I have a wedding client who has requested less sugar and more butter in the buttercream on their cake. I use a variation if Sugarshack's buttercream. I was thinking of combining my buttercream recipe with an IMBC recipe, which I have done before. How much can I cut down on the sugar without affecting my ability to decorate? Thankfully, I just need to ice it and use the comb for some vertical texture, so I don't need it stiff enough for flowers.

Or, any other ideas along these lines?

these questions from brides always confuse me because as I've told brides, "icing is MADE of sugar .... how do I make it less sugary?"

Less sugar and more fat also affects the crusting ratio on a crusting BC recipe. Less sugar means less crusting (and in my experience, more "melting and sliding" of the icing).

Personally, (and let me repeat ..... PERSONALLY!!!) I wouldnt' want to eat cake that was more butter than sugar. It would be like sticking a fork in a stick of land-o-lakes. Its like that question of "would you rather be too warm or too cold?" Well, I'd rather be comfortable! So oon the subject of icing, would I rather it taste more like sugar or more like butter? Um, I'd rather it takes like a well balanced icing!

I think that IMBC and SMBC have a less sweet taste than some of the crusting buttercreams. Their texture on the tongue is velvety and not at all grainy. If she asked for more butter and less sugar, warn her that her guests might not like a cake that tastes too "greasy".

Yes, this one has got me puzzled. They are Chinese grad students and I don't think they are used to our American sugar obsession. It will be a tiramisu cake and the buttercream will be flavored with Kahlua, so I'm hoping that disguises some of the taste!

I agree with Debi on part of what she said.

Less sugar and more fat means slippery cake. And for a wedding that would be a huge problem, if it isn't covered in fondant.

I think she means by less sugar she means the taste. SMBC and IMBC do use less sugar, so they do not have the same sweetness factor taste as BC made with powdered sugar. The only PS recipe I can tolerate is IndyDebi's recipe. I find what is called American BC to be too sweet and sugary. I am, however, in the minority.

But to take a recipe like Indydebi's and just put less sugar in it would be disastrous and not taste right either. Especially for a wedding where it sits out for hours on end. I have only made one wedding cake so far. This was for a fall wedding, indoors on a cool day here in the NE. I used SMBC under the fondant and it held up well for the 4-5 hours it was on display. Had I not been able to use fondant to cover the frosting, I would not have used SMBC, but Indydebi's instead.

So if the cake is not being covered in fondant, I would not compromise on the frosting either. Unless it is a cake that is going to be indoors, not on display long, or can be stored until 2 hours before it is cut in a cooler. But I bet you then you have all sorts of issues with moving, storage, venue, etc that only someone with the experience of Indydebi can answer. But seeing how I am going to be opening a cake place soon, I will not compromise on wedding cake frosting I use. It is made a certain way for a reason - mainly to not be shown on Cake Wrecks! Or to not ruin their wedding either.

Oh, Chinese students! That explains it totally! I worked for a Japanese company and when we'd have a holiday pitch-in, I always loved exploring new foods that my Japanese and Asian friends would bring in. But I could NOT figure out how they even swallowed the stuff they tried to pass off as "dessert"!

Why not do a whipped cream on the cake instead of the buttercream. When I do a tiramisu cake, I like the lightless of the whipped cream with it.