Butter Versus Shortening, Pros And Cons
Decorating By goodcakefairy Updated 7 Dec 2005 , 4:48pm by Nitu
Ok, I'm still fairly new to this. I use the Wilton recipe buttercream featuring good old fashioned Crisco. Is this wrong?
I see a lot of you talking about recipes that half butter, half shortening or all butter. What are the advantages and disadvantages? Plus, is Crisco OK to use or is there a better shortening fo decorating. I've never had complaints, but I'd like to offer the best taste possible without compromising the decorations or "store-ability" of the cake.
Just wondering. Discuss amongst yourselves.
Thanks.
To me it is taste. I use the crusting buttercream with the crisco and do not particularly care for the taste. But I used it on a cake I made for some people at work and they loved it. I guess its all in the buds. If I could find a buttercream using nothing but butter I would use it. One key thing here is to remember that TASTE is the thing that people will remember long after the cake has disappeared. I mean pictures will remind them of how it looked, but not how it tasted. Sorry for the long rant.
I don't think all-Crisco recipes taste as good as the butter recipes, but you know, I usually pick and choose depending on the decorations for the cake.
I use butter/crisco for icing and writing since the consistency I get works well and it tastes better. I use all-crisco for decorations that need to be stiffer.
I've heard a really good b/c recipe is swiss meringue. I can't wait to try that one but I don't have a hand held blender! 
I do not know if you have a Wal-Mart near by but they have them pretty cheap.
I like the butter/crisco,and I can't wait to try the swiss,But if it is hot and humid then I will increase the shortning to butter ratio because I think it holds up better.
I like 1/2 butter 1/2 crisco
all butter i think is too soft
all crisco is all crisco 
1/2 and 1/2 is a good blend 
I use the 1/2 Crisco and 1/2 butter with the Domino Sugar...the reg. confectioner's sugar is not as good as the pure cane.
I use the half and half...or sometimes I even go 3/4 butter and just 1/4 crisco...I love the taste. I have even a few times when I knew it wasnt an elaborate design or something that had to stand heat...used pure butter. It tastes so good! I hate the crisco taste. But at times have to use it. I try to never use 100% crisco though.
The thing with real butter ( NOT MARGARINE) is taste...it is an unbelievable difference.The only down side is it will not stand up to heat or make as stiff of decorations as crisco. Sometime on a practice cake maybe you could try it and make a batch to cover your cake with the butter type and try it. I use Land O Lakes salted butter. And see for yourself. I sometimes cover my cake with the butter recipe then use a partial crisco version for decorations as lots of folks scrape off the excess deco anyway as not to get a "too much sugar overload"..lol
I have to say experiment because everyone has a different favorite. The only way to know what is going to work for you, taste and texture wise, is to just try as many different kinds as you can. Know what your options are and then learn by trying. I've learned, strange as it may sound to many, that I don't care for the butter recipes. Most of the people I know, who get their cakes from a wonderful baker in my home town, love the" no sweetness at all just creamy" icing she puts on her cakes. I still can't figure out how she makes it, but it doesn't taste sweet AT ALL. Just sorta "creamed crisco". Maybe someone here has an idea. Whatever it is, people rant and rave.
SugarCreations and kakesbyrobin,
Sorry for the misunderstanding, since we were talking about icing, I didn't think to add Confectioner's when talking about the pure cane. 
I use Domino pure cane confectioner's sugar
But does using butter in the mix change the storage rules? Is it OK to leave the cake at room temp over night?
would you mind posting your half-butter/half shortening recipes? I can't seem to find them in the search field.
I like the recipe I found on this site called "Butter Cream (with real butter for decorators)". This icing is really light and fluffy, has a great taste and is not too sweet.
I was wondering if anyone has ever used the butter flavor crisco? Does it taste any better than the regular stuff? I couldn't stand the taste of the Wilton class icing...I ended up cheating and using the Wilton Snow White Buttercream which tastes a little better, but still not as good as the one above. I hated to keep messing up my cakes with terrible icing!!
I have tried the butter flavored crisco in different things,and I personally think the taste is to chemicle (?) and don't care for it.
Ok, I'm still fairly new to this. I use the Wilton recipe buttercream featuring good old fashioned Crisco. Is this wrong?
I see a lot of you talking about recipes that half butter, half shortening or all butter. What are the advantages and disadvantages? Plus, is Crisco OK to use or is there a better shortening fo decorating. I've never had complaints, but I'd like to offer the best taste possible without compromising the decorations or "store-ability" of the cake.
Thanks.
Well, I LOVE using Crisco in my buttercream icing. I use 100% Crisco especially for my character cakes. It is nice and creamy and hold very well for piping, shaping and/or just frosting cakes.
It is OKAY to use Crisco... I have seen professionals use Crisco on their icing recipes...
For some people, it is all about taste.. If they don't like Crisco, then you must tell them that there are some things you cannot do if the recipe is changed.... for example, when you use half butter half Crisco, the icing will not crust and it will be softer. If you use all butter, then it will not crust at all and you are limited on what you can pipe. Again, I am comparing this to the 100% Crisco frosting which is much thicker to work with.
If you haven't had any complaints, you don't have to change what you are doing.... If a customer requests something different, again, tell them that there may not be some things you cannot do...
I thought it was the pwd sugar that made the icing crust???
