The last couple of times I made Sugarshack's buttercream it came out very dry and kind of sticky. It had a pasty consistency and was very hard to spread. I use high ratio shortening and domino brand sugar. I was afraid to but I added three tablespoons of heavy cream to make it spreadable (probably could have added another tablespoon but like I said I was afraid it would break or something). The only thing different was i used a store brand of coffee creamer. Would that make a difference? I think in her DVD she says you can use any brand of creamer but I can't quite remember off the top of my head. Any thoughts?

I make it all the time and don't have any problems with it. I have the DVD's but there is a recipe on this website that is scaled down a little for smaller KA mixers and i use the quantities in that recipe. I think they are a little bit different, and it seems like it was approved by Sharon. I know she doesn't recommend heavy cream b/c that would make it parishable.
I use storebrand coffee creamer every time and mine comes out smooth.

What brand of hi ration do you use? Since I switched from Alpine to Sweetex, I've had to increase my liquid by about 25%.

Must also take the weather into consideration. In the summertime it's easy to make a slippery, sloppy batch of icing. If it's winter where you are, you may need to nuke your icing for a few seconds to make it easier to spread.

I made a small batch using the quantities from the DVD. It's kind of easy to scale the recipe down because it's basically 1:1 powdered sugar to shortening. It's interesting that the brand of hi ratio made a difference for you DianeLM. Did you just add more tablespoons of the creamer mixture until it was the right consistency? When did you add it - at the beginning or after the powdered sugar was incorporated? I added 3 tablespoons of cream to get it spreadable and I probably could have added one more.

VickiC, I make my icing in a 7 quart Viking mixer, so I don't measure in tablespoons. I'd be standing there all day!

I made my first batch with Sweetex using the same amount of liquid that I used with Alpine. Since I cream my shortening and heat my liquid, I didn't know until the next day how stiff my icing really was. I had to add liquid to each small batch I worked with until it was the right consistency.

And don't worry about a couple of tablespoons of cream. Your icing will be fine at room temp.

VickiC - I make Sugarshack's buttercream all the time. I use Sweetex hi-ratio shortening and cream it first and then add the 4T extract (I use clear Mexican vanilla)and cream together as I heat the water for the creamer. I use 2/3 c. coffee mate original with 2/3 c. hot water and add to shortening. After streaming in the powdered sugar I let the mixer run on 6 for 9-10 mins. The buttercream turns out very creamy. HTH - Wanda

Thank you all for your responses. I feel more confident now that adding additional liquid after you have mixed the batch won't ruin it. I'll be making another batch this week and I'll see how it goes. At least my anxiety level won't shoot to the sky if it's somewhat dry at the first go round. Enjoy your weekend!

I am always adding creamer at the end. The original recipe for me has way too much liquid. I add 2/3 of what it calls for at mixing time then add more at the very end if it's too stiff. For somereason. The original recipe for me has too much liquid. Probably because I use a diff. Brand of hi-ratio shortening. I can't get Sweetex locally

I am always adding creamer at the end. The original recipe for me has way too much liquid. I add 2/3 of what it calls for at mixing time then add more at the very end if it's too stiff. For somereason. The original recipe for me has too much liquid. Probably because I use a diff. Brand of hi-ratio shortening. I can't get Sweetex locally

I use mainly Coffee Mate creamer, but have tried others with the same results. Just make sure that the creamer is completely dissolved in the water & HOT. I've used hi ratio from Country Kitchen (Baker's?) and just bought a 50# box of Sweetex for the 1st time (b/c everyone brags on it so much). I really can't tell the difference btw the two. I frequently have to add more liquid @ the end, but still have smooth results. I ALWAYS use Domino sugar b/c I've been burnt several times with off brands making the bc grainy.

Hello I am going to make this recipe for a Christmas cake, But I want to use as the liquid , Internation white chocolate. Will I still get a good crusting on the cake?? Thanks to all