HELP!!! I am trying Italian buttercream for the first time today. Before I start, I was needing help with finding out if high ratio shortening can substitute some of the butter. My recipe calls for 6 sticks of butter and was wanting to low if I could sub 3 sticks for the same amount of high ratio shortening? Please help quick!! Thanks in advance

It's been my experience that a half and half mixture works fine with most recipes. 

true and some people do this with the meringue icings -- however i tried it with smbc and it was awful -- so it's a maybe maybe not

Thanks. All I can do is try it right? 

exactly -- and if you update on your results -- that would be cool -- best to you

I will sure do it!!

Ok! So not so sure about this recipe. Don't know if it was the shortening or the whole thing. It's very fluffy  and not like a decorating icing that I'm used to. It was not real specific with using granulated sugar or powdered but du ring the melting process it states " once the sugar dissolves" so one could only assume that means granulated since the powider would dissolve very quickly.  Am I wrong? I really hope I didn't just waste the last 2 hours and this whole batch!!

yes it's granulated sugar -- meringue icing doesn't really crust unless you add some things like meringue powder or powdered sugar to help it crust -- and I'm a purist I don't add anything to mine -- 'purist' being code for not being smart/curious enough to add stuff ha!

you used the term 'decorating icing ' and I don't think of swissmbc ot Italianmbc  as decorator icing -- I just think of it as cake covering -- 'decorating icing' is an old term for an icing that literally was used just to pipe with back in the old days but I'm sure nobody uses it for that anymore --

and of the two swiss and Italian the Italian does get a bit of a edge on it -- a very soft malleable crust that does not allow for easy repairs like you can with swiss --

do you like the taste?

The taste is more plain (not as sweet) as the usual buttercream one is used to. But by no means, not a bad taste. The "decorating icing" I refer to is simply crusting icing. Stiff consistency. I see Italian buttercream on pictures of wedding cakes and just find it hard to believe the this icing would be strong enough to support one. I might try to add the powdered sugar. That was a great suggestion . Thanks.

Also, I forgot to mention, the recipe had 1/2 cup of meringue powder in it also.