Hi all! So, I live in Buffalo NY.....home of Rich Products. Rich Products has a cash and carry store. So, I was trying to come up with some alternatives to filling for cakes. I went to Rich's and purchased some bettercreme. And, let me tell you what I have done so far....(yum)

1. for filling...I used 1 cup of liquid bettercreme, whipped to soft peaks. Set aside. mix 1 small box pudding with 1 cup 1/2 and 1/2. I mixed it for a couple of minutes with hand mixer. Then fold the bettercreme into the pudding and refridgerate. OMG! YUMM-O! I used banana cream pudding mix first, for a banana cake I am making with fluffernutter frosting....delicious. This could be frosting and not just filling.

For a strawberry variation (Since I can't find strawberry pudding anywhere that I like) I make a box of vanilla pudding with strawberry quik instead of regular milk. Mix with the bettercreme and then I also pureed about 1 cup of frozen/thawed strawberries and mixed in. WOW! AWESOME! And it really holds it shape.

So, now I am wanting to go buy all kinds of boxes of puddings and try with other "milks". Like if you do chocolate fudge pudding with Chocolate Quik and chocolate bettercreme! OMG!!!

Anyway....any other thoughts?

I live in canada and never hear of bettercreme what the heck is it?? lol

Wish I could get Richs product here.

Here is a recipe I use made with Pastry Pride, I am assuming the same type of product as Rich's Bettercreme. It is very versatile and so good. I add hot water to the instant pudding though and make a very thick paste, flavor it and then add some of the whipped Pastry Pride to lighten it, then scoop it all into the remaining whipped topping and beat till combined. The Kahlua flavored is my most requested, but I did one with Lemon Curd on Sunday and it was delicious.
http://cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2396-Bavarian-Cream-Filling.html

I don't get Pastry Pride here either. In my area there are no cake supply stores here. I'd have to order either but am afraid of the cost and if it would still be good after shipping.

are these store bought buttercreams? Or whipped toppings or what? We dont have either of those in Montreal and was wondering what they are so I could find out if we have something similar.

They are a whipped type icing brand names. They are used to ice cake and taste like a whipped icing.
They are yummy.

So do you think they would be similar to the cans of duncan heinz whipped frosting?

Here's a product description of Rich's Bettercreme:

http://richs.com/bakerydeli_products_1.asp

Available from sugarcraft:

www.sugarcraft.com/catalog/misc/icings.htm

HTH

P.S. Sorry, I'm not typing well today

Is Rich's Bettercreme available at any grocery stores or Sam's?

Cindy

I find it at Smart and Final. I don't know if they have stores all around the country, but check at club stores or restaurant supply stores ( some are open to the public)

Thanks for sharing all the recipe suggestions! They sound delicious, and I'm always ready to try new recipes (since I'm still trying to find my favorites). By the way LukeRubyJoy, I'm from Buffalo (Kenmore) too! So I won't have any trouble finding bettercreme - I can't wait to try it!

Ok, in this filling experiment, I decided that I prefer white chocolate pudding with the Strawberry Quik, and the color ends up being a lot better. With the Vanilla, the coloring was kind of coral/orange.

The bettercreme should be available at food supply/resturant stores. I haven't seen it carried in our normal supermarkets around here....sounds like we could use a Smart and Final. Is that a grocery store? We don't have hobby-lobby either.

Bettercreme is like a super-thick heavy whipping cream, but it is non-dairy, and has sugar stuffs added, and other thickeners too. In liquid form, I had to beat it for about 10 minutes on medium speed for soft peaks to form. It has an aftertaste, which I can't call bad or good....just, there I guess.

you can also buy it premade (and precolored) in decorating bags. Just screw on a tip and go. You can also get it by the bucket, I have heard Sam's will sell you a frozen bucket for about $25 or so. I have never tried this. I'm not so large of a decorator that I need this much, or don't have the time to whip it up myself. The liquid can be frozen for a year.

HTH

I just stumbled upon that a few months ago! Try mixing it with a little Nutella...it's a hazelnut filling that is TO DIE FOR.

We do about 90% of our cakes in our store here in saline MI using Rich's Bettercream. We also have the buttercream option but most people once they try the bettercream they never go back to buttercream.

if you're a lic bakery or cake shop that uses Rich's products they will provide you with a free seminar on how to use their products.

It's a 3 day 2 night, meal included on their dime!

They have a Cake decorating one that I've been trying to get into and they keep on sending me to the savory one..lol

that's where I learned how to make the Aligator bread and the grape cluster and a great stuffed pizza pie!

Alot of the grocery stores around here use a whipped icing called Bettercreme, I think, but I'm not sure if it's Rich's or another brand. The only ones I've tried are vanilla and chocolate from grocery stores and was not impressed. I would love to try some of these recipes, sounds great!

Could you tell me where the cash and carry is located? I've been to Food Distributors of the Americas cash and carry but would love to try some new ones. Typical American that I am i'll drive 30 miles to have stuff now instead of ordering it and waiting a few days. Some people visit museums I'm all about restaurant supply stores.

Just a FYI to Canadians here.....just sent an e-mail to Rich's to see if anywhere in Canada sells Bettercreme or if they have a substitute product. Will let you know what I find out...
Sounds fabulous and would love to get my hands on some!

Jane

I wonder if using the non-dairy coffee creamers, with vanilla pudding, would work. It would make it totally non-dairy, but would it be able to sit out overnight without refrigeration?

Theresa

Jane,

This is what I found on NutriWhip:

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-50090-.html

Found a website about Nutriwhip with recipes:

http://www.mapleleaf.com/ConsumerProducts/AllOtherBrands/OpenBrand.aspx?ID=61++

Interesting Canadian website:

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/stevecarper/cansites.htm

HTH

Thanks Jan! I bought some Nutriwhip at the grocery store "just in case" it was like Bettercreme...gonna try it out!

Bettercream is also sold at GFS (Gordon Food Service) stores, in the freezer section.

Here's another filling idea: Creme de Menthe

Mix whipped Bettercream with marshmallow fluff - about 1/2 of the large jar to a container of Bettercream. Flavor with Creme de Menthe flavor oil to taste. I like to add a hint of green coloring. Soooo soo good with chocolate cake!

I'd imagine you could try other flavors too.

Wow that sounds really good, czyadgirl. That would totally make that Bettercream rock! Now I'm going to try and find some Bettercream so that I can make that

Just remember not to mix it too much or it will get really hard to use.

Do any of you use the bettercream to ice the cake, or just for fillings? I would like to try it out, but I'm not clear on what you can use it for. Does it get thick, like an icing, or more of a whipped cream texture? Can you pipe flowers with it? Is it thick enough for that?

I have used it to cover cake with, and it is said that it can be used to pipe flowers, although I haven't tried that. There was a thread I think in June of 2006 which discussed piping with it. I am not skilled enough for that, perhaps others will be able to 'pipe' in hehehe....sorry, couldn't resist.

It is much more stable than whipped cream, I whip it to soft peaks in about 10 minutes or so. If you go too far, I have heard that it siezes up, but I don't know whether that is true or not, as I have stopped before then.

JANE: You think I could send you some frozen? It is a food item though...probably not