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Fondant Buttercream debate,

post #1 of 19
5/14/12 at 10:54pm
Thread Starter 
Went to a graduation party. I made one of the cakes. People were going nuts over they cake. They wanted to know how I made the grad cap. I explained out of sugar dough, I said some people cover their whole cakes with it, They were fanilar with fondant. One of my friends turned to me and said that stuff is awful. I decided right then and there I was not going to feel bad about using buttercream to ice my cakes. I did well this time. Used Sharon Z. with a few tweeks, Was great. It was the fasted I had ever butt ercrean a cake before. Used my agbay for the first time. Loved it. And the smoothing went well. Everyone loved my fondant cap. So here is my plug for buttercream frosted cake. I love doing it. The WASC cake recipe was so good. Used French Vanilla cakes. Fondant accents are fun too. . Sharon Zambito videos taught me alot.
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post #2 of 19
5/15/12 at 3:02am
There is bad buttercream and bad fondant.

There is also excellent fondant and excellent buttercream.

One good product compared to one bad alternative product isn't really a comparison.

The consensus in my studies is that people like any fine product.

The recipe you are referring to is based on shortening, something that I will never put in a buttercream. Again, all preference.
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post #3 of 19
5/15/12 at 11:46am
You can't make everyone happy all of the time. Someone always had to complain about something. It's a sad fact of the human existence.

I do what works for me, looks good, & tastes good--to me & to my taster (my DH).
If someone doesn't like it for an aesthetic reason or a pre-formed prejudice (i.e. "all fondant is bad", "all shortening based buttercream is bad", "all mix based cakes are bad")--and they haven't even TASTED what I've made--I couldn't give a rat's patoot about their opinion.

Taste it--and THEN tell me what you think.........and leave your pre-formed opinions at the curb.

I recently made a Noah's ark cake with a flat fondant "cartoon" of the ark. The mom loved it and reported back that "some people didn't like the fondant". Like I cared.............DON'T EAT IT! There was plenty of buttercream and the bits of fondant would have been easy to ignore on the plate, but of course, they had to find SOMETHING to complain about.
Image

She also said that several people remarked that they "didn't like cake frosting", but that they LOVED mine and it was the BEST icing they'd ever had. THOSE comments mattered. They'd put their prejudices aside and TRIED the frosting and were pleasantly surprised to find that they liked it.

If anyone EVER figures out how to please everyone, the rest of us will be out sitting on the curb.

Rae
I love you, but your emergency is not my crisis!

They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.--Terry Pratchett (b.194
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I love you, but your emergency is not my crisis!

They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.--Terry Pratchett (b.194
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post #4 of 19
5/15/12 at 12:12pm
Really? We're going to "debate" this? Your "plug" for "butter"cream? While you're at it, why don't you start a thread so we can debate "scratch vs mix" or maybe you'd like one where we can debate the "butter" in your buttercream.

This stuff gets old. Do what works for you, enjoy it, validate yourself if you must but please save the debates for issues that actually matter. You "felt bad" about your buttercream and now you would like a pat on the back or a ribbon? Or maybe you still need some validation from anonymous posters about your buttercream? icon_rolleyes.gif
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post #5 of 19
5/15/12 at 1:49pm
Thread Starter 
I do not appreciate your rudeness. I think you misundersood my statement. I thought this was the place we share with other decorators our joy of cake decorating and discuss our interests. I will have to be careful from now on. I will only ask something if I need help. Kind of hurts.
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post #6 of 19
5/15/12 at 2:36pm
Thanks for sharing your info. Unfortunately the ads on this site prevent me from reading/understand your whole posticon_sad.gif
In the over 35 yrs that I offered cakes to the public probably 90% of them were b'cream.
As was stated there are good and bad in *everything* - including b'cream and fondant recipes. Sometimes all it takes to improve a recipe is more or different flavorings. Sometimes one just needs to scrap that recipe and start over. What works best for one might not work out perfect for others. Find what works for you and your customers and be happy.
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post #7 of 19
5/15/12 at 5:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bostonterrierlady

I do not appreciate your rudeness. I think you misundersood my statement. I thought this was the place we share with other decorators our joy of cake decorating and discuss our interests. I will have to be careful from now on. I will only ask something if I need help. Kind of hurts.



bostonterrierlady, firstly I don't think I was rude, one down side of online written communication is the fact that we cannot pick up on the nuances like tone of voice etc. That said, I apologize for hurting your feelings, that was not my intention. Yes CC is a place to share our joys among other cake related things but when you title a thread using adversarial language like x vs y, pitting one type of method (with it's own faithful following) against another, I can't help but think the purpose of the thread is to incite unnecessary arguments, drama, and division. My previous post was guided by a feeling of exasperation. I've read enough x vs y threads to know it doesn't help in the long run.

Please don't feel like you cannot express yourself on the site-- especially not on my account. While I stand by what I said, I again apologize for hurting your feelings. I am truly sorry that you feel hurt, and hope you will accept this apology.
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post #8 of 19
5/15/12 at 7:57pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks. I did not express my thoughts very well. Maybe I will try to post what I meant another time.
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post #9 of 19
5/15/12 at 8:15pm
The best fondant I have used as far as taste and workability is Satin Ice (which also comes in buttercream flavor). I have had people tell me they hate some fondant they've had, but the one I used wasn't that bad. It can't be all that bad, Buddy the "Cake Boss" uses it as well as many others big names in the cake world.

