I made buttercream today and I don't really know how its supposed to taste, but it tasted waaaay too sweet and artificial to me. I used shortening and butter in the recipe and i feel like it might be the shortening, because of the plastic-y taste. Any help?? Thanks!!
Boy that's hard to say. My feeling is cake & icing are *suppose to* be sweet. It's a dessert
There is at least one recipe in the recipe section that says it is less sweet.....you might give it a try.
Did you add salt? It helps a bit to cut sweetness.
Actually it would help if you posted the exact recipe you used so we can see if there is anything we can suggest.
What brand of shortening did you use? If it gave off an off flavor it might be that you need to use Crisco.
What recipe did you use? I really like the Buttercream Dream recipe on here. My friend makes a BC that has that plasticy taste...I'm not sure what it is. And yes, most BC's are super sweet. Did you add some salt to your recipe? I hear that "cuts down" on the sweetness some, but I honestly can't tell the difference.
THere's no such thing as too much vanilla and most recipes I see don't have near enough vanilla in it. (Vanilla is my FAVORITE flavor!) Maybe it just needs kicked up a notch flavor-wise.
And I'm with kakeladi ... it's icing; it's made of sugar; it's suppose to be sweet!
Here's a link to different frostings with descriptions of each type:
(Also has handy frosting troubleshooting chart on last page.)
http://tinyurl.com/yh44gu
Everything you ever wanted to know about the meringue b/c's (and other frostings):
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-6011626-.html
Everything you ever wanted to know about hi-ratio shortening:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-219731-.html
Hi-ratio b/c recipes:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-608700-.html
HTH
As others have already mentioned, Buttercream Dream is a bit less sweet to me, but in general, all American type of BC's are pretty sweet due to the high amount of powdered sugar that's incorporated into the 'mix' to give it substance. I find that the European (meringue) BC's are less sweet, but they are very buttery in flavor. So I would suggest experimenting to see what you like and prefer.
Besides adding a bit of salt, adding some citrus extracts (lemon or orange) along with vanilla can also help cut back on the sweetness. A hint: to help prevent any salt graininess, I use popcorn salt, which is very fine. HTH
Yes, I understand it's supposed (<--the correct spelling) to be sweet. I didn't set out to make potato chip flavored cupcakes.
But anyways, I did use Crisco and I followed the directions, but maybe I'm just not meant to like buttercream. I haven't tried fondant yet though, is that as sweet?
I find that most buttercream icings calling for powdered sugar are intensely sweet. (But I have a HUGE sweet tooth, so I LOVE it that way. 
) Anyway, last year I made Buttercream Dream, from CC's recipe section, for my mom's birthday cake and EVERYONE loved it! They said it was one of their favorites that I have ever made for them BECAUSE it was NOT too sweet. Have you tried that recipe yet? If not, I think you should try it. You may be pleasantly surprised.
P.S. This is for powdered sugar based recipes. If you try a SMBC or IMBC, you will find that they are less sweet and have a lighter, airier texture and taste. Good luck to you!
Thank you SO much for all the help!! And no offense to anyone that I corrected the spelling, it's just that typo's stick out to me like a sore thumb. Believe me, I'm not great with grammar, but spelling has always been a strong subject for me. I'm sure I've written things on here that if showed to an English teacher, would be full of red marks.
Anyways, I will be doing more experimenting and hopefully get some great results!! Thank you everyone for taking the time to answer my questions!!
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%