AHi there everyone! I have a request for a soy-free cake. That is the only allergy, and she said milk, regular butter, etc is all ok to use. My buttercream recipe is stick butter (my kind has soy :( ), shortening, vanilla, powdered sugar and milk.

Could I use all butter, like Country Crock or something instead of the stick butter and shortening? If so, how different will the texture/crusting be?

Also, she requested one layer chocolate and one vanilla. Any great soy free recipes you care to share? I should be ok with my normal recipes as long as I use real butter or veggie oil, right? Thanks in advance!

I'm not in the US so had no idea your stick butter (different to regular butter??) has soy in it. I'm in Australia and I make my regular buttercream with all butter, icing sugar (powdered sugar) and a dash of milk. Works perfectly and it does crust over. Whip up a batch for a practice and see if you like it I guess! 

As for the cakes, bake them from scratch (NO mixes) and just read the ingredients on everything. Or, you could go for a soy free cake mix (lots of the gluten free ones taste good and are also soy free) so you know it's definitely soy free. 

And just make sure all your utensils and work area is washed down really well before hand so you don't cross contaminate by accident. 

AThe stick butter I am currently using is Imperial brand, and when I looked at the label it said it was a certain percent vegetable spread, and soy was listed. Maybe different brands are pure butter? I will look at the store tomorrow and see what I can find. Great tips! Thank you, Nadiaa! :)

Howdy, Imperial and Country Crock (this one has a lot of water in it, so frosting could slide right off your cake) are both actually margarine.  Sweet cream butter won't have any soy in it .  Butter rules

AI learn something new every day lol! I grew up with country crock and the store brand of it, so that os all I knew of haha :D Thank you, cheeseball! Do you recommend any specific brand and is it sold at Walmart? (That is probably where I will check first).

No problem!  Walmart should have several brands; everything from Land O' Lakes to Plugra, just depends on your taste buds and budget.  Just make sure the package actually says BUTTER, no blends or anything.  Oh, if you're accustomed to making American Buttercream with salted margarine, you probably want to buy salted butter.

AWalmart has great value butter that is good or you can buy Land O Lakes but it is a little more expensive. Just do not buy margarine.

AGreat, y'all! Thanks so much! :)

Just had the same situation - unfortunately soy is in so many products.  Most all REAL butter products are soy free.  Also, good to check if customer is all soy sensitive or just soy lecithin / protein sensitive.  My customer could tolerate soybean oil which is in many products but not soy lecitien.  Good luck

AGood tip, swishykitty! I will find out. Thank you! :)

AButter is butter: the fat churned from dairy cream, with a small amount of water and milk solids. (Clarified butter has the bulk of the milk solids and water removed by melting and skimming, and is almost pure fat.) The only way it could possibly contain soy is if (a) it were adulterated, (b) any "seasonally-added" colorant contained soy, or (c) the cow was fed a diet of soybeans.

As I type this, I'm looking at the label on a pound of Ralphs salted table butter, straight from the local Ralphs Grocery: "INGREDIENTS: CREAM, SALT. CONTAINS: MILK. DISTRIBUTED BY THE KROGER CO. CINCINNATI, OHIO 45202 A GLUTEN FREE FOOD PRODUCT OF USA" The Nutrition Facts panel indicates that 14 grams of butter contain 11 grams of fat, 7 of which are saturated, leaving 4 grams of unsaturated fat and 3 grams of water, milk solids, and salt (a small fraction of a gram of the latter).

By contrast, Imperial, Country Crock, "I can't Believe It's Not Butter," Gold-n-Sweet, and so forth are, as "cheeseball" said, margarine. And ironically, at least from the local grocers, premium grades of margarine are more expensive than cheap generic butter, and yet they don't taste nearly as good.

I've said this before, but personally, when I make frosting, I use "The Recipe That's Been On The Back Of The C&H Powdered Sugar Box Since Before Most Of Us Were Born," using ordinary salted store-brand table butter (ALL butter), McCormick REAL vanilla extract, and either 1% or 2% milk, scaling the amounts to the amount I actually need,and hand-blending it with an ordinary dinner fork (what can I say? I like my frosting dense).

For cookies, I generally use a 50/50 mix of ordinary salted table butter and margarine. For cake mixes that call for butter, I use ordinary salted table butter. For Rice-A-Roni, I use a 50/50 mix of salted table butter and canola oil, and for poultry dressing, I saute the onions and celery in a 50/50 mix of ordinary salted table margarine and UNSALTED butter (I use so little of the latter that I keep it in the freezer).

I have baked small batches of dairy-free cookies using a totally-dairy-free margarine (Earth Balance, if I remember right).

Mybearsbaby also check the pan release that you are using.  If you are using a store bought spray pan release - it may well contain soy lecithin.  I made

my own pan release for this cake.

Good call swishykitty...I completely forgot about that and vegetable shortening is usually made from soybean oil!

AWe tried a can of a pan spray (or "edible mold release") not too long ago. Not for cakes; just for meat. It left an odd taste that I didn't particularly care for.

For cakes, I just use the age-old butter-and-flour.

And I go for real butter and real vanilla in my frostings because I don't give a rodent's defecatory orifice about making the frosting looking as white as titanium white paint; I care what it tastes like.

cheeseball - soy bean oil is usually ok if the issue is soy allergies, it is the protein or the lecithin that is the allergen part of soy and can be life threatening.

  My friend's daughter has life threatening soy allergies and it is amazing, and dismaying, to see how many products use soy as fillers - vitamins, candy, broths...It is a challenge to bring food to their get-togethers, it has given me a real lesson in label reading!

hbquikcomjames! - I agree about the real butter taste - can't be beat, try a teensy touch of violet color gel to get a whiter butter-cream.  Also, I use a mixture of equal parts flour, crisco (or any solid shortening), and oil for my cake release.  Keeps in the frig just great.

AGood call about the release!! I think I will use some of the sweet cream butter I got today and some flour instead of the spray I usually use. Thanks for the info...who knew soy was in sooooo much! :eek:::lol: I am definitely now an intense label reader...I feel like a soy detective! :detective:

I got some fondant from hobby lobby to try...soy was not in any of the ingredients. Do y'all think that will be ok to use since soy isn't on the ingredient list? ( I know wilton's had a disclaimer saying it was made near products containing soy, so I didn't get Wilton. The Hobby Lobby brand had no such warning.) I usually make my own but mine has shortening in it.

I can't answer your ? regarding HL fondant but........

It's not hard to make your own.  Then you would know exactly what is in it :)  You do need a KitchenAid (or similar brand) mixer.

AIf you are baking as a profession (read: for money) you need to get a LOT more familiar with the ingredients you are using. Butter and margarine are as different as night and day, and react differently in recipes.

Liz

Actually, what Liz says goes even if you're NOT baking for money. And it especially applies if you're doing any kind of experimental baking.

AYes this does prove I need to get more familiar and read all ingredient lists :D ...this is the first time I have come across anything like this, but I am certain it won't be the last.

Kakeladi: I usually make LMF at home, but since it calls for shortening, I had to go another route. Do you have any other suggestions for homemade soy free? Thanks :)

I also got to thinking: if I do use the HL kind, can I use a bit of coconut oil rubbed on my hands instead of shortening if it starts to dry out?