Butter Vs Margarine In Buttercream?
Decorating By jeffer01 Updated 31 May 2007 , 2:52pm by apclassicwed
Does anyone know the difference in using margarine instead of butter in buttercream? I have only been making the Wilton Classic Buttercream recipe, which has only shortening. I wanted to try a different recipe that incorporates butter, but no butter in the house!!!
So, I used a stick of margarine and the Crusting Buttercream Icing (Viva Method) from the recipe site. I must say it tasted superb, much better than the Wilton!!!! And the crumb coat went on 10 times easier than the Wilton has been!!! 
But it is not crusting at this time 
It is raining here and I wonder if that could also play into the non-crust evening I am having......made me have to go get some ice cream to soothe my woes!!!!
So, any difference? Better if using butter?
when using the buttercream dream recipe off CC, i've never noticed a difference in using butter or margarine. both ways tasted great to me. in other recipes, i haven't tried margarine yet.
I made buttercream with all margarine and I almost puked my brains out. YUCK!
I love butter, not like an ice cream cone of it, but I love it when I make a buttercream icing from scratch.
I can make vegan cakes but I prefer butter, butter, butter. I'm all for eating right but there are some things that I just don't mess with.
! I had to throw the whole batch away. It just never really came together the way it would if I made it with real butter. Margarine will change the way your buttercream tastes and also the texture. When I first started making buttercream I used margarine because that was all I had. I started using real butter and there is no comparison! I will never go back to margarine.
Margarine is not allowed in my house.
just curious...y?
I'm curious also....y? I use margarine in my buttercream and LOVE it! I don 't use it for costs savings or anything, my customers prefer the taste! I use butter on occasion, but have found when I do and I color the buttercream, it seperates so badly in the bag (piping bag that is).
Margarine is not allowed in my house.
just curious...y?
Well, for starters because I think it tastes and feels nasty.
But, it's also actually worse for you than butter.
When I want butter, I want BUTTER, not some pseudo-chemical stuff that kinda almost, but not really looks and tastes like butter.
Nothing works like butter when you're cooking or baking and nothing tastes like butter when you put it on food like toast, bread, or potatoes.
So, we are a no margarine zone! 
Also, I don't make the confectioner's sugar + shortening/butter "buttercream". I can't imagine what margarine would do in a meringue buttercream recipe, but the idea of it just sounds gross to me.
(edited to address 2nd question to my previous post)
Margarine is not allowed in my house.
just curious...y?
Well, for starters because I think it tastes and feels nasty.
But, it's also actually worse for you than butter.
When I want butter, I want BUTTER, not some pseudo-chemical stuff that kinda almost, but not really looks and tastes like butter.
Nothing works like butter when you're cooking or baking and nothing tastes like butter when you put it on food like toast, bread, or potatoes.
So, we are a no margarine zone!
Also, I don't make the confectioner's sugar + shortening/butter "buttercream". I can't imagine what margarine would do in a meringue buttercream recipe, but the idea of it just sounds gross to me.
(edited to address 2nd question to my previous post)
Ohhhh....so it's just your personal preference....I was just curious and thought there was another reason. I wish I had as much luck using butter as you do! There are certain things I will only use real butter in, but not much, and I prefer Country Crock sticks in my buttercream, however, I use a 1/2 shortening recipe.....WISH I could sell IMBC here, but my customers hate it....yes, hate it! There's gotta be something wrong w/ their tastebuds! I LOVE meringue icings, and of course, there's no substitute for butter with those!
I can't imagine what margarine would do in a meringue buttercream recipe, but the idea of it just sounds gross to me.
As I said earlier in this post, I did try this and it was a disaster! I had to throw the whole batch away and start all over, with the real thing!
I'm so surprised that there are so many margarine haters out there! I use margarine in my bc all the time. I usually do 1/2 crisco and 1/2 butter but I substitute one stick of the butter for margarine. I think it gives it a really good buttery taste.
I bake a lot and find that both butter and margarine have their place in the baking world. Actually, on Sara's Secrets (food network) she went over the difference and what they do when you use them in baking and such. It was really neat. One makes things crunchy while the other makes things a little soft. But I have found that sometimes when I use both instead of one in my bake goods, it really works out great. And sometimes when I want something to taste like my mom's I use all margarine because we were too poor for butter in the ol' days and so that is all we used
Also, margarine isn't any worse for you than crisco! Actually some margarines are better for you than butter...
