My buttercream icing consist of shortening and butter. I use vanilla and almond extracts. Its tastes great. My question is...what can I do to take the icing up a notch for a wedding cake. I'm becoming very interested in making them. I use a WASC for most decorated cakes. So if any one has some ideas that can set my regular birthday cakes apart from the wedding please share with me!

Thanks

I'm just curious. Why change up your recipe just because it would be for a wedding? If it taste good, continue to use it. Plus it looks like you're in a region where heat and humidity can be an issue in the summer.

If you want to add another icing to your repertoire of cooler times of the year or something look at adding one of the meringue buttercreams. FromScratchSF has an excellent recipe and has a tutorial on her blog on how to make it.

http://fromscratchsf.wordpress.com/2011/03/08/tutorial-swiss-meringue-buttercream/

But I wouldn't touch your shortening based buttercream, except to add other flavourings to it.

Thanks so much for responding! I'm new and sometimes. It feels like I'm talking to myself. I get so many rave reviews about my icing. I just wanted it to be a difference between my birthday cake and my wedding cakes. I would love to try other flavoring but I'm not sure of what other combinations to include. I LOVE Almond sooooo much and in my eyes its hard to beat....but I'm not scared to try new things! So any advice on great flavoring combos?

Your icing is a blank canvas. Instead of almond, add a vanilla extract, or orange extract. Goes great with a vanilla cake, orange cake, chocolate cake. Leave out the flavourings and fold in lemon curd, fruit purees, jams, jellies, preservers. Fold in chocolate ganache for a chocolate buttercream. The sky's the limit as to what you can do.

You can make a WASC and use a lemon curd or a raspberry puree for the filling (or both in alternate layers) and ice with your icing as is. Lots you can do.

What about substituting your liquid with flavored coffee creamers? I've used Bailey's Creme Brulee, caramel flan, white chocolate almond, etc. I would make a test batch first, though, to make sure you like the taste. I live in Centreville, MS, just 40 miles from McComb, so I know about the heat! The liquid coffee creamers hold up well in our heat.

I really like Wilton's Extra Special Buttercream (subbing butter for at least half, if not all of the shortening). The whipping cream really takes it up a notch!

This recipe for whipped cream cheese frosting is very similar to another one of my favorite recipes: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/whipped-cream-cream-cheese-frosting/

......... get so many rave reviews about my icing. I just wanted it to be a difference between my birthday cake and my wedding cakes. I would love to try other flavoring but I'm not sure of what other combinations to include.........

You've gotten some good suggestions.
To take the flavoring up a notch.......add MORE. Use *2 Tablespoons* of flavoring and make it a combination of at least 3 flavors - like vanilla, butter, and almond OR lemon or orange. Usually I use 1 part (*any* measure) of vanilla; 1/2 part of butter flavoring and 1/4 part of whatever other flavor I'm using. If you make lots of cakes mix this up using cups as the measure.....if for only one cake use teaspoons or Tablespoons.......doesn't matter as long as you keep the ratio the same.

SweetNSassyTreats,

I've used the coffee creamers in both my cake and frosting, but not in both at the same time because it can be overpowering. My preference is to use it in the frosting. I've also used the Extra Special Butter cream with whipping cream and people seem to really like it but I can't really say the whipping cream makes it wow. I use vanilla, almond and butter flavors in it and I think that's what people like about it. You should mix up a few batches of different icings and put them on cupcakes and have a tasting. Invite me! I'll come! [/quote]

Rhonda19,
It seems there are several of us from Mississippi on CC! Yeah, the coffee creamers are non-dairy, so they hold up so much longer unrefrigerated. So many yummy flavors, too.

I agree w/ subbing the coffee creamer for your liquid, either plain creamer or a flavored one. I really like using the french vanilla creamer... it just adds another level of that vanilla. Also, my flavoring mixture is usually a 1/2 t of almond, 1T of vanilla and 1T of butter flavoring.