Have any of you ever used their house buttercream? I am thinking of giving it a try. I would miss not being able to use Viva but crustung recipes do not look that good when I am done. I like the look of non crusting buttercreams. I usually use Crisco. I would like some reviews on how it is to work with and how it tastes.

I have tried both of their BC recipes and like them both.

It has a very silky texture and a light, flavorful taste. Probably for someone that has BC skills it would be good to work with but any BC is a challenge for me to get smooth. I did use the roller method on the cake I did today - I just refrigerated the cake for about 30 mins. prior to trying it and it worked out okay.

Where are the directions for the roller method? I beleive Melvira uses this technique.
Thanks

I use this on my ice cream cakes and some cupcakes . Not that hard to use on cakes. I don't care to much for the texture to much on regular cakes. I need to try the other recipe they have.

I used the Whimsical Bakehouse recipe on the Buzz Lightyear cake in my photos (it's the last cake I made and the only time I've used it). It does not crust and you cannot use Melvira's roller method or any Viva towel method. I was very nervous about how the cake would turn out, but it was SUPER easy to get smooth and to get a crisp edge! I used the "hot spatula" method (dipping my offset spatula in hot water, drying it and then holding it against the side of the spinning cake). My husband agreed that it is my best looking buttercream venture so far.

Here are the drawbacks: You have to follow the recipe. Don't try adding more powdered sugar to get the consistency thicker. It just falls apart. You can't dye it a dark or vivid color (I couldn't get it any darker than shown in the photo I referred to). The coloring just sits in the mixture suspended in tiny droplets as you put more and more in. And, because it doesn't crust, you can't touch the cake at all once you have a good, smooth surface. The tiniest fingerprint shows up and has to be smoothed down with the hot spatula method.

But I thought it was worthwhile to experiment with it. Give it a try and see what you think.

I love this recipe!
I agree that it is super easy to smooth and has a very light texture.

My advice is not to overwhip it, because then it has too much air in it and causes "holes" when you frost.

I have never had a problem with coloring, it is acutally my preferred buttercream when I want a rich color, as the buttercream I use (SMBC) does NOT color well because of all the butter....

www.sweetnesscakery.com Most of my cakes are covered in WBHBC!

Be sure to use hi ratio shortening to ensure the proper texture and good color. This recipe doesn't seem to work well when made with ordinary shortening.

I too use this icing exclusively and have now for years...I never have a problem getting my colors vibrant..it may be the humidity or area of the country which may cause this.I live in Canada and we are very dry so that might be why.It is super easy to smooth but if you touch it or bang it....It is hard to fix.The taste is light and soft..Most decoraters will tell you they either love it or hate it!!

Dont like the House, but use Kayes Recipe exclusivly.

i used the house for years before i switched to smbc.
i loved it and used basic garden variety crisco. i am sure it would work better with hi-ratio shortening for coloring, but that is hard to come by where i am. i solved my problem (because i love darker colors) by using candy colors which are oil based.
diane

I use the house buttercream a lot. It is light and not so, so sweet as some. I do find it a little hard to work with if you are going to do a lot of piping, b/c it doesn't do well at all with the heat of my hands. I am able to work around it, but I have to keep two bags going and alternately put them in the refrigerator to keep any shape ar all. Still, the taste and texture are quite popular and it is easy to smooth.

the wbh just put out a kid's cakes book that does a lot of neat things with the chocolate transfers too.

I'm making cupcakes right now, I would like to try this buttercream! Will someone post the recipe, please?

I use the whimsical buttercream for cupcakes since it's so nice and light and fluffy. For my cakes, I use Sugarshack's buttercream.

I used this recipe on the ND/Brian cake I. My photos. It was as light as air and had a clean feel in the mouth. I did not use hi ratio and I think that had an effect on the frosting as it was very hard to manage. I had to eel putting the cake I mtgs fridge to harden up the cake to get it smooth. I cannot remember which method I used to smooth it.

I cannot get hi ratio shortening locally. Plus it has transfat and I am trying to avoid that. I used spectrum shortening on mine. What I want to test is to make it with less liquid as hi ratio can absorb more than regular shortening. But this will still not make it as stable as using hi ratio. So eventually I will have to break down and use hi ratio for wedding cakes.

As far as getting a vivid color, I am surprised. In te WBH book they talk about it gets vivid colors. But I also think they mention using oil based food coloring that is made for candy to get a better more vivid color.

Overall it is a good frosting to use. For the recipe you can google it and it is out there somewhere.

Just to mention.......I used this icing and the WBH chocolate transfer ideas on several of my cakes in photos.....and also several with my own tranfer designs. I mention this b/c someone said earlier that they couldn't get vivid colors and I have never really had a problem with this when I wanted vivid colors. I do think the coloring works better if you use hi-ratio shortening and that the colors tend to bead up/stay suspended more if you use traditional shortening. I have used both and sometimes a mixture, when I have been low on hi-ratio. It's always tasty.