

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Melvira Posted 11 May 2010 , 5:17pm
post #27 of 57
Quote:
Originally Posted by mariana7832730

who puts a cake in the sun? i wouldn't expect a twinkie to taset good if it was in the sun




A bride who has no concept of why an outdoor wedding in Arizona in August with no shade is a good idea. icon_lol.gif I miss Arizona...

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mamawrobin Posted 11 May 2010 , 5:54pm
post #28 of 57
Quote:
Originally Posted by Melvira

Quote:
Originally Posted by mariana7832730

who puts a cake in the sun? i wouldn't expect a twinkie to taset good if it was in the sun



A bride who has no concept of why an outdoor wedding in Arizona in August with no shade is a good idea. icon_lol.gif I miss Arizona...




icon_lol.gifthumbs_up.gif Yep. We have those in Arkansas as well. It's hot AND humid here in the summer. Still people insist on having outdoor weddings.

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cookiedecorator Posted 11 May 2010 , 6:27pm
post #29 of 57
Quote:
Originally Posted by mamawrobin

Quote:
Originally Posted by Melvira

Quote:
Originally Posted by mariana7832730

who puts a cake in the sun? i wouldn't expect a twinkie to taset good if it was in the sun



A bride who has no concept of why an outdoor wedding in Arizona in August with no shade is a good idea. icon_lol.gif I miss Arizona...



icon_lol.gifthumbs_up.gif Yep. We have those in Arkansas as well. It's hot AND humid here in the summer. Still people insist on having outdoor weddings.




Keeping a cake outside just sounds disgusting to me...never mind the melting icing...what about insects?! Flies come to mind... YUK!

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Melvira Posted 11 May 2010 , 6:39pm
post #30 of 57
Quote:
Originally Posted by cookiedecorator

Keeping a cake outside just sounds disgusting to me...never mind the melting icing...what about insects?! Flies come to mind... YUK!




Yah, I can totally see that. *shudder* But I'm not a big outdoorsy type person, either. I sit on my deck, and when noseeums show up I'm running for the house. I used to camp when I was a kid, but now... not so much. I pup my tent on a king size bed at Holiday Inn. icon_rolleyes.gif I guess I've gotten 'soft' hehe.

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