People love the way fondant looks but many don't care for the taste or texture. What makes fondant stick to cakes....BUTTERCREAM YAY!!!! haha I just make sure I put an adequate amount of buttercream as a filling between the layers. That way if someone doesn't care to eat the fondant they can simply peel it away from their slice and there is plenty of buttercream still there under the fondant and between the layers.

Compromise is good!
~Dewey~
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~Dewey~
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post #10 of 19
5/15/12 at 8:39pm
Usually the people who are so quick in making a very negative statement like "that stuff is awful" are people who cannot even decorate a pancake with syrup. IMHO, it is all based on ignorance or very limited knowledge of the subject. People like that probably buy their cakes at Costco or Walmart, which is the lowest of all quality, just like themselves. I would just ignore them since they do not know any better. Really, what's there not to ignore ?
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post #11 of 19
5/15/12 at 9:38pm
There is no shame in buttercream. Whether it is made solely with butter or not. I'm not a fondant lover but if that is what the customer wants then whatever they want to pay for is cool with me. In my personal experience of 23 years 99.9% of my customers prefer buttercreams and I don't think it's because they are ignorant or uncakely.

Like with everything else cake, some are intent on reinventing the wheel. Let's torte it, fill it, ice it, ganache it and then fondant the whole damn thing. I couldn't choke that down if I was getting paid, but I also don't eat cake. Really can't it just be cake?

For those I offend....well I guess you are offended.
If you can't find time it do it right..how will you find time to do it over?
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If you can't find time it do it right..how will you find time to do it over?
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post #12 of 19
5/16/12 at 4:13am
Quote:
Quote:

People like that probably buy their cakes at Costco or Walmart, which is the lowest of all quality, just like themselves.



Just because someone buys a cake at Costco or Walmart, does not make that person "low quality." You spend money on things that are of value to you. That goes for everything. I have told this story before, but I had contacted a local butcher about getting two turkeys last year for Thanksgiving. We had put our name on a waiting list and she called us when they came in. At the time I put my name on the list, the butcher didn't know how much the birds would be. So when I got the call and found out they were $5 per pound, I had to decline the order. I couldn't afford two huge turkeys for that much per pound, regardless of organic/free range/gets-a-feather-massage-every-day, etc. So I spent my money at another butcher shop and we had a great dinner. I don't think my decision made me a low quality person because I chose to spend my money on a more affordable product.

How many of us out there who drink would spend $200 on a bottle of scotch? How many of you would balk at spending that much because "it's alcohol?" We could also say the same about cake, no?

I happen to love Costco cakes by the way. icon_razz.gif

The Dude abides.

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The Dude abides.

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post #13 of 19
5/16/12 at 4:18am
I should also mention that I use buttercream mostly, with fondant accents. Like scp1127 said, there are good fondants and good buttercreams, and there are also bad fondants and bad buttercreams. I have had my share of both. The best thing is to do what works for you and your clients/loved ones and that's that! But there is nothing wrong with trying something new.

The Dude abides.

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The Dude abides.

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post #14 of 19
5/16/12 at 5:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlakesCakes

You can't make everyone happy all of the time. Someone always had to complain about something. It's a sad fact of the human existence.

I do what works for me, looks good, & tastes good--to me & to my taster (my DH).
If someone doesn't like it for an aesthetic reason or a pre-formed prejudice (i.e. "all fondant is bad", "all shortening based buttercream is bad", "all mix based cakes are bad")--and they haven't even TASTED what I've made--I couldn't give a rat's patoot about their opinion.

Taste it--and THEN tell me what you think.........and leave your pre-formed opinions at the curb.

I recently made a Noah's ark cake with a flat fondant "cartoon" of the ark. The mom loved it and reported back that "some people didn't like the fondant". Like I cared.............DON'T EAT IT! There was plenty of buttercream and the bits of fondant would have been easy to ignore on the plate, but of course, they had to find SOMETHING to complain about.
Image

She also said that several people remarked that they "didn't like cake frosting", but that they LOVED mine and it was the BEST icing they'd ever had. THOSE comments mattered. They'd put their prejudices aside and TRIED the frosting and were pleasantly surprised to find that they liked it.

If anyone EVER figures out how to please everyone, the rest of us will be out sitting on the curb.

Rae



That cake is GORGEOUS!

I am all for buttercream cakes but I also like fondant. I like the chewyness of it. I use Michelle Foster's Fondant recipe and get rave reviews.
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post #15 of 19
5/16/12 at 12:51pm
I use fondant, but I don't eat the stuff - *gag*. My ds loves fondant - strange child. I prefer to cover my cakes in modeling chocolate, but sometimes it just doesn't work out so I use a 50/50 mix.

I also use shortening bc. I personally don't like the taste of butter and all butter bc doesn't work well with the heat here.

No point to be made here, just saying . . . .
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