I just got an order for a cake and she says that they do not like the really sweet frosting, but the standard BC (1/2 butter, 1/2 shortening with 4 C confectioner's sugar & vanilla) is what I always use and it stands up to a decent amount of heat and can vary with consistency for decorating. Does anyone have any suggestions on a recipe or an alteration to the standard BC that I can use to cut the sweetness? I know adding some salt helps but I don't think it's enough and I don't want to use a heavy cream frosting due to the heat. Thanks!

Gosh folks like this drive me nuts! The handful of times I've gotten this kind of remark, I've told them, "It's made of sugar ..... just what do you want me to make it out of that isn't 'sweet'?"

People have said my icing isn't sweet ... maybe the dream whip does that? I have no idea .... it's all sweet to me, which is what icing is suppose to be. http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-6992-Indydebis-Crisco-Based-Buttercream-Icing.html

well i'm one of those people who *hate* overly sweet icing. yes, its made from sugar but that doesn't mean it has to give you a toothache, ugh!

my only suggestion would be to used a smbc/imbc icing...not too sweet at all. if you want to stick to a crusting buttercream, maybe try adding salt to your original recipe?

I just tried the bc recipe from IndyDebi....and I have to say its REALLY good. I am not a fan of sweet stuff at all, and althoughts still sweet it isn't sickly sweet at all. My kids even like it!

I think added some salt really cuts down the sweetness!

Christina, I use a similar recipe. What I do to cut down on the sweetness is dissolve some salt in the liquid you use. If you're using 2tbsp of liquid, for example, I'd use 1 of those tbsp. as warm water and dissolve about 1/4 tsp or so of salt in it. That helps me so much.