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/butter-vs-margarine/AN00835
So don't hate it..give it a try
For me, using margarine in IMBC wasn't about the taste alone, it was the texture. Margarine must have more water in it than butter, because the IMBC made with margarine was very soupy in texture, and it just never turned out right. I do bake things like cookies with margarine, but I think when I there is a recipe that calls for the main ingredient as butter, I will go with that, for texture and flavor.
Also, margarine isn't any worse for you than crisco! Actually some margarines are better for you than butter...So don't hate it..give it a try
It is true that both margarine and vegetable shortening are hydrogenated vegetable fats. Margarine is basically vegetable shortening with artifical butter flavor added. I'm not gonna spread Crisco on my toast or dinner roll.
No margarine is natural. Butter is. Also, because margarine is a manufactured product, it is not considered a "food" and as a result is not subject to FDA regulations. So, while the FDA monitors the production of butter and issues grades on butter, no one is overseeing the manufacturing of margarine.
While there are some margarines out there specifically manufactured and marketed for "low cholesterol", they are still inferior, in my opinion, to butter. Butter contains all the nutrients of cream/milk, and while it is fat, it still has those natural nutrients.
Plus, butter just tastes better and doesn't leave that wierd feeling in your mouth that margarine does. I know because I've had margarine plenty of times. I, too, grew up in a household that used mostly margarine. So I know what it's like, and what it's like to me is nasty. If I'm in a restaurant and I ask for butter and the server brings me margarine, I just don't use it. I'd rather eat a dry piece of bread than ruin it with margarine.
Yes, there are some recipes that call for margarine. I generally don't use those recipes. I'll find another recipe for the same dish that uses butter instead. Or I'll tinker around with the first one until I get a good dish that uses butter.
I do use Crisco, in very small amounts. But I do it begrudgingly. I live in GA and due to the heat and humidity down here, even my meringue buttercream needs a touch of Crisco to help stabilize it. If I had my druthers, I wouldn't use it, either.
I use the Wilton BC recipe --1/2 Crisco & yes, 1/2 margarine--It crusts well, most people LOVE the taste and there is a cost savings! I like Imperal margarine for my BC frosting (64 cents per pound) versus 3.29 a pound for butter. I will only use butter in my cake & cookie recipies.
IMHO, if the rest of your eating habits are good/moderate, then the few times a year you indulge in cake shouldn't wreck your health--it is cake BTW
I love butter, not like an ice cream cone of it, but I love it when I make a buttercream icing from scratch.
I can make vegan cakes but I prefer butter, butter, butter. I'm all for eating right but there are some things that I just don't mess with.
I agree....... Do you make your like mine?
I personally use Butter, And on top of that Crisco is so horrible and I personally wouldnt feed it to my kids, I make my recipe with All butter. whip it good until it turns white then add 10 x sugar. I add cream and orange extract or vaniila. This was the recipie we always used at the bakery and when i let it tuck with me, No one gets it but its really good, It holds up well, better then you would think. and isnt too tooo buttery... My customers really love the uniqueness.
I use margarine and don't really notice a difference but when baking I make sure to use the real margarine and not the spread sticks! The margarine does hold up a little better with heat than real butter. Also if you want to get picky... I have noticed a difference between the cheap butter and the brand name stuff and not just the price.
I suppose this topic can be one of those hot button topics! 
like scratch vs. dr'd. or is duff really That good!
Margarine is not allowed in my house.
just curious...y?
I'm curious also....y? I use margarine in my buttercream and LOVE it! I don 't use it for costs savings or anything, my customers prefer the taste! I use butter on occasion, but have found when I do and I color the buttercream, it seperates so badly in the bag (piping bag that is).
Me too, cambo! I have used margarine in my buttercream when I make it half and half (Crisco/margarine) and I love the taste.
I don't make it all the time, but the times I do, I love the taste! Yum!
I think is mostly cultural, In my country people is so used to margarine that they actually dislike the taste of butter, if I change it for the margarine, people say it tastes too much like butter, cause margarine gives you a milder flavor.
I personally love butter, It has a melting point the is the same as inside the mouth, and I dislike very much crisco, and I see that in the US you make all crisco butter-cream, I rather eat margarine than crisco, but in my country we don't use much crisco, so I think is cultural
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