I personally started out making my own (butter and shortening recipe), but as I started to REALLY figure out what it was costing me to make my cakes and how LONG I was spending on each cake I had to figure out what was to give!
I bought a buckets of Sam's icing one weekend when I was in a pinch and had bitten off way more than I could chew! I had about 8 full sheet cakes due the next day and had them all baked, but it was after noon and I wasn't in the mood to make icing. I bought the bucket at Sam's and iced all the cakes using their icing.
Well, not 1 or 2....but ALL 8 customers called or emailed within 2 days of delivery telling me how "amazing" my buttercream was and that they've never liked icing before but that as soon as they opened the lid to the box and smelled it, they were in heaven!!
AFter NOT spending hours making it, precious minutes cleaning up after it, washing excesses of dishes, etc. that's involved w/ making the buttercream AND the response from the customers I thought "I wonder if it's cheaper to make my own, because this would certainly be easier"
Well, I sat down and did the math. 1 cup of Sam's buttercream weighs 4 oz. , divide that by the 28 lbs (448 oz.) and you have 112 cups of icing per bucket! For $30.56, that comes out to $.27/cup for icing.
Now, my regular recipe calling for shortening, butter, vanilla, creamer, ps, made about 5 or 6 cups. I was paying $1.50 for 2 sticks of butter, about $.75/cup for shortening, 2.19 for 2# of powdered sugar, and maybe $.50 for the amount of cream I used, and $.25 for vanilla. That is $5.19 for a batch of buttercream OR $.86/cup of icing. So my homemade icing is 3 X's more expensive to make than Sam's is to buy.
I go through 3 buckets a week right now and everything time I pick up one of those buckets I thank God that I didn't have to slave over that buttercream!!
By the way, I live in an area where the other bakers are charging $1.50/serv. for tiered cakes, I wouldn't even be in business if I charged that, even with buying Sam's icing!!
Oh and my customers love it, so I use it.
As for..."why would they buy from me, if they can get it at Sam's?
Because they can't get what I offer at Sam's. Just because I use the same icing, doesn't mean it's the same cake and it's certainly not the same decorations!
I
Well, not 1 or 2....but ALL 8 customers called or emailed within 2 days of delivery telling me how "amazing" my buttercream was and that they've never liked icing before but that as soon as they opened the lid to the box and smelled it, they were in heaven!!
Am I the only peson who finds this really sad? KHalstead, do what you have to do to make your customers happy, but heck, my customers taste my IMBC and say "Oh my God, what is this, it's so good!" like they've just had a revelation. I find that kind of sad, too. People are so used to chemicals and artificial ingredients they think that's the standard. Yuck.
When I get big and famous everything will be scratch but for right now, I live in a small town where everyone is chemical laden and because my icing and cakes don't taste like the other bakery in town...it works!
By the way, I've made IMBC and while I loved it........I sent out 2 cakes with it (they requested a "not so sweet buttercream" and both people complained that it tasted like I iced the cake in solid butter! They're used to chemicals.....lol So now I just use Rich's bettercreme when they request "not so sweet" and so far it's a winner too. What can I say?
I make my own butter cream. I have looked up all sorts of recipes and combined what I liked best in several and have come up with a BC that gets rave reviews. It does cost more to make your own BC, but that is why my cakes costs more. The only premade icing I use is Rich's bettercreme when someone asks for it. I have only done that on 2 cakes, and those people now order cakes with my BC after they had it at parties.
I'm from upstate NY originally and Peter is from the Chicago suburbs....We were used to leaving butter out on the counter up to about 80 degrees...Down here in central Florida, most people have central air and temperatures are kept between 70 and 80, so we don't feel there's a problem...We've had cakes sit out with our 100% butter formula for up to a week and it has been fine.
Paul
I'm not a business, or even close to it, but when I saw this thread Saturday before I was getting ready to make the frosting for cupcakes for my son's birthday party, I decided I wanted to use all butter. I usually use 50/50 shortening and butter or all shortening, because that's what my husband likes. My husband and my friend's husband both hated it, while I, the kids, and the other parents, on the other hand, loved it! I'm convinced they are just used to the grocery store and canned stuff, which is unfortunate, since they are the ones I usually make cakes for. I guess that means I don't get to make my BC with all butter anymore. 
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