I Need A Good Substitute For Buttercream Icing
Baking By luv2cook721 Updated 19 Aug 2010 , 5:38pm by ummirizwan
I was asked by my boss to make a cake for her dtr's baby shower. I had everything all planned out in my mind including using buttercream icing. Today I happened to talk to the new mom and she mentioned "hating" buttercream icing. I am new to cake making and haven't used whipped cream icing and since I have limited refrigerator space I really don't want to go with that. I am planning a tiered cake and could go with fondant, but really had some cute ideas for the buttercream. Any suggestions/thoughts are greatly appreciated.
What does "dtr" stand for?
I don't really have an answer for you so I'll give you a bump, maybe someone else will have a better response. But what about using chocolate buttercream, or a flavored buttercream? Or does this person hate any kind of buttercream? That's really tough! Did you try looking through the frostings in the recipe section?
Did you ask WHY they don't like BC? Maybe they had a bad batch or a bad version of it. Maybe what they call BC isn't BC at all (cake civilians ... they never knwo what they're talking about!).
But I dont' alter my icing recipe. I was making a free cake for daughter's friend once and the family indicated "NO BUTTERCREAM .. WHIPPED CREAM ONLY!" (written in large letters in the sketch they brought over ... whatever!). I pointed to those words and said, "I don't DO Kroger cakes .... if you wanted a Kroger cake, it's right over there" and pointed to the Kroger sign that you could see from my front porch.
Turns out they LOVED my icing. 
Dtr is daughter. I am a nurse so we shorten all kinds of words and I forget sometimes that they don't always make sense.
I was thinking about having her sample some icing. She said, "all buttercream icing tastes rotten to me" I didn't ask if she just meant like Sam's club cakes or if she had any real honest buttercream before. I was wondering if creamcheese icing would be a consistancy that I could use for decorating. Maybe I could ice with cream cheese and use BC for the accents. She could scrape of the small amount that would offend.
Here's an overview to the different types of icings/frosting:
http://tinyurl.com/yh44gu
As has been said, perhaps the customer has only tried a bad version of one type of b/c. Doesn't mean that or another type isn't good - but that she had a bad experience.
American b/c's can be made using all butter, butter and shortening or all shortening. (And then there's hi-ratio shortening.)
There are also the meringue b/c's and some other different types.
Everything you ever wanted to know about the different types of frostings/icings:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-6011626-.html
Everything you ever wanted to know about cream cheese frosting/icing:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-606414-.html
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-602187-.html
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-605468-.html
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-582086-.html
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-582561-.html
Hi-ratio shortening recipes:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-6148181-.html
Ganache might also be another option.
Everything you ever wanted to know about ganache:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-497433-.html
Chocolate 101:
http://tinyurl.com/ytby97
Everything you ever wanted to know about baking, assembling and decorating your first tiered/stacked/layer cake:
(Has cake, frosting and fondant recipes. And so much more.)
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-605188-.html
HTH
Thanks JanH. Looks like you sent me enough to keep me busy for a while. I really appreciate it.
I bet she's only ever had the shortening+confectioner's sugar type of "buttercream". Lots of people think they don't like buttercream until they try IMBC or SMBC. You can't really decorate with whipped cream - it's meant to be a dessert topping, not a cake icing! The stuff they use in grocery stores isn't real whipped cream. And like indydebi, if that's what they want, they can go to the grocery store and get a cake there.
If you want to try covering the cake in fondant and using fondant and RI for the deco, you can use other things besides BC to adhere the fondant to the cake. For example, if you are doing a lemon cake, you can use a thin layer of lemon curd instead of the BC crumb coat and put the fondant right on top of that! You can even use piping gel, but I'd rather use something with a little flavor to it.
HTH!
Wow JanH - that is so cool.
Indydebi will you please share your BC recipe?
Thanks a lot
http://cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-6992-Indydebis-Crisco-Based-Buttercream-Icing.html
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could you please give us your recipe I am having a hard time fining a good tasting buttercreme thank you 
could you please give us your recipe I am having a hard time fining a good tasting buttercreme thank you
hi everyone,
i know this a question within a question but since we are on the topic of buttercreams................why start a new forum? what can i use as a sugar-free bc? i have a birthday cake to make for a diabetic person and she wants sugar-free (obviously). any info would be greatly appreciated.
Indydebi: I found dreamwhip in Walmart but it was a small box. Do you buy it in bulk?
Indydebi: I found dreamwhip in Walmart but it was a small box. Do you buy it in bulk?
I buy it at Walmart. Sysco seems to not know what it is. 
I buy the big box ... it has 4 envelopes in it and sells for something like $3.89 (less than $1/envelope). The cashiers have gotten used to me coming thru with 10 boxes of it on a heavy baking week!
[quote="prterrell"]I bet she's only ever had the shortening+confectioner's sugar type of "buttercream". Lots of people think they don't like buttercream until they try IMBC or SMBC. You can't really decorate with whipped cream - it's meant to be a dessert topping, not a cake icing!
I use real cream and add a whip cream stabilizer - Dr. Oetker Whip-it Stabilizer for Wipping Cream. I am able to add a bit of fine sugar and any kind of extract for flavor. Of course there is no hope of getting color or delicate details but it does go over big for those who can't have bc or don't want bc.
I posted a picture of my sponge cake with the whipped topping and fruit.
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_1243078.html
What is amazing is that the stabilizer keeps its shape even after I added a glaze to my fruit!
I buy it at Walmart. Sysco seems to not know what it is. Confused I buy the big box ... it has 4 envelopes in it and sells for something like $3.89 (less than $1/envelope). The cashiers have gotten used to me coming thru with 10 boxes of it on a heavy baking week!
Thank you! That is exactly what I found. 
Debi,
Have you ever made your icing with some butter? Also, when you beat for a longer period of time, do you get the air bubbles in it? I have read and watched Sugarshack's DVD about filling the mixer and all that, but I really just hate the mess! Is it easy to smooth and does it crust well? I am still looking for a satisfactory buttercream. I would think the Dream Whip makes the icing fluffier and lighter?? Sorry for all the questions, but you are always so kind to answer and help. Thank you.
I've never used butter, but I've seen some threads in which CC'ers have subbed 1/2 the crisco for butter and it worked good for them.
While I understand the concept of "beating in air", I just dont' see it when I make icing. The longer I beat it, the smoother it gets. Plus even if it did look air-bubbly ( ), once I bench-scrape it then Melvira it, it looks nice and smooth (see my pics - they are pretty much all Melvira'd).
I use real cream and add a whip cream stabilizer - Dr. Oetker Whip-it Stabilizer for Wipping Cream. I am able to add a bit of fine sugar and any kind of extract for flavor. Of course there is no hope of getting color or delicate details but it does go over big for those who can't have bc or don't want bc.
I posted a picture of my sponge cake with the whipped topping and fruit.
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_1243078.html
What is amazing is that the stabilizer keeps its shape even after I added a glaze to my fruit!
I use Whip-It, too, but you're still so very limited in what you can do with whipped cream. You can ice the cake and pipe some borders, but that's about it. Other than Ice Cream Cakes and Black Forest Cake, I don't use it...but then I only do cakes for friends and family and they all love my BC!
Indydebi, does the cake need refrigeration since there is milk in the icing or can it be left at room temp. Can water be substituted for the milk if refrigeration is not available?
@love2cook721-did you boss's daughter liked the icing??coz my kids dont like buttercream icing too..so i was just wondering if this did the trick..please let me know..thanks
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