Hi All...

I have a customer looking to order 200 cupcakes for their outdoor wedding in June this year. I'm in Virginia, where it can be in the mid to upper 90's on a late-June afternoon. She first wanted all-butter buttercream, which I said no to, being that it will melt out there in the heat. I normally do a butter/crisco blend for my buttercream and she's asking if I can substitute palm oil for the crisco (she says she'll go with the Crisco if we have to but is hoping for a more natural alternative, which I'm not opposed to if it will hold up). Has anyone tried this? I've read that solid palm oil has a melting temp of 33-39 degrees celsius (91-102 fahrenheit). Any advice???

I've never tried to use it in an icing, but from my experience, palm oil does melt at a lower temperature than Crisco. I don't think it melts as fast as butter though.

palm oil "more natural alternative".... im guessing your bride isnt aware of the damage that palm oil havesting is doing to the environment plus it tastes so bad that cadbury australia was forced to stop using it when the aussies protested on mass about it being introduced into our chocolate

sorry no actual advice but some info when talking to your bride

why not use a non dairy buttercream like we use in the south..holds up much better (although not sure 90+ anything does well)

I'm wondering if your customer is concerned about hydrogenated fats (trans fats) and that being the reason she would not like Crisco. If so, maybe she would be ok. with the trans fat free version of Crisco.
If your customer still insists on palm oil, there are shortenings made with palm oil that you could buy. The one that I buy is from Whole Foods and is all white and comes out with great taste and has consistency just like a Crisco shortening. It is made with palm oil, is organic and also trans fat free. The brand is Spectrum. It's more expensive but if she really wants it she will probably be willing to pay extra for it! HTH

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

This versatile recipe works for everything from a cake frosting to a decadent topping for cinnamon rolls. The frosting may be used immediately or stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to one week. Makes enough to generously frost and fill one 8- or 9-inch layer cake or 24 cupcakes.

2 cups organic palm oil shortening
2 cups Marshmallow Cream
3 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt

For directions, see below. (Mod edited.)

Source: http://www.livingwithout.com/recipes/chocolate_buttercream_frosting-1965-1.html

Really not sure the palm buttercream will hold up to the southern heat and humidity...maybe do a trial run and put it someplace that's hot and humid (hot water heater closet, washroom etc)

Isn't palm oil one of the worst oils for your heart? She's crazy!

I haven't seen ANY Crisco that is hydrogenated oil free - even those marked "trans fat free", when I read the label, still says "FULLY hydrogenated oil". Which has me running in the opposite direction.
And I would guess that's the customer's concern, since she's specifically mentioning Crisco.

I have used Spectrum before (you can get it at Whole Foods or Wegmans if u r in VA). I love it. I was really against using any sort of crisco like product in buttercream, but Spectrum really does the job! I was that type of bride, wanting an all (vegan) butter buttercream (but I got married in the Fall in Ohio...) but I have since learned that a little shortening helps. Plus as some peeps have mentioned, palm oil is really bad. In oh so many ways...i wont go into any more than that. Good luck, I hope you can come to a agreement with your bride!! Let us know how it turns out!

Thank you for all of your responses. I am meeting with the bride on Saturday and plan to do a test run with palm oil shortening if she really wants it....but had no idea about the negative aspects of palm oil as opposed to the other shortenings....I'll do some more research. Thanks again.

Let us know how it goes on Saturday. I'm sure she will appreciate the fact that you are taking your time to do research just for her.

I just heard about Food Revolution. Thanks for the reminder. The last movie I watched that really touched me was Food Inc. And I always make sure I give my "3 votes/day" (that the movie talks about) to the ones I believe in.

You may no longer need this, but I have used Spectrum Organic shortening which is with palm oil. I have found It is firmer in texture so you might need more liquid. I have used part spectrum with crisco to cut the greasiness of the crisco, or firm up the icing if butter or cream cheese was in it. I found no flavor issues. I made a cake with all palm oil shortening before and it was quite firm.

I can't speak to environmental issues...guess I should look into it.

Hope this helps.