So, I had my first Wilton Class this last week and she said for the following week we need to bring homemade bc. I tried making some using Wilton recipe...

1/2 cup veg shortening
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp clear vanilla
4 cups confectioner's sugar
2 tablespoon's milk

AND... I don't what it is supposed to come out like...but I could really feel the shortening and butter, it was super oily. And it wasn't easy to spread over the cake. It felt too thick. Did I do something wrong? Or is there a better recipe? Somebody HELP ME!!!

I'm not sure you did anything wrong, but the basic recipe is for stiff icing, which is too thick to frost a cake with!

At the bottom of the recipe in your course book, it should tell you how much liquid to add to the recipe to get medium or thin consistency icing.

The thin consistency will be much easier to work with when you ice your cake.

hth!
Laura.

Our Course I instructor told us to bring the icing to class for her to look if we were unsure about the consistency. I dont' think you might have done anything wrong; if it was hot or humid the butter and shortening could have melted a bit.

Hi, I am wandering the same thing. Our instructor gave us the following recipe to take to class;

1/2 cup veg shortening
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp clear vanilla
2 tablespoon's water
8 cups confectioner's sugar

we are using water not milk and 8 cups of sugar vs. 4 cups, yet in all the wilton magazines and websites I have read all ask for 4 cups powder sugar, any ideas as to why we are using so much more powder sugar? does it make a difference in taste?
Thanks, Liz

are you sure she didn't ask you to make a double batch and thats where you got the 8 cups? We are supposed to bring 2 batches.

No, its only one. If it were doubled batch then the butter and shortening would have increased to 1 cup each and the recipe says ½ cup each, I just think this is odd but was afraid to bring it up in class a newbie and all.
Liz

For a full recipe of icing, you need to add 2 more tbsps of liquid (water or milk) to make thin icing. That is what you frost with. The instructions are in your book on the page after the BC recipe. GL.

Cookie, using that much PS will be WAY to thick. You have the same exact recipe in every other way. You will end up with marbles instead of frosting. LOL. It should be 4 cups of Powdered sugar. SHe must have made a mistake. You do need 2 batches total for the first class, one to frost the cake with and a second to decorate with. If you use 8 cups of sugar, double the rest as well. Then thin the frosting as needed according to the directions in the book. Good Luck.

ashleymom---- I have never made the wilton recipe, but I looked in my wilton yearbooks and it says the icing will appear dry after the powdered sugar is added and before the milk is added. Then after the milk is added, you are supposed to beat it until light and fluffy. I would imagine this means 10 minutes or so. Then it says for frosting the cake, you can add 3-4 TBSP of cornsyrup to thin. Sorry, not much help.

Thank you mushbug9, actually my frosting is terribly dry and always needs to be fixed. I will definetly be taking her this new information. See this recipe she gave us is supposed tobe the double batch
"1/2 cup veg shortening
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp clear vanilla
2 tablespoon's water
8 cups confectioner's sugar"

so whenever I needed an extra batch (tripled) I would use this one which was just as terribly stiff and hard to use not to mention murder on the mixer( I burned out 2 hand mixers, lol)

1 cup veg shortening
1 cup butter
2 tsp clear vanilla
4 tablespoon's water
16 cups confectioner's sugar
That was way to much sugar then...Thank you so very much I am glad I asked and can hardly wait to try it the right way now.
Liz

I start my class tonight and I will highly recommend to anyone the butter cream dream recipe on this site. It is really good. Although I do not know what exactly are the requirements but I will still point anyone in that direction.

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2123-Buttercream-Dream.html