Bc Vs. Crusting Bc - What's The Difference?
Decorating By born2bake Updated 20 Apr 2008 , 5:26am by buzymom1975
Crusting b/c's do just that, crust after applied.
Using a crusting b/c allows you to smooth using either the Viva paper towel or Melvira method of smoothing.
Non-crusting b/c's, such as the meringue b/c's don't crust.
Smoothing a non-crusting b/c requires a different technique, normally a spatula that has been dipped in hot water.
Which is better is a matter of personal choice based on either ease of use or frosting (taste)preference.
HTH
HTH
vdrsolo, I'm glad to hear you say that. There have been other threads that swear it's the meringue powder, or the shortening or a lot of other variables. When i was uninitiated to CC and didn't know the difference, I made a batch of SMBC and kept adding powdered sugar until it crusted(Yes, I know it was no longer SMBC after adding the PS) so I knew it was the amount of powdered sugar in the batch but had not seen anyone else say so. I thought maybe I was delusional.
Another advantage of the crusting BC is you can wrap the cake with plastic wrap without messing up the icing. If you tried that with non-crusting, when it warmed up the borders etc could get smudged. Personally I like the "REAL" SMBC because it is so smooth to eat. Nearly every recipe of Crusting I have tried, I can feel the grains of sugar between my teeth. Besides SMBC. the next best is the Whimsical Bakehouse BC. It pipes like a dream.
Crusting Buttercream has a higher powdered sugar:fat ratio.
The more powdered sugar you add, the more crusting..
This is a true statement when you are talking about buttercreams that use butter/crisco and powder sugar. There are a few recipes that use the two and do not crust. The Whimsical bakehouse has a recipes that has so much fat in it that it will not crust. So if you add enough powder sugar to make it crust you are no longer following that recipe.
When I think non crusting buttercreams though, I mostly think of the cooked ones that use egg whites, granulated sugar and butter. These are the ones that do not 'crust' no matter what.
And just in case there is someone reading this post that doesn't understand the term crusting... A crusting icing will dry/set on the outside so that you can touch the icing (usually after 10-15 minutes) and the icing does not stick to your finger. As Jan said this allows you to be able to lay things directly on the icing to help get the super smooth finish. A non crusting icing sticks to your finger and doesn't ever set.
I never use Meringue powder in my buttercream....I think it's a Wilton thing trying to get people starting out to buy more Wilton Meringue Powder!!
My icing is not grainy at all, but I personally think that the longer you beat it, the better and smoother it gets. I also use high ratio shortening as well (Crisco can be somewhat grainy), and I think that helps tremendously. But everyone has their personal preferences, I prefer a lightly crusting buttercream because I use alot of impression mats and smooth with the viva method. I have tried upping the shortening, but found it to be too "greasy" for my preferences.
All great information, but I knew I would get that here!
As for grainy BC, Can't say mine has ever been grainy, but I put my PS through a wire strainer and shake it so any hard pieces of PS are left at the bottom of the strainer and I throw that out.
Thanks!
Is there a recipe for Crusting BC ? Or is it basically just a BC w/ extra PS ?
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