I've only ever used the Wilton BC, which I have never thought tasted great, but I knew how to work with it. But you guys have inspired me to try Indydebi's BC! If it turns out good (which I think it will, based on all the reviews), I plan to use it for my son's birthday cake in a few weeks. I am going to do a trial run for MY birthday this week, but I was wondering if I could make it chocolate or white chocolate flavored? I have read on here that you can add cocoa or melted chocolate, but would you need to back off on liquid, or add more sugar so it didn't alter the crusting? TIA!

i would make up a batch, then add your choice of cocoa or melted chocolate, and see what happens.
you might need to add more milk (chocoalte milk works best for chocolate flavoured version), as its extra cocoa, or chocolate is stiff, its unlikely you will need to add more ps.
xx

Yes, if you add more cocoa (dry ingredient) you will need to add more liquid to compensate. If you add more liquid (melted chocolate), you will need to add more dry ingredients to compensate. I've no idea how much .... "until it looks right".

General tip for mixing cocoa: Since cocoa has fat in it, it's best to mix cocoa with the p.sugar (dry ingredients). It mixes up much better. If you try to mix it with water or milk, the "water and fat don't mix" rule comes into play and it just takes for-EVER to blend.

The only time I've experienced mixing cocoa with a liquid that worked was the Hershey chocolate icing recipe and that's because the cocoa is being mixed with the melted butter .... fat into fat which always blends well.

I use her recipe exclusively and I just got a pm this morning from a cc member that took my advice and she was thrilled with the results. The crusting is still beautiful and it is still a dream to work with and smooth....Here's how I make Indydebi's bc chocolate.

Add 6 ounces unsweetened Baker's chocolate squares, Melted but still pourable to each batch of icing. You will also have to add a little more milk (I use half & half) but to keep from adding too much I add ONLY a teaspoon at a time until you have the right consistency...too much liquid can alter the crusting. I guarantee this is "hands down" the best tasting chocolate crusting bc ever

I am the one who asked for Mamawrobin's advice on making the chocolate version of Indydebi's BC. I've done the powdered cocoa but I knew there had to be a better way and there is!! It was the BEST CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM EVER!!!!!

I made the recipe the way I normally do (which I think is the same way Mamawrobin does it). I melted the chocolate in the microwave (be careful not to burn it), let it cool to the point where it was still pourable and then poured it into the KA, mixed it a little and then slowly added more whole milk until I had the right consistency. I used the Bakers Unsweetened Chocolate.

It spread easily and crusted just as well as the vanilla version. This is my new go to for Chocolate BC. I added the pic this morning and it's the bottom tier of my baseball cake. I have a long way to go before I can get my BC as smooth as everyone else's on here but this is the smoothest that I have managed so far!

That's a good looking cake Sally

Wow! Thanks, everyone, for sharing your experiences! I'm so excited to try it!!

I can't wait to try it!

Same here, can't wait to try it out. Not only just the BC, but the Choc. and adding Orange Extract.

I am going to try the melted chocolate as I have yet to find a BC that's tastes great and CRUSTS!

Thanks for the tip Mamawrobin.

Thanks Mamawrobin! The cake was a hit and I got 2 more orders JUST because of the chocolate buttercream!

Indydebbie - are you still using Crisco since they changed their formula to zero trans fat? Or, are you using other brands of shortening as well - especially High Ratio or Pilgrim? Just wondering????

thanks inddebi and mammarobin, i think i will give these tips a try also . I have been wanting to try indydebis bc recipe for some time and have been procrastinating , afraid to change i guess but I am going to jump in and give it a try

I need a link to this recipe, please!!

Well Debi, I for one am very grateful that you didn't "take it to your grave" I couldn't get bc smooth no matter what I tried before I started using your recipe. I for one appreciate it very much.

I have read the various posts of the different BC's out there. And I have tried them all. Hands down - Indy's win.

But now I can't remember the "rules", so sorry for the repeat.

This is the one that does not need refrigeration?

How long can it be stored in air-tight container?

Can one ice/crumb coat a cake right out of the freezer with this BC?

Thank you for the awesome recipe! I agree with mamawrobin for not taking it to your grave. We can pass it on for generations and tell them the story of where we learned to make a great BC.