Hi all,
I am always seeing new recipes on here for different kinds of butter cream, I have always used the wilton recipe. It seems like no one else uses it.
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
2 tablespoons milk
- I add a teaspoon of salt.


It crusts well, and holds up well to stacking and being covered with fondant.
I really like it, so does my family, and my customers, but I am still new at this. Is there something that typically goes wrong with it, that I am am missing, maybe in larger cakes, or cakes that sit out like wedding cakes. I have a very large wedding cake coming up and am wondering if that will be the day I figure out why no one seems to use it. I hope not!

Any experience you have with this butter cream would be appreciated!

I use the same recipe, always have, but have made a couple of changes...I use hi ratio shortening, I use boiling water, not milk and I add an extra 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Oh, and I only use real butter, salted, so I omit the salt.

I beat the dickens out of the shortening and butter for a good 15-20 minutes before adding anything else.

Everyone raves about my icing....it's a winner and I have never had trouble with it.

Im get a weird after taste with high ratio shortening.....

I am a instuctor for Wilton.
But the class receipe has no real butter in it.
Just shortening. I think it kinda grosses people out to know how much shortening goes into the frosting. I also add 1/4 tsp of almond to my receipes it really makes the frosting pop

Using boiling water seems to bring it all together a bit better and makes my icing smoother.

Hi ratio shortening is designed for bakers and makes fluffier, creamier buttercream icing. Hi ratio shortening, which contains emulsifiers, is more temperature stable and will hold air better upon whipping, improving volume and stability of icing. It produces a smooth and creamy icing without a greasy or gritty mouthfeel.

I u se both Wilton recipes, with and without butter. I particularly like the butter recipe for my chocolate buttercream. I use unsalted real butter, hot water and usually a tablespoon or two of milk. The only problem I've had with it is the WIlton classes use the no butter recipe, but my first class I used the butter recipe and it was too warm in the room and my icing melted. When I make my buttercream without butter, I use hi-ratio shortening. I use whatever flavoring for whatever taste I'm going for. Just tip too, shortening only gives you a whiter buttercream that might be what your bride wants for her wedding.

I used that recipe for years, and it always worked well for me. People liked it, and it was easy to work with. I don't use it anymore, but that's just because I found a recipe I like better (SMBC), not because it was a horrible recipe.

I understand that everyone has difference preferences, and I'm sure some people genuinely dislike the Wilton recipe, especially the no-butter version. But I think there are some who have just jumped on the "Everything Wilton is terrible" bandwagon. Ten years ago, when I took the Wilton classes, the recipe in my Course 1 book was the same as what you wrote, but with the addition of some meringue powder. Well, guess what: One of the well-known and well-loved decorators here on CC uses that same recipe, and I have seen entire multi-page threads that are just people raving about her wonderful icing. So if you like it, use it, and don't worry about what the rest of us think.

AHow much hot water do I use and where can I get high ratio shortening?