I tried the Bettercream from Sams and was pleased with the results. I flavored with Coconut Loranne oil. Used (6 drops) and filled my cakes. The flavor intensified the next day and now has become one of the most requested fillings. For $19.23 I can probably fill and dirty ice, 10 cakes.

I absolutely agree about the coconut! It's one of the best flavors, and people request it like crazy. I've found that people who didn't think they liked coconut really like that, and people who already like coconut go bonkers! My favorite way (I'm sure I've said this a thousand times already, I'm sorry) is to torte a coconut cake really thin and fill with that coconut flavored Bettercreme. It's so light and delicious, and you don't feel like you're being a glutton. The lightness of it doesn't drag you down if you know what I mean, so it's a wonderful dessert in the hot weather. Sometimes when it's hot you just don't wany that heavy dessert. I'm so glad you are enjoying!!

Thanks Ladies. There is a cake store near me. I didn't see anything where they would refrigerate something, but I'll give them a call anyway.Also, I wanted to try the Mock Bettercreme and had a question about the recipe from the google doc.

Mock Whipped Icing (MWI)

3/4 c. milk
3 tbsp. flour
6 tbsp. butter
6 tbsp. shortening
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt

Cook milk and flour until thick. Allow to cool completely then pass through a sieve to remove any possible lumps. Cream butter, shortening, and sugar for 4 minutes. Add flour and milk mixture. Beat 4 minutes. Add vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar, mix on high until light and fluffy. Use as you would the PW WI.

Are there supposed to be two differnet sugars or just one sugar mixed in twice at differenet times and if so how much for each time?

Gosh I haven't received any email notices on this in quite some time! Glad to see this thread is still around!

Good catch! I haven't tried that recipe yet so I didn't even notice that!! I will go correct it on the document. Thanks GrandmaG for the clarification, and thanks twinmomma_1 for catching it!

I don't know what got me thinking about this, but here's what I learned during the one experience I had with bettercreme -

Do not whip it on high. The friction from the whisk turns it into a sponge.

The colder it is, the longer it takes to whip up. This can be a good thing, if you always end up overbeating it, like I do.

Where we normally use a hot knife to smooth buttercream, you need a cold (as in held in very icy water for a few seconds, then wiped off) knife to smooth bettercreme. I had this epiphany at midnight, after struggling with it for a few hours and consulting with someone local who swears by the stuff. She told me to use a hot knife. Don't do it.

I still can't get the timing down on whipping it without overbeating, but at least I now know that I can get more cooperation from it if I fill a towel with ice cubes and put it around the bowl while beating it. It's better than having to add more and make more bettercreme than I need for my project.

Theresa

I was finally able to get some Bettercreme this week. I have been wanting to try it for some time. I made some lemon curd this week for a lemon cake I was making for my daughter-in-laws Mom that was in the last stages of brain cancer, she had tasted my lemon cake earlier and said it was the only thing she could actually taste so I wanted to make her another one when she turned bad. Unfortunatly, I didnt' get it made before she passed so I made it and took it to the viewing dinner today for the family to enjoy. Everybody seemed to really like it.

You have sold me on this stuff, I love how smooth it is. How does this last for icing a cake that has to set out? How easy is it to smooth?

Myra, that stuff lasts for days without refrigeration.

Once I got the cold knife trick down, it was just as easy to smooth as regular buttercream with a hot knife.

Theresa

Back up a couple of posts, Bobw. It's in the text of my other post above.

Theresa

Got it! Thanks!

Thanks, Bobw.

Speaking of wonderbuns, how's he doing?

Theresa

All's well here! I just got my spiffy new SugarVeil package yesterday and I'm planning a weekend of fun in the sugar!!

Make sure you let that sugarveil set long enough. It breaks easily.

Have a blast!

Theresa

Yah, a hot knife on bettercreme would be a terrible thing! Melty mess!!

An important piece of info about beating it... it thickens when you STOP beating. Stop when it is just slightly less beaten that you think you want it and let it set for a few minutes. It will thicken a little bit more. If you need to turn it back on for a few seconds at a time to get to the final stage, keep an eye on it!

And that's really weird about the coldness... I've noticed that it seems to whip faster for me when it's colder??? I'm so bassackward!

Theresa, it's entirely possible that I'm thinking backward right now and that it whips faster warm like you said. Honestly, I didn't get much sleep last night.

hello, I need peaches and cream filling!! I was wondering if I can mix the sliced peaches with bettercream will be the same? any ideas for this filling...thank you in advance

Hey all, I talked to Christy-tutti by PM so wanted to add what I told her. PLEASE, if someone has experience with trying fresh or frozen peaches and can say with authority, don't be afraid to speak up!

