I just had to say it. I hate buttercream. I just have to get it off of my chest.

1) I hate making it MOST OF ALL
2) I also hate having to make a bunch of colors for one cake
3) I also hate making a tone of piping bags

I just had to vent. I find myself holding off on cakes or avoiding decorating just to avoid making the buttercream.

Anyone want to pass on tips that makes it less of a PITA?

Did you try Pastry Pride? or Bettercreme those are really easy to work with it just whipped them and voila; they both taste delicious too. And airbrush can help you too, to color you cakes.

I'm sorry...I read the thread topic and cracked up laughing. It wasn't at you...just the topic struck me as funny(okay, my first thought...and I do mean FIRST THOUGHT was on Noggin, Moose A. Moose was singing a song ...it was closer to Halloween..."Oh, I don't like candy corn!" lol

My second thought came with a vision of a 4 or 5 y/o stomping her foot with her hands crossed over her chest and her lips all poked out..."I hate buttercream!"

I have no tips that would make it less of a PITA.

How do you make your buttercream? I understand about making all the differant colors...but I love mine, It works great and I love the taste. I doo love working with fondant just because it looks so smoother.

I used to be part of the I Hate Buttercream club but I have changed. I now hate Fondant. haha1

I do have a couple of hints for you though

Make your buttercream in batches and freeze it. I found a place online that sells those plastic containers for like potato salad and such really cheap and bought them (I have like 100 of them!) I put in them all my basic colors (you can mix primary colors and such) and they will stay fine in a freezer for a month. When it is time to use them, move them to the fridge the night before you need to use them.

If you have a week of a lot of different colors, I fill my pastry bags and just put the couplers on them, no tip, and put them in this thing that is designed for paint brushes I bought at an art supply store. It will hold like 10 bags. My buttercream does not need to be refrigerated and I will keep my pallate of bags out for a few days and have no problems. YOu just pop on whatever tip you want to use, then take it off when done. The bag is ready for the next project.

I have to disagree with the premade buttercreams. I think they taste nasty and I find the colors run. But to each their own!

Good luck!

Oh you poor thing. I am curious about what buttercream you DO use. Maybe that way we can help ya out a bit. I love making and using it just as much as fondant. Let's see how we can help you. Good luck...

I am sooo with you on all three points! I also cant stand the mess I make when I make a double batch in my KA. I will put cakes off for hours because Im just sitting there wishing it could make itself. Oh and you can add making MMF because its right up there with making BC......... hehehe

I love my buttercream! it comes out smooth and tastes pretty good.
loriesmom-would you be willing to share your recipie? i keep my buttercream refrigerated but would be interested in a recipie that doesn't require the fridge
on the topic of fondant...i'm still too afraid to try it

I'm afraid I have no advice, have just come in to commiserate. I hate buttercream too! I have so much admiration for all of you decorators that have buttercream nailed.

I have no issues with my buttercream! Only thing I hate is the clean up!!! Too greasy and everything has to be washed by hand. ughhh I do like someone mentioned above.. I make in batches and freeze so when its time to do a cake I pull it out. I don't make a batch for every single cake at the time of decorating. It is so much easier to have it ready to go and just fill your bags.

Thanks for all of the tips and tricks....and the moral support. I suppose I was a little 'pouty'....but that was somewhat of my attempt. I just had to get it off my chest.

I think one of my biggest issues is that I make it on a cake by cake basis. I don't do enough cakes right now that qualify me making a lot at one time. I can't tell you how much buttercream I have had to throw away, because I have too much left over at the end of a project.

I really hate when I have made too much of a color...and then I am sitting with a rubbermaid container of hot pink, that I won't need for months.

If I make it in batches that will help a ton...but still I don't make enough cakes that often. I can make 3 cakes in a week....or not make another cake for 3 months. Argh...

