I know there is a big preference for Americolor food color but what is your choice for brand of flavorings? I was reading at Sugarcraft.com that they no longer will sell CK butter flavor b/c they have received many complaints about its short shelf life and CK not working with them to have happy customers. So that makes me leary on buying any CK flavorings. I do like wilton but wouldn't mind finding something of better quality. I tried a store brand at the cake store near me but it had a bit of a flowery taste and I had several comments that it tasted coconuty.

So..... what's your favorite brand of flavoring and where can you get it online?

Dia

I get my flavorings at my supply store and have NO problems with CK's butter flavoring, I did however have a problem with the vanilla flavoring going very bad. Taught me only to use real vanilla.

I mix Vanilla and Almond mixed together.

I love to use LorAnn flavored oils.....my favorite flavor to add to my buttercream is their Bavarian Cream. You can find these online all over the place. I purchase mine from my local cake supply store. Yummmmy!

When I don't use that, I also like to mix vanilla and almond extracts together. For my sugar cookies and their icing, I like to use vanilla, almond, and orange all mixed together.

When a recipe calls for extract, how much of the oil do you substitute with?

The oils are highly concentrated so you don't use as much as you would an extract.

I wish I could tell you exactly how much, but I usually make a double batch of BC and I just tip the little bottle twice into the bowl. I guess you could call it 2 "dashes." You could just experiement with it and flavor it to taste. Start with a little oil and add more until it tastes "right" to you.

Sorry, wish I could be more precise, but that's how I do it. Maybe I should measure my "dashes" sometime.

I am glad I found this subject the other day because now I have a question. So, inplace of the extracts, you can use the flavored oils? I have a few of the Lorann flavors. I bought a small dropper too. The one in particular is the Almond one--if a recipe calls for almond extract--I could use the oil? Would this be alright for any extract? Learning something new all the time. Thanks in-advance.

Yes, you can use the in the place of extracts. The oils are more concentrated than the extracts though so you will need to start with a little of the oil and add more until you reach your desired taste.

I love LorAnn's oils!

Thanks Luv2cake! I am going to try to add more to my little collection.

I use vanilla made from the recipe on this site and pure almond, orange, and lemon extracts usually by Schilling or McCormick. I also use orange and lemon oils made by Boyajian. I know some of the LorAnn flavors are natural oils but since I"m not sure which ones are, I haven't ordered any.

I've also used a number of liqueurs, though I'm not sure these are all always natural. They are also not as strong.

I'd love to hear from any of you who have found natural oils, extracts, or flavors other than the ones I've mentioned. I'm getting kind of bored with the ones I have.

Shalom,
itsacake!