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What can I add to frosting to make it stiffer (for piping)?

post #1 of 5
10/5/12 at 1:25pm
Thread Starter 
i made a dairy free frosting with margarine (2 sticks) and crisco (1 stick) and a 2 lb. bag of powdered sugar. I was altering my usual dairy buttercream recipe. I substituted rice milk for the regular milk to get it nice and smooth and fluffy. I usually add 5-6 Tbs. of milk, but after adding only 3 Tbs. of rice milk with the margarine and crisco (also had a few drops of imitation butter flavoring and 3 teaspoons of vanilla) it is very soft.

It is already VERY sweet, so I don't know if adding more sugar is the answer. How can I stiffen it up for piping? Flour?

Thanks. The cake is for tonight! Yikes!
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post #2 of 5
10/5/12 at 2:52pm
You do not want to add flour or cornstarch (ppl have done it lol) Add more powdered sugar, you can add some salt to cut the sweetness down a little (from what I hear)
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post #3 of 5
10/5/12 at 2:55pm
I have added some cornstarch in the past. If it's not much it won't be tasted. Adding more sugar is really the best and a generous dash of salt helps.
In the future when you want to pipe cut down on the amount of fat used in making the icing..
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post #4 of 5
10/5/12 at 6:59pm
The problem was from the margarine (make sure you read the label to be sure it is dairy-free).

Margarine has more water than butter. In future, it's best to use shortening only.

If the nut is OK then try using coconut milk from a can, it makes amazing icing as well as cake.
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post #5 of 5
10/6/12 at 4:29pm
Thread Starter 
So I ended up adding more ps and it turned out okay. I did serve it cold from the fridge because it seemed like the frosting was getting too soft at room temperature.

The margarine was definitely dairy free. The next cake that I am making is using a mostly chocolate frosting with just a few piped details...for that I may use pure shortening to keep it stiffer. I like the idea of trying canned coconut milk...it does seem thicker although it will impart a bit of a coconut flavor (which may not be to the palate of kids).

The frosting tasted good and got good reviews from adults and kids alike.

Thanks for the tips.
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