hi there. im a newbie and im trying to find a recipe for frosting/icing that suits my taste. i tried buttercream but it's too sweet, i tried royal icing, too sweet, too! i tried sweetened whip cream but the stuff melts right away. is there any frosting or icing that is not too sweet (and i dont like those that have shortenings) but holds its design for a long time. thank you in advance!
I also have the same issue. Anything I put confectioners sugar in, that is all I can taste no matter what else I put in. I have tried almost everything at this point and am at a loss. It is taking the joy out of baking and I don't know where else to turn. Are there any alternatives to buttercream with confectioners sugar?
At this point the only thing I can stand is the boiled frosting.
Add salt, it will cut down the "too sweet" taste. Be sure to dissolve it in your liquid before adding. I just used the trial and error method of discovering what is the right amount for me. I start out with at least a teaspoon, dissolve it in my flavoring plus water or milk. Whatever liquid I am using.
I used sweetex for the first time recently and oh my! It really does make a difference. I will use it over my store brand shortening any day. I have always preferred the 1/2 butter and 1/2 shortening compared to the all shortening recipes. From now on it is 1/2 sweetex and 1/2 butter unless I am making roses.
I agree with mommynana; I only use IndyDebi's recipe and it's absolutely delicious! It's the perfect amount of sweetness and holds up beautifully. It's the only bc I use and everyone loves it!
hi there. im a newbie and im trying to find a recipe for frosting/icing that suits my taste. i tried buttercream but it's too sweet, i tried royal icing, too sweet, too! i tried sweetened whip cream but the stuff melts right away. is there any frosting or icing that is not too sweet (and i dont like those that have shortenings) but holds its design for a long time. thank you in advance!
Which buttercream recipe did you try? There are so many! Everybody seems to have their favorite, and you'll get lots of opinions about which is "best."
I've tried Indydebi's, but it's the sweetest bc I've ever used due to it's high powdered sugar to fat ratio--my family doesn't like it at all, but some CCers swear by it! I've tried IMBC, but some people don't like the over-powering butter flavor, and it's hard to work with sometimes because it doesn't crust.
I love to use Edna's crusting cream cheese bc....it's not too sweet at all. It doesn't go with every flavor of cake, but it's amazing on chocolate and spice cakes, as well as red velvet and carrot cakes.
I have found that when I combine Indydebi's buttercream and Swiss Merengue, I get the best of both worlds. Wonderful consistency, not too sweet and very light. You can look in my photos... I just posted a photo of what it looks like after the two are combined!
I have found that when I combine Indydebi's buttercream and Swiss Merengue, I get the best of both worlds. Wonderful consistency, not too sweet and very light. You can look in my photos... I just posted a photo of what it looks like after the two are combined!
I had no idea you could do this! Very interesting idea. 
I have found that when I combine Indydebi's buttercream and Swiss Merengue, I get the best of both worlds. Wonderful consistency, not too sweet and very light. You can look in my photos... I just posted a photo of what it looks like after the two are combined!
You are a genius!!! Can't wait to try this
Italian Meringue Buttercream (egg whites, sugar, butter + flavorings).
It's out of this world delicious.
My favorite buttercream recipe is from My Sweet & Saucy Shop and it gets rave reviews!
http://www.mysweetandsaucy.com/2008/02/my-favorite-vanilla-buttercream-recipe/
try the Swiss Meringue Buttercream - search on here in recipes.
I was having the same problem as you, and I also found the buttercream to be grainy on most occasions and also just too heavy.
This buttercream is SO light and smooth.
It calls for egg whites to be whisked over heat with sugar, which melts down all that grain sugar.
It is a bit glossy which is a shame because sometimes its nice to have an icing with a matte-finish
ometimes I get requests for a not too sweet frosting, being that Im so used to making crusting buttercream I had to find a not to sweet frosting so here's the one I use, its from "obsessed with baking blog"
Flour frosting
1/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup butter cut in cubes (My butter was cool and firm, but I could still leave an indent when I pressed my finger into it)
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
1. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the sugar, flour, salt together. Add the milk and cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally (I had to whisk constantly or else it started to stick and clump at the bottom) until the mixture has thickened into a paste and slightly bubbly at edges (You probably don't want it boiling because we all know how boiled milk tastes..)
2. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until cool. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter; beat until thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy. If the frosting is too soft, transfer the bowl to the refrigerator to chill slightly: then beat again until it is the proper consistency.
3. Add the vanilla and continue mixing until combined.
If you still find it too sweet play around with the milk/flour mixture to adjust to taste, or just reduce the sugar...Hope this helps
Yes... Indydebi's Buttercream is crusting.
I just also wanted to say that combining her frosting with IMBC or SMBC as I mentioned earlier, tastes soooo good! Its like eating firm whipped cream. It melts in your mouth, yet it holds it's shape perfectly. It is also really easy to handle for frosting, filling, piping, decorating and even combining with jams/preserves,ganache.
Is crusting for under fondant only, is it best to use a different recipe for the tops of cupcakes?
Pheebs... sorry it took me so long to get back to you... had finals at school. This would be an excellent frosting for cupcake swirls! What I do is make a batch of Indydebi's Frosting and set that aside, then I make a batch of IMBC. When the IMBC is done, I start adding Indydebi's to it just the way I added the butter to the IMBC and just keep the mixer going. The IMBC frosting recipe is one I got off of here. You can do a search for it. If you can't find it, let me know and I will send it to you.
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