Ok so I was thinking. I know, bad idea. Anyway, I was gonna try to put some buttercream together using margarine instead of butter just to see what happens. I know it probably won't taste as good as butter, but what has everyone else's experiences taught them about this issue? I would love to use margarine to cut costs, but I really don't want to sacrifice any flavor or texture, and I'll use the butter if I have to.
ducking for cover
I like buttercream made 1/2 marg and 1/2 crisco You do need to use the cheaper margerine... many of the name brands have reduced calories in their product.. they do this by adding water.... you need 100% fat to make good frosting the store brand usually are the way to go make sure it is margarine not spread also.
You will find heat does not bother it as much in the summer
I know the butter purests will disagree but really margarine is made from vegitable oil just like the crisco and has much better flavor... So I would not use the crisco if the butter was that important... meaning if I insisted on butter it would be ALL butter.
There are some things I insist on butter but regular buttercream is not one of them
I was just reading a thread yesterday where a few people said they really like using margarine instead of butter and have had good results. They mentioned using Blue Bonnet margarine in particular.
I'd love to hear what you think of it if you try it!
I've tried that, using various brands of margarine, and found that buttercream made this way is really easy to spread on a sheet cake, but not stiff enough to pipe on decorations.
ducking for cover
I like buttercream made 1/2 marg and 1/2 crisco You do need to use the cheaper margerine... many of the name brands have reduced calories in their product.. they do this by adding water.... you need 100% fat to make good frosting the store brand usually are the way to go make sure it is margarine not spread also.
You will find heat does not bother it as much in the summer
I know the butter purests will disagree but really margarine is made from vegitable oil just like the crisco and has much better flavor... So I would not use the crisco if the butter was that important... meaning if I insisted on butter it would be ALL butter.
There are some things I insist on butter but regular buttercream is not one of them
I'm trying to be a natural ingredient baker, but the HEAT in the kitchen alone makes it difficult!!! Plus, it gets VERY shiny. I would stick in the refrigerator, but so far sooooo many places I go the cake will be sitting out for quite awhile and as it's getting warmer, I'm seeing how problematic all butter, buttercream is becoming.
I'm wanting to make italian buttercream soon, but now I'm afraid of it melting in my kitchen while I'm working on it as my kitchen does tend to heat up quickly.
Melissa
I openly admit that I don't sell what I bake so perhaps my input really isn't the best... *however* guess you'll get it anyway? 
Seriously, I have used nothing but Blue Bonnet margarine over the years. I've used others as well with just as good results but I find Blue Bonnet is the best price plus I like its texture. My choice is purely economical as I can't afford butter & again, I don't bake to sell so perhaps that is the issue at hand. Either way I've found margarine to be just fine but recommend you give it a try on your own recipes just to be sure. Worst that can happen with a cake is you don't care for the texture/taste so mix it with other cake scraps for cake balls? Just a layman's thought! 
Ditto with everyone, I LOVE margarine (I use Blue Bonnet) in my buttercream. I have to totally agree with msmeg.... "I know the butter purests will disagree but really margarine is made from vegitable oil just like the crisco and has much better flavor..." 
does using margarine effect colors when you use coloring to tint the icing? I guess using margarine, you can't have white icing then, correct? Thank you for your time.
I use country crock all the time and never have had a problem. I tried it with real butter last week and didn't really notice a difference. So, I will stick with Country Crock.
I also love Blue Bonnet. I have not noticed a difference in that and butter. I do use real butter if I want my icing to be pure white
I just read another post about the horrible chemical flavor in Crisco. I use store brand shortening but has Crisco fixed the chemical taste? The original posts were from like November or something. I hate to use all butter or margarine, so I'll stick with my 3:4 ratio for now...
Hi guys! Yep, the BC will be a pale yellow color with the margarine. I have used the violet coloring to cancel out the the yellow, it does help but it doesn't make it a bright white. The only problems I've had with coloring it ....is trying to make it blue....yellow and blue make green. So I use the violet first then make it blue.
HTH, ~Denise
i dont know about everyone else, but i have even tried the low fat margerine, and i hated it. i wanted to stop baking, thats how much i hated it. but i started using swiss brand butter, and i like it. its perfect, even when its a hot day, the butter wont melt, it has a firm consistency
I've used margarine in my buttercream for a filling because it makes it really fluffy and creamy, but I don't like it to frost or decorate with. It doesn't crust as well and it has a yellow tint.
I use margarine in all my icings as frankly....Butter is too expensive when you have 5-6 batches to make each weekend.I have tried it with Butter before so I knew what the taste was but honestly..I couldn't tell the difference!! I buy mine by the 6kg tub and get about 20 batches from it and it costs $6.00.A far cry from $3.99 a pound for butter.
I've never had a problem with it crusting for me.
Well, I made a new batch of buttercream for my daughter's newest thing, cake decorating (don't know where she got that idea), and I used Blue Bonnet.......tastes great, color wasn't bright white, but it wasn't yellow either. It didn't crust as well as I would have liked but thats why it was a practice cake for her. I'll post pics of her cake in a while. She made a drum cake with fondant drumsticks, she did a great job for a 9 year old!
Margarine isn't even allowed in my house - at all, period, the end.
We use butter on toast/bread, in sauces, in recipes, etc.
As far as I'm concerned margarine isn't useable for anything.
You sound like us, I've bought margarine once in 8 years and only because I was making cookies for a group with a boy allergic to dairy. The leftover never got used, I finally threw it out. 
Thought you may find some help with this article I found...
Shortening vs. Butter vs. Margarine vs. Oil:
Each type of fat used in cookie recipes separately affects the cookie's texture and taste.
Generally, the use of butter means a flatter, crispier cookies because it allows the dough to spread as it cooks on the hot cookie sheet.
Cookies made with shortening will not spread, however all shortening will give you a cookie without a lot of taste. This approach gives you the best of both worlds: shortening is not as sensitive to shifts in temperature and the butter gives a lot of flavor.
Shortening: Least spread / Least flavor, however can use butter flavored. Because of its higher melting point (98 to 100 degrees F) than butter, cookies keep their shape as it bakes, yielding a puffier more cake-like treat.
Stick Butter: Medium spread / Best flavor. Because of the lower the melting point of butter (92 to 98 degrees F) than shortening, cookies spread and become flatter and crispier as the result. To help reduce cookie spread when using butter, freeze the formed dough on the cookie sheets. When you place the frozen cookie dough immediately in the oven, the fat will stay colder longer and when baked, the cookie will retain its shape better. For flavor, there is no substitute for butter. Cookies made with butter have outstanding taste and a finely grained, often crisp texture. Butter also helps cookies to keep well and maintain their flavor. I recommend using unsalted butter in baking.
Stick Margarine: Most spread / Some flavor
Vegetable oils: cookies are softer than those made with butter or margarine.
http://www.baking911.com/cookies/101_tips.htm
I'm right with all the other margarine fans!! I know the transfats aren't good for you, but heck neither is the 2 cups of crisco...or the cake. hahhaa. Sounds crazy, but the cheaper margarine holds up the best. Blue bonnet or parkay are my favs. Also, you can't really subsitute the lower fat stuff, it just doesn't hold up. So when making buttercream its margarine, crisco, and WHOLE milk for me. Used skim once because it was all I had. BIG mistake....just not enough body in the icing for anything but covering. Only downside to a margarine recipe is that you cant ever get a totally white white icing even with clear vanilla, going to be a teeny bit on the ivory side.
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