Normally, I'll make one or two 5 gallon buckets on Monday...if it's really slow...maybe only a 2 gallon bucket...this is the basic, shortening-based icing. Making it ahead and all at once although grueling(?) at the time is such a relief once it's done. Making it in advance also helps it with smoothness/less graininess IMHO. Get smaller mixing bowls for making the colors...clear rubbermaid/tupperwear type with lids. If I've got enough icing left over, I'll scrape all the colors into one bowl or into a large decorating bag fitted with a large tip(usually a 1M) and decorate cupcakes or maybe even try a new technique shared by a fellow CCer(love you guys for that!). It's all still a PITA though.

Oh honey I hear ya! I mean I like my buttercream and all, but boy the mess it makes. I've tried the premade bc, but my clients like mine so much, I hate to change. The best of course is the fine coating of ps I get on everything from mixing the bc. I don't even wear my glasses when I'm decorating because they're always coated in ps and luster dust. (Look at the pretty sparkly fairies floating in front of my face!!!) My hot water can almost cook pasta it's so hot because of cleaning the bc. And don't get me started on those piping bags full of color. And I personally don't like the consistency of the bc once it's frozen and thawed. I try to do most of my decs in fondant for just that reason. I'll cut a piece of fondant and paint it by hand anyday over dealing with all those icing colors.

Yeah! I am so glad to hear that others share my same irritated feelings! I felt like I was the only messy baker on here...but not now. My DH cringes when my KA goes off, b/c he knows it is a matter of time before the kitchen is covered in PS. All those icing bags...all those colors. Argh....

Hands down...I need to start making more than one batch at a time. I guess I will start freezing it (CAN YOU DO THAT???), just to avoid me wasting it when I don't do a cake for awhile. I would much rather have a batch hanging around than to make a whole batch just to turn around and decorate the entire cake in fondant anyway.

I have been using SugarShack's recipe...which I like. I have only made it twice, so still need to get down in a routine with it. It tastes great and is not quite as greasy....but I still manage to make a mess.

Yeah! I am so glad to hear that others share my same irritated feelings! I felt like I was the only messy baker on here...but not now. My DH cringes when my KA goes off, b/c he knows it is a matter of time before the kitchen is covered in PS. All those icing bags...all those colors. Argh....

Hands down...I need to start making more than one batch at a time. I guess I will start freezing it (CAN YOU DO THAT???), just to avoid me wasting it when I don't do a cake for awhile. I would much rather have a batch hanging around than to make a whole batch just to turn around and decorate the entire cake in fondant anyway.

I have been using SugarShack's recipe...which I like. I have only made it twice, so still need to get down in a routine with it. It tastes great and is not quite as greasy....but I still manage to make a mess.

I feel your pain, Blondie! I hate making it, too - for exactly the reasons you said and because of all the blasted PS that floats through the air to every single room in my house. It's like some foreign being all its own that goes wherever it pleases.

I have your solution: Go to Sam's and head straight to the bakery. Tell them you want a giant tub of their buttercream (Spred-N-Fill). It tastes GREAT, it will crust if you leave it on the cake and you don't have all that mess of making it. You can buy smaller containers of already colored buttercream as well and this stuff lasts a long time. It's shortening based so can sit in your pantry and doesn't need to be refrigerated, and it isn't as greasy feeling as the Crisco buttercream. I don't remember how many lbs. is in the tub - it's heavy - but it's around $25 or $26 and is well worth it!!! You can add your own special flavorings to it if you want.

JR - San Antonio

PS - It's great on graham crackers!

I agree with all the previous suggestions to make your buttercream life easier.

One idea for those PITA leftover blobs of colored icing is to periodically mush them all together (if they are vanilla flavor) and add enough melted chocolate or cocoa to them to change it to chocolate icing. Then I use it up on a small cake for the family or cupcakes. Sometimes the color is a little funky, but for the family, who cares? They eat it anyway!

I think it is all about what we learned first. I got comfortable with buttercream first, so I use very little fondant--usually only for accents.

