OK I use a recipe that my wilton instructor gave me many years ago when I took a class. It is the decorator's buttercream or white buttercream recipe. It is all crisco and no butter, plus powdered sugar, meringue powder, and flavorings. I have used it for years and have loved it.
BUT.. several times when I have made it, the next morning there are little white spots alllllllll over the place. It is very frustrating and it ruins my cakes. This morning I had a cake due - a hot pink ipod - so when the lady came to pick it up, luckily for me I looked at it in the kitchen before I showed her....it was completly covered in little white spots!!!! I went out front and asked her if she could wait, that I needed to repair "some little spots where the color didn't take". She had already had to wait on me to get off the phone with a customer. Thankfully she was ok with waiting and went to the store while I tried to repair the cake. It was sooooo smooth last night and now it's all rough and looks so amiture - ish. I had to put a whole new layer of icing over the old icing. Now it won't smooth down. And I am sooooo afraid that the spots will show back up before her party. And I would be ticked if it were my cake.....

Any advice on what is causing the spots? Or what I can do to revent them?

TIA for any help you can give.

I think it might be from the shortening if you dont beat it enough with the hand mixer or kitchen aid. Do you sift the sugar before adding it to the frosting?

no I don't sift it because the wilton instructor told us not to worry about it if we use the 10x pwdered sugar. I also don't beat it a lot because she told us that would incorporate too much air into the icing.

Maybe I should try sifting it again. and beating a little more.

I just looked at it again and the spots are already showing back up! I just don't know what to do now.

I was going to ask you the same thing - did you sift your powdered sugar before adding it to the shortening?

I'm taking Willton III and the instructor always mentions to sift the sugar before adding it to your shortening, cause if not, you will have little balls and you can't get rid of it while decorating.

I don't sift my sugar, I don't have that issue. Have you tasted one of these spots to see if it is actually the sugar? Do you use the box or bagged sugar? The box is totally different then the bag and you do need to sift that. I only use the bagged sugar.

Kat

Do you add salt to your icing? If so, the salt may be causing the little white spots - the salt is "bleaching" out your color. In order to avoid this, use popcorn salt - it is much finer. Add your salt to your liquid first to disolve it, then add your liquid to your icing. I used to have white spots, and this solved my problem!.

My results are hit and miss. In the winter months I never had that problem, but since the spring, I have off and on. I wonder if its humidity or maybe the pesky Crisco???

you know what - I bet it IS the salt! I had not even thought about that. I Do add salt and I sometimes add it with the liquid and sometimes not - which is probably why it is hit and miss with me. And I shoul dhave thought of that because I use salt to bleach out my inks when I am rubber stamping.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions! I will try to dissolve my salt first and let you know how it goes. Oh and I'll buy some popcorn salt, too.