Okay I think that this is probaly a lost cause because everyine has there own opinion but i am CONFUSED.......

I need to know what is the bc recipe to use becuase I have seen some that have cream and other that dont some that use crisco/butter then some that use all crisco. I am making my twins 1st birthday cake and can not figure out what is the best bc to use... Please help.....
What are your favorite bc recipes..... Thanks

I use the Wilton buttercream, sometimes with all Crisco, sometimes with 1/2 butter. I use the all Crisco one when it's really warm out because the butter will make the icing melt.

Most icings call for some liquid, and what you use is really up to you. You will get a different flavor & consistency. If you use water, you will have a greasier mouthfeel and I think the colors tend to bleed more. Milk will give you a fluffier icing, and I imagine cream or half & half would make it fluffier still. I have also used liquid Coffeemate for great results. The icing was super fluffy and tasted yummy.

1 C Crisco
1 t flavoring
2 T liquid
Pinch of popcorn salt (if you use regular salt dissolve first in liquid)
1 T meringue powder
1 lb. powdered sugar

If you decide to use half butter, add the liquid in at the end. Depending on the butter you use (their water content varies) you may need to use less liquid or you'll end up with runny icing.

Ali

Now that I am in Canada, with nice cool weather, I am using the Wilton 1/2 butter, 1/2 shortening recipe, and it is absolutely perfect, fluffy, delicious, and great consistency. However, when I tried this recipe in Louisiana where I lived up until last month, it was almost like liquid, since it is so humid down there, SO, my favorite recipe was the Dream Whip Icing, which used all shortening, but didn't have the icky taste the Wilton recipe had. It held up great in the humidity and tasted good too.

So anyway, those are my two favorite recipes that I've tried, but I guess it depends where you are and which recipe works best for you.

Melissa

I use.............my own recipe that i stumbled on ..love it and knew i was on to something good when my brother in law who never eats frosting said.....can you make me another cake this time make it two layers so that there extra frosting in the middle....
1 cup shortening
3 sticks butter land o lakes unsalted
1 tsp almond extract
2 tsp butter extract
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 cup flour
1 1/2 lbs 10x sugar

i mix the top 5 ingrediants until it nice and whipped then i had the last two ....you can add more sugar if it needs to be thicker

I've found that no topic brings up more varied opinions here at CC than buttercream!
Everyone has their own taste. I think the best thing for you to do is to try a few recipes that sound good and make your own decision with your taste buds!

I prefer an all-butter buttercream. I know this isn't practical for very hot weather, but I love the flavor. I use Colette Peters' all-butter powdered sugar buttercream quite often (2 sticks real butter, 2 lbs. powdered sugar, 1/2 cup milk, 2 tsps real vanilla. Sometimes I add 1/2 cup shortening if I'm going to use it for piping). I've recently used Martha Stewart's Meringue Buttercream for Flowers recipe (for both flowers and icing a cake) and it is heavenly. It is very different from powdered sugar icing, though, and some people may not go for it.

Happy testing!