I use indydebi'sbuttercream recipe and the last few times I've made it the flavor has been off. I noticed that the shortening (I use Great Value brand) has been really soft. I don't know if that's made a difference because I always mix it anyways for awhile to get it to that consistency. But I've noticed that the flavor is not the same anymore. The ingredients and brands are the same as I've always used.

Has anyone noticed a change in flavor after Walmart's shortening went trans fat free?? (that's the only thing I can think of!)

I've even tried to make it with half shortening and half butter and it still has the same weird taste to it.

Believe it or not but shortening can go bad. Pop the cover off and smell it. If you can't detect any smell at all, you're ok and just need to add some flavorings to your icing. If you detect any sort of odor at all then yes, your shortening has gone bad. Sometimes this happens if you accidentally dish some out with a "contaminated" spoon used for something else the foreign item can fester and make the shortening to bad. And they say that a "fix" for the new trans fat free shortening is to add a healthy tablespoon full of flour to your next batch.

Aldi shortening got softer. If your shortening isn't bad, next time you're at Wally's look on the bottom shelf for the big can of Crisco. It's about 10 bucks, but it's a much bigger can.