Please Help!! Asap! Bc Question
Decorating By button-moon Updated 16 Aug 2007 , 8:41am by button-moon
hi people,
my cake is in the oven as i type!
its my first time making buttercream icing...to pipe with...
i usually ice with fondant, but im still no good at that!
ive mixed the shortening, with butter, and only 3 cups of sugar as its gone so stiff i can roll it into a ball with my hands. its currently in the fridge. is this the right consistency? i havnt yet added vanilla as im struggling to get hold of clear stuff coz my icing is an off-white. like cream. and i need it for a football...so how do i make it white?
please help im desperate. any comments will be a help!
9 views on the post and still no-one can help....please!! i wouldnt be asking you if i didnt need help...where r all you cake guru's?
Which recipe are you using? You don't mention you added any liquid (I don't know of any recipe that doesn't use some liquid (e.g. water, milk, etc...).
If you want white icing there are a few ways to do this: you can use only shortening (e.g. use a 'decorator's icing'); you can add the white coloring Wilton makes (I'm drawing a blank but I think the name is Brite White...?). Since you are using butter your icing is not a pure white.
thanks for the reply. erm...im from england, so the names for things are different...so ive used a veg fat called trex...what you call shortening? erm margarine, icing sugar (confectioners sugar) its out of the wilton ball pan book...its just a wilton buttercream icing. it says to add 1tbsp of clear vanilla, and 2 tbsp of milk...but i dont know whether to add the liquid as i dont know if its the right consistency.
I take it...if it can be rolled into a ball its no good for piping with? ha ha
im terrible!
You may want to take it out of the fridge and bring to room tempature then add the milk and rewhip. I usually add the liquid to the shortening and whip together until it is incorporated into the shortening (aka veg fat). Then I'll add the icing sugar and mix. If its still too stiff I'll add more liquid - just a little at a time. In my personal experience most recipes don't add as much liquid as the consistency I like to work with (i.e. usually if it calls for 2 Tbsp I end up adding 1/4 cup of liquid). Also, the longer you whip the icing the softer it becomes.
Sorry - but I'm not familiar with the recipe you are using.
Good luck - you can pm me if I'm not making sense.... 
button-moon, I hope this will help, everyone I make this recipe for loves it.
check it out.
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-5343-0-Decorating-Icing-Recipe.html
From what you have said you used, you could still add the flavoring from my recipe and it will help. If you have only used 3 cups of sugar, you probably only need to add about 4 1/2 tbsp of liquid total. But you definetly need the liquid.
Also to determine your consistency, check out the wilton site for the following information:
Icing essentials: this one will show you what the icing should look like as you pipe it a bit, it's a great guide to see where your icing is on the consistency chart. Just click on the conistency link.
http://www.wilton.com/decorating/basic/essentials.cfm#ic
coloring your icing-- cool tricks to make fun stuff:
http://www.wilton.com/cake/icing/coloringicing.cfm
how much icing you need for a certain cake - this is always a good way to estimate:
http://www.wilton.com/cake/icing/icingchart.cfm
I hope this helps.
Good Luck
I agree with snowshoe - let come to room temp first, rewhip, then try to get to the consistency you want.
The Wilton icing consistency that uses 2 tablespoons is the stiff consistency and is used for making dams between layers (to hold fillings in) and for making buttercream roses. You will need to add more milk (or water) to get to a smooth spreading consistency - about 2 more tablespoons (about 1/4 cup total milk/water).
If the icing is still too thick for icing a cake, add more milk/water - a little at a time until you get the consistency you want. If it is too thin, just add more icing sugar.
I've discovered that if I cream the shortening really well first, then add the milk/water & flavorings, the icing smooths much easier and the liquid incorporates better - it doesn't splash out.
Good luck!
yes.. get it out of the fridge. this will make it get even more stiff as the butter cools and solidifies. Was your butter at room temp before you whipped it up? You must add the liquid or it'll be too stiff. If it gets too thin you can always add more icing sugar. If you whip your butter for a long period of time it will lighten up a little, but you will never get it bright white. If you absolutely need a bright white frosting you will have to use all vegetable fat.. *yuck if you ask me* or you can try adding a TINY (ans I mean tiny) amount of violet food coloring to your buttercream. Viotel cancels out yellow, but if you add too much you'll end up with gray frosting. You should let it come to room temp and add your liquid and go from there.
I use heavy cream as my liquid too..
This is the recipe I use if I use a powdered sugar based buttercream:
2 cups Crisco Shortening (can use hi-ratio shortening, if desired)
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter , slightly soft but not mushy
1/4 to 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tsp. clear vanilla
2 pounds (8 cups) powdered sugar, sifted (measure, then sift)
In your mixer bowl, beat the shortening until it's smooth, add the butter and beat together until smooth and light and fluffy. Add smaller amount of the heavy cream indicated in the recipe and the vanilla and mix well.
Add half the powdered sugar and mix for 5 minutes on low-med. speed. Add remaining sugar and mix well. Add more cream or powdered sugar if necessary to adjust the consistency.
This is just what I do...
1 c. shortening
4 c. confect. sugar, sifted
1 t. flavoring
3-5 T. water
and I use water...only so it does not need to be refigerated....
I add the water 1 T. at a time until it is the consistancy that I want...are you rolling this or piping???
It sounds way to solid to me...it should not be able to be put into a ball if it is for piping. (Football...is that what we call a soccer ball here???)
If it is a football,what we call a football in the US...the white will not be too noticably creamy in color next to the brown so even just the one teaspoon of imitation vanilla should be ok. Let us know how you make out!
You can use milk in your BC and have it be shelf stable.
Yes, you can use either milk or water....and if you use milk (3-5 Tbs) it is still fine to sit out at room temp. I've read somewhere that the sugar serves as a preservative to the amount of dairy in the product and so it will not spoil if left at room temp. If milk or cream is a primary ingredient it would definitely require refrigeration (such as more than 1/2 cup).
Your icing will be fine....just bring it room temp and add the liquid of your choice until it's nice and creamy!
thank-you all so much! i was starting to lose hope in cake central, when i joined ages ago....everyone was there 24 hours to help you with any problem you had....u used to be able to submit your cake and have at least 10 comments within 15 minutes no matter how bad your cake looked. now not many people leave comments. we should all aim to leave at least 10 comments a day....brightens someones day!
now after seeing all these replys, im happy again! ive added a little milk like you all said. and it piped ok. the black wasnt as stiff coz i had to add a great deal of black colouring, to actually get it black. I'll add a picture here soon, and you can see what u think.
yes a football here is a black and white one, your soccer ball i think.
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