Does Anyone Know Of A Crisco Alternative...
Baking By nelikate Updated 19 Oct 2010 , 1:49am by Michelle84
Im in Australia and I hear so often about using Crisco in buttercream and when using fondant but Im yet to find an inexpensive alternative.
I know I can buy Crisco at international food websites but the price seems very high at $6.99/1lb
Does anyone know what I can use as an alternative?
I have been told to use Copha but also read that this leaves a nasty aftertaste in buttercream as it is more of a solid fat than the creamy textured shortening seen in videos of Crisco being used.
thanks
Nel
i use copha all the time... havnt had a problem with it. some one said you can use fairy margerine but if you are wanting a stiff buttercream to withstand our heat, i would go for copha, it is much harder..
I used Sweetex in place of Crisco in my buttercream frosting once, and now I use it all the time. My instructor told me about it when I was decorating a cake with buttercream in the summer. It doesn't seem as greasy as Crisco.
what is sweetex? i dont think we have the here either..
Im in the uk im also looking for a substitute for crisco anyone out their have any answers 
Flowergirl1 ... best UK substitute is Trex, second best is White Flora.
Noahsmummy... Sweetex and Alpine are brand names of hi-ratio vegetable shortening. It's use results in a superior product over one made with regular veg shortening. Unfortunately, I have never found a UK source for it, or a similar product. So, I assume it's not available in Australia either.
You could try deoderized coconut oil. Not exactly super healthy but i imagine crisco isnt either.
Hi misssweetstory,coldtropics thank you so much,I thought trex was the best idea thank you both for getting back to me.
i whip it like butter; or if the recipe calls for it to be melted..t hen obviously melt it. hth. =)
noahsmummy - How do you whip it? Does it soften at all at room temp? From memory it was a super hard block
I've been using Fairy Margarine and it's great, but it tints the icing yellow which is really annoying.
yeah, i leave it out to soften to room temp as with butter and it will generally soften a bit. it does take some time to whip up though, sometimes i will zap it in the m/c to sofetn it a bit more...
buuuut. after going throught the "wanna share a secret" thread (highly recomend it!) i came across a tip where by you grate the butter before you whip it in case you forget to bring it to room temp. i have tried it and it works brilliantly! i would assume it should work with copha as well, and will be defiantly trying it next time i need copha!
Sounds great! I'll give it a try.
I'm not keen on continuing to use Fairy Margarine because it's not vegetarian-friendly, and I don't want to have to explain to people not to eat my cake because the icing is made from animal fat (sounds gross!)
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