Wouldn't you just add more powdered sugar to make it stiffer? I always shy away from cream cheese because I don't have the fridge space to keep my cakes refrigerated.
I use the LorAnn's Cheesecake flavor oil for a "fake" cream cheese flavor. Someone else uses buttermilk in her regular buttercream and said it tasted like cream cheese frosting. I'm going to try that next.
sillywabbitz...what do you substitute the buttermilk for? Do you use butter and shortening recipe or just shortening?
My buttercream recipe has several tablespoons of liquid so I would substritute the buttermilk for that. It should work with butter or shortening based buttercreams. I use Hi-ratio shortening for my buttercream.
If I understand all the science on here, the sugar to milk or liquid ratio is very high for standard buttercreams (shortening or butterbased) and as such are shelf stable (even if the liquid used is a dairy product). With cream cheese frosting, no one can get a straight answer on what the sugar to cream cheese ratio needs to be for stabilization so I just avoid it. Earlene's website has a cream cheese frosting that is called a decorators cream cheese frosting and she says it's shelf stable but how she knows that I'm not 100% sure. Tons of people use the recipe and all will say they've never had anyone get sick but honestly how would you know. After a wedding or event no one calls the cake lady...they assume it was the flu or something from dinner.
Just a note, I have not tried the Buttermilk trick. I really want to try it but haven't had a chance. I use the cheesecake flavoring and I've also disolved cheesecake pudding in a little water and mixed that in my buttercream and even better in Bettercream which is a shelf stable non-dairy product available at most cake supplies.
Hope that helps and I hope some other people will chime in as well.
Sillywabbitz Im from Texas as well and we use the butter/shortening bc down here. Ive used Sharon Z's bc recipe and have also used high ratio shortening, but I just can't get it smooth. I avoid covering a cake with bc...except for the crumb coat...and stick with fondant covering. The weather is so hot and humid here in the summer, so I avoid cream cheese icing too. I want to try your suggestions for cream cheese flavored bc though. I have a carrot cake wedding for March and will need cream cheese frosting, so I will give it a try.
Sherly,
I'll be interested to see what you think. I use Sharon's recipe and have had pretty good luck with the smoothness. I use the 4.5 quart recipe in a 5 quart mixer and it works pretty well but I have noticed if I don't put enough liquid in it I get those air bubbles. I'm actually re-watching her video now and I forget her frosting is pretty soft...I think I make mine a little too thick.. I'm not sure what part of Texas you're in but Sharon is teaching her class at the Austin cake show on buttercream cakes.
I'm dying to try Sweetex shortening but there is no local supplier for it here in Dallas.
Also the cake club in McKinney, Sugar Wonders, is hosting the North Texas Cake and Sugar Art Show at the end of April. If you're not too far, you should come enter a cake.
Sillywabbitz...I'm from Corpus Christ/Port Aransas area. I'd like to go to Austin for the show but scheduled 2 cakes that weekend...darn!! Is McKinney up by Dallas?
I think you are right about Sharon's recipe. I make mine thick too. I have noticed that hers doesnt crust as good for me as when I make it with water than when I make it with her coffee creamer method. Also...on you tube there is a video by Tonedna1 that demonstrates her buttercream recipe. She uses high ratio such as Sweetex and she also uses a shortening from walmart that has 2-3 grams trans fat...which is what you need for smooth icing. Ive never found it in walmart, but my grocery store HEB does have a shortening that has 2 grams trans fat which is what I use. Crisco is trans fat free so it is not as smooth. I just dont know what im doing wrong! Im following the recipes and instructions, but it is either bubbly or just has a rough texture. Dont know what Im doing wrong. I need to watch her video again too.
Yes McKinney is up near Dallas. I also noticed while I was watching Perfecting the Art of Buttercream because that her icing doesn't go on super smooth. It still has some subtle rough patches like mine. But once she Viva's it it's really really smooth. My icing never crusts in the crunch sense. It smooths beautifully and it holds up well but I would never say it crusts like the wilton recipe with Crisco and water. This is actually what I love about it. I can always repair and never have those hair line cracks I used to get.
Thanks sillywabbitz...Before I give up on buttercream, Im going to give her recipe another try.
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