Anyway, 100% crisco can be made to taste better. Adding a lot of heavy cream completely changes the taste, but the mouthfeel is still not the best. This "creamy crisco" will not crust. My family loves the butter recipes so I didn't experiment further.
I like the idea of 1/2 and 1/2 to cover the cake and all crisco for any fancy decorations. Like Kayday said, adults often scrape off the extra frosting.
To me it is taste. I use the crusting buttercream with the crisco and do not particularly care for the taste. But I used it on a cake I made for some people at work and they loved it. I guess its all in the buds. If I could find a buttercream using nothing but butter I would use it. One key thing here is to remember that TASTE is the thing that people will remember long after the cake has disappeared. I mean pictures will remind them of how it looked, but not how it tasted. Sorry for the long rant.
The way I was taught, you could use that Wilton recipe with all butter - say its 1/2 C shortening, 1/2 C butter -- just do 1 Cup butter. That famous magnolia bakery in NYC uses the all butter version. It tastes pretty good. But the more Crisco you use, the more stable the buttercream .... but now that the cool weather is here.....butter all the way!
Well, high ratio shortening are better than Crisco, I don't personally find a difference in taste but the feel is different because of ability of high ratio shortening to aborb more times it weight in moisture and how the sugar gets absorbed also. But people have been using Crisco for many years.
I use half butter, half shortening, recently high ratio shortening. I also use whipping cream unwhipped and whole milk to thin. This icing is fine on the counter for 2-3 days according to Wilton, even longer I find as long as your room temperature is under 75F. The melting point of butter is 83F, shortening - 89-99 F so that is something to consider. I also use salted butter because in addition to the preservative powers of sugar, the salt in the butter also acts as a preservative and it also cuts some of the taste.
Some people find it easier to make roses and such with the all-shortening recipe. All butter icings are more susceptible to hand heat and more difficult to work with as a result.
Hugs Squirrelly
I NEVER have any problems with my butter recipes crusting. And yes, I have used white butter...it gives the same wonderful taste without adding the yellow color. I have used pure crisco but I have learned as I went. And during tastings I have 0 customers that when tasting the butter vs. crisco picked the crisco.
Squirrelly this maybe a dumb question but is high ratio sweetex ? and its ok with whole milk if you use salted butter to leave sitt for a day or two? Thanks for your time
Not a dumb question at all, yes Sweetex is high ratio shortening, probably the most popular one and the most expensive. I cannot get it here, so I don't know if if really makes a difference from other high ratio shortenings.
Yes, even if you use unsalted butter you can use keep your iced cake at room temperature for 2-3 days according to Wilton, I find 4-5 days. But if you make up your icing ahead, store it in the fridge. Wilton says it is fine for up to two weeks, but I prefer to make it a week in advance at the most. Just check your expiry dates if you use milk or cream and always make sure your butter is fresh. Really seal up the icing well because all icings are really susceptible to food transfer odours and if you have some onions in the fridge, well, haha. I have taken to putting my icing in double freezer bags, it takes up less space in the fridge and will fit anywhere and is well sealed.
Quote - KayDay
NEVER have any problems with my butter recipes crusting. And yes, I have used white butter...it gives the same wonderful taste without adding the yellow color. I have used pure crisco but I have learned as I went. And during tastings I have 0 customers that when tasting the butter vs. crisco picked the crisco.
I agree with KayDay, it is really the ratio of fat to sugar that determines if an icing is a crusting or non-crusting icing. When the fat ratio is extremely high, as with the Whimsical Bakehouse Buttercream, you will have a non-crusting buttercream. The meringue powder doesn't make it a crusting buttercream, but is does tend to set up flowers and such perhaps a bit more especially in a recipe that calls for a fair amount of it. But I don't think it makes any difference in the old standard class buttercream most people use. But you do not have to use shortening as your only fat to be able to make a crusting buttercream. Hech I suspect that KayDay could make a perfect cake using a caulking.
compound, she is so talented!
Also I have had the same results in taste tests with all customers, but one. She found both icings too sweet and I ended up satisfying her with the Whimsical Bakehouse Buttercream, which is a high ratio of both high ratio shortening and butter to a small amount of sugar. So far, this is the only person that has liked this icing, although I like it too, but it isn't my favourite.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes
Squirrelly thank you so much helping me clear that up. I am new to dec. and I was told by so many people they did not like the crisco it was to sweet so I have been using the sweetex and they seem to like it so much better. I was always feeling to stupid to ask at the cake store, so you guys here are the sweetes people and was not to afarid to ask.
Once again THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just wanted to add here that I recently made some 1/2 butter 1/2 crisco frosting but this was the first time I have ever used "butter-flavored" crisco. Just for the record, I will NEVER do that again.... it was just way too powerful of a butter taste... more so than just using plain butter. It was really werid. I added so much vanilla & it still tasted SUPER buttery. I never had that problem with the regular crisco.... just thought I'd add that in case anyone was wondering! 
~Katie
I would like to buy hi-ratio shortning at sams club,
If I buy the 50# am I able to say break it down to smaller packages,seal it in food saver bags and freeze it?
I just wanted to add here that I recently made some 1/2 butter 1/2 crisco frosting but this was the first time I have ever used "butter-flavored" crisco. Just for the record, I will NEVER do that again.... it was just way too powerful of a butter taste... more so than just using plain butter. It was really werid. I added so much vanilla & it still tasted SUPER buttery. I never had that problem with the regular crisco.... just thought I'd add that in case anyone was wondering!
~Katie
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