Icing - Which way do you go?

[bgan10]

I was wondering what the verdict is on Icing. I make cupcakes alot and usually just go with the betty crocker icing from the store. What do most of you do for icing? Do you make it or do you go with store bought? I haven't tried making it yet but I'm sure I will try it soon.

[Short St. Cakes]

Its worth the time.
I use a basic cream cheese icing that goes with pretty much everything: 1 stick butter, 2 pkgs cream cheese, 1 t. vanilla, and 4-5 c. powdered sugar. (start with everything at room temperature; beat the butter and c.c. together first til smooth, then add other ingredients and beat til smooth.) viola.
then you can start adding extracts to get different flavors, lemon, mint, caramel, coffee, whatever.
good luck,
Jodi

[MellyBelly]

Depends on how much time I am able/willing to spend. Sometimes I will make a cream cheese frosting, because cream cheese is my weakness lol. Other times I will just buy the frosting from the store.

I have yet to make any buttercream or anything at home. I have a really good recipe too from school, but it uses so much butter. LOL

[CarlAird]

It depends on you! and who you are making them for!
I just started making my own through the Wilton recipe but some people actually have a taste for store bought icing!!???
HOW COMMON!

[phatch]

I'm not an icing/frosting fan. The one exception that makes the rule is cream cheese frosting on carrot cake.

Otherwise I find frosting too sweet, too fatty and obstructs the flavor of the cake/cupcake/cookie.

[Free Rider]

Originally Posted by CarlAird

It depends on you! and who you are making them for!
I just started making my own through the Wilton recipe but some people actually have a taste for store bought icing!!???
HOW COMMON!

This is quite a bit of trouble for the cake crowd. Cake box mixes taste different to an excellent scratch cake made with the best ingredients, but some people like those cake box cakes. I suppose it has to do with what you grew up with or are used to.

The Wilton recipe? The one with shortening? shiver

[CarlAird]

THATS RIGHT! I would never pick box cake to say a slice of cake from the Magnolia Bakery (NYC)
WHATS WRONG WITH THE WILTON RECIPE AND THE SHORTENING???

[Mezzaluna]

I have never been a fan of frosting. I'll eat a well-made cream cheese based frosting and some buttercream frostings if they're not too sweet, but that's it. A delicious cake with just a dusting of powdered sugar or some other sparingly-applied garnish is much more to my preference.

I find most commerical frostings on cakes to be greasy and gritty- they set my teeth on edge. A shortening-based frosting would be one I'd scrape off so I could enjoy the cake. I've had friends steal the scraped-off frosting off my plate and offer me their cake.

CarlAird, please don't be offended when people note their dislike of that type of frosting. Taste is highly subjective and personal! I have friends who would not eat homemade buttercream but would prefer the Wilton type and eat it with gusto.

It's just what I like.

[jessiquina]

Originally Posted by CarlAird

WHATS WRONG WITH THE WILTON RECIPE AND THE SHORTENING???

i'm unfamiliar with the wilton recipe, but usually shortening leaves a greasy undesirable mouth feel.. thats why i would prefer a butter based frosting.
for every tablespoon of butter, i use one cup of powdered sugar, and add milk until its creamy. oh, and add vanilla and salt and whip it for a little while to get rid of that weird powdered sugar texture.

[Frayedknot]

i'm unfamiliar with the wilton recipe, but usually shortening leaves a greasy undesirable mouth feel.. thats why i would prefer a butter based frosting.
for every tablespoon of butter, i use one cup of powdered sugar, and add milk until its creamy. oh, and add vanilla and salt and whip it for a little while to get rid of that weird powdered sugar texture.Today 07:46 PM

I agree, here in the south I only use shortening in the summer when the heat is a factor.. Jess no almond??

[CarlAird]

The recipe says 1 cup of Crisco How would I sub with butter AND
Will it mess up the texture?
what temp. should the butter be?

Originally Posted by jessiquina

i'm unfamiliar with the wilton recipe, but usually shortening leaves a greasy undesirable mouth feel.. thats why i would prefer a butter based frosting.
for every tablespoon of butter, i use one cup of powdered sugar, and add milk until its creamy. oh, and add vanilla and salt and whip it for a little while to get rid of that weird powdered sugar texture.

[Free Rider]

Crisco is a transfat. Horrid for you.. more horrid than the sugar and butter would be. Not only that, but it is used because it is easier to work with than real butter, which is temperamental when it comes to temperature. That's why Wilton uses Crisco instead of butter... for the ease of work, not the taste.

The book "The Icing on the Cake" helped me quite a bit. I did the Wilton thing too, but I prefer to cook for taste as well as presentation and Wilton tends to go for only presentation (including the fake vanilla extract, which I refuse to use as well).

[CarlAird]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IT FAKE!?????
THEY NEVER TOLD ME THAT!
Even if you use The Veg Crisco it still is all Trans Fat?
Will you get the same textures with butter?

[Free Rider]

If you want real vanilla essence without the price, you should make your own. Turns out it's as easy as pie to make -- okay, easier than pie to make. Problem is, it won't be clear like the imitation Wilton stuff. It will be the natural color of the vanilla bean, brown. Wilton recommends the clear stuff because it won't interfere with the coloring of your icing. The natural vanilla color will interfere with your food colors.

Crisco is by definition a hydrogenated oil, which is a transfat.

As for butter having the same consistency, no it won't. Butter will change consistency with temperature, so if you have the right temp, you'll get the same consistency. Wilton wants you to have the same consistency, especially while learning, which is why Crisco is used for that. Once you get the techniques down, you can experiment with icings that will work for what you want to do.

Just an aside... I use natural food colorings from India Tree and they are superb.

[fiveiron]

Originally Posted by bgan10

I was wondering what the verdict is on Icing. I make cupcakes alot and usually just go with the betty crocker icing from the store. What do most of you do for icing? Do you make it or do you go with store bought? I haven't tried making it yet but I'm sure I will try it soon.

Homemade. Plus I like a light amount on the cake, etc. There is always too much icing on cakes in my opinion.