OMG newmansmom2004 Thank you so much for this info I did not know that you could do that. Thanks again. Happy Holidays

I like buttercream, but I hate decorating with it.... I'm a beginner, so I don't know how to get that smooth look everyone seems to get on their cakes when using buttercream. I have tried fondant, but I have had no luck with fondant either. I like the taste of buttercream better than fondant.

As far as the bags, I just have my son make them.. He loves mixing the colors for me and he's become pretty good at it. Saves me the time!

BUT HOW DO YOU COVER A CAKE WITH BUTTERCREAM AND GET IT VERY SMOOTH WITHOUT CRUMBING!!! Soooooo frustrating for me.

OMG newmansmom2004 Thank you so much for this info I did not know that you could do that. Thanks again. Happy Holidays

I like buttercream, but I hate decorating with it.... I'm a beginner, so I don't know how to get that smooth look everyone seems to get on their cakes when using buttercream. I have tried fondant, but I have had no luck with fondant either. I like the taste of buttercream better than fondant.

As far as the bags, I just have my son make them.. He loves mixing the colors for me and he's become pretty good at it. Saves me the time!

BUT HOW DO YOU COVER A CAKE WITH BUTTERCREAM AND GET IT VERY SMOOTH WITHOUT CRUMBING!!! Soooooo frustrating for me.

OMG newmansmom2004 Thank you so much for this info I did not know that you could do that. Thanks again. Happy Holidays

oooh...Great idea! I like the idea of being able to have buttercream hanging around the house, and in a nice big container. not to mention, after I was done using it....I could use that great container to store my own buttercream (when I decide to hassle with it again).

Now...I just need to go get a Sam's Club membership. I have a costco card...do you think they sell the same stuff?

What is funny is that I have no issues making fondant. I feel like it is such a cost saver...and so easy that it is worth it. I guess I am just a self proclaimed fondant-gal.

oooh...Great idea! I like the idea of being able to have buttercream hanging around the house, and in a nice big container. not to mention, after I was done using it....I could use that great container to store my own buttercream (when I decide to hassle with it again).

Now...I just need to go get a Sam's Club membership. I have a costco card...do you think they sell the same stuff?

What is funny is that I have no issues making fondant. I feel like it is such a cost saver...and so easy that it is worth it. I guess I am just a self proclaimed fondant-gal.

OMG, I hate it too! I hate hate hate hate it! I've watched Sugarshacks video 4 times, get all inspired, and can't get it to work. Gah! It gets all over me. All over the kitchen. All over everything I own. And it's hard to scrub up because it's so full of Crisco that it just smears.
Last time this happened, I literally threw the bowl of it outside until I could calm down to mess with cleaning it up. Feels so good to vent about this, but I seriously despise buttercream!!!!

I am a definately a fondant person. I love the smooth look and it's so much easier to work with. But I do love SMBC for fillings. I almost always use SMBC and it's not as messy to make once you get the hang of it. And the taste of SMBC is definately worth it. But when it comes to decorating I would much rather skip the piping bags!

YEA!!! This feels so good to let it out.....and to know there are others of you out there. I just assumed it was because I was such a beginner, but I see it doesn't matter how much/little experience you have.

Yeah...SugarShack's video is great, but she makes it look so easy. Just down to the way she scraps the bowl, it looks like a breeze. However, you zoom over to my kitchen...I have got the mixer going crazy, PS flying all around, buttercream all over the bowl and pouring out the sides..just a nightmare.

I hate it when you run out of BC...while you are filling or crumb coating your cake. Argh...then you realize that you have to make a whole nother batch just to fill or crumb coat before the fondant. It's like 'whats the point'.

Thanks for letting me rant! I am just glad there are others out there too! I can't wait to tell my DH that I am not the only one with BC issues.

I have to say I love the taste of buttercream, but oh the clean up. I hate all of those buttery greasy dishes! I try to get my husband to do them whenever I can!