I was concerned that the fresh or frozen (thawed) peaches would break down the Bettercreme, unless they were dried and then mixed in to the whipped icing. A little of the juice could be used for flavor while whipping, but you wouldn't want to stir a bunch of sopping wet fruit into it after it's mixed, at least, that's my guess. If you mixed in the fruit AND the juice before whipping, your fruit would no longer be chunks. Which may or may not be what a person is hoping for! When I do peaches and cream, I just do it with flavoring, not chunks. It tastes great, and it's still light and smooth. If a person does really want chunks of fruit, then you can look at options like rehydrated dried fruit that has been dried off fairly well, or more of a pie filling (sleeve filling) type of texture, or icing fruits. I know those things work. I have some frozen peaches, so I might thaw them out and give it a try so I can find out exactly what will happen.

hey there twinmomma_1--I am also a mom of twins in the dfw area. I am very interested in your sources when you find something. thanks in advance. PM me if you would like.

We don't have bettercream in the UK,is there an alternative.I don't think so actually.Thanks anyway for this thread.

If you can't actually get whipped icing in your area, try using the recipe at the bottom of the google document to make it home made! Just scroll down near the bottom of the page and you'll see the "mock" whipped icing. Good luck!

https://docs.google.com/View?docID=0ARCzpgSS_N4TZGdqcXNqamNfNGdtc3E5c2Ro&revision=_latest

First of all Mel you rock this post as 78 pages OMG read alot of them so helpful but I do live in Canada and bettercream not easy to find but did find Rich's Whiped topping its a 3.62 kg Liquid carton thinking it might be kind of the same even oilbased.
Have you ever tried this one?
Oh do you have a FB page I would love to be one of your followers you seem to know a lot.

I would like to share with you my experience with the filling I needed, peaches and bettercream. I bought 2 cans sliced peaches in syrup, and drain the juice (well drain). When assembling the cake I put a layer of cake, then the peaches (which I cut very small), and then the bettercream. The cake was a success everyone liked it.

Cristi-Tutty, thank you SO much for coming back and telling us how it went. I was hopeful that the canned peaches would work better than the frozen. Can you tell us, did you just drain them well, or did you actually take like a paper towel or similar and dab them off? Did you add any of the juice to the Creme when you whipped it? I am so psyched that it worked out. And just as much so that you gave us your feedback. Lovin' ya for that!!

cupcakegirl22 - unfortunately Rich's whipped topping is not the same as Bettercreme. People have been able to find that AND the Coffee Rich, but not the BCreme. UGH! Frustrating! BUT... if you are desperate and can't find the Bettercreme, the whipped topping can be used to make a stabilized whipped cream.

I do have an FB page, and have a handful of friends on there from here, but it is not a cake related page. It is my personal page with my kids, etc. on it, and I just talk about all the things in my brain. (Some days are scarier than others, hehehe) I also like to lust over the Glee guys there most days. Anyway, it's just under my name.

Edited for typo.

Yes, it did work wonderful. I drained the peaches for about 4 hours, one of the cans but since I needed more I opened another can and drained for an hour. Yes, I add some of the juice to the creme when whipping.

Thank you SO much to you!! you are so nice!! I love you!!

Quick question...I'm going to do the richer version for some strawberry cupcakes today, using half the milk for the pudding. Do I need to refrigerate them?

I like the idea of mixing up the pudding separately, because in the past when I whipped it all together the pudding never fully dissolved and I had to add a LOT of milk to get the pudding to dissolve.

Thanks!
AC

I like to do the pudding separately too, for the exact same reason. I didn't like how sometimes you got the grainy feeling if it didn't dissolve. It was shortly after I wrote the thread that I started doing it that way more, then eventually moved to that exclusively. It just works better in my opinion.

I will give you my patented response to what you just asked as well. There are probably 75 people that can already tell you EXACTLY what I'm about to say...

I have made it many times where I've used pudding and milk, and have let it sit out at room temp, people have eaten it, and no one has EVER gotten sick from it. However, I cannot scientifically say that it is 100% safe to do that. I honestly don't know how close to the line that is. Heck, lots of people smoke and end up not getting lung cancer, but I sure wouldn't suggest you take THAT risk, you know? If you are unsure at all, fridge it! Better safe than sorry.