I am fairly new to cake deco. I have only been using the Wilton crusting class BC. I want to try other recipes. Why is one preferred over the other? Does non-crusting bc have limitations in terms of decorating (besides smoothing). Can I use it with say basketweave? Can I use it under fondant? I am just not sure of any specifics re use of each. Thanks. If you just add merengue powder to a non-crusting bc will it make it crust?
The crusting doesn't just have to do with adding merengue powder or not - it has to do with the amount of fat in your icing. Lots of butter or shortening (aka fat) in an icing will cause it not to crust. Merengue powder does help in the crusting process, though.
I don't know if there are any limitations for using one or the other. I typically use a crusting icing so I can smooth it out. I also use it under fondant. However, if the icing is too crusted over, it is hard for the fondant to stick and you need to use piping gel, a little water, or vanilla to get the fondant to stick to the crusted icing.
I think it comes down to preference and taste.
Adding meringue powder does make it crust...but I'm not sure of the amount to add. Other than it actually crusting, I don't know if there is that much of a difference. I think if you use a BC recipe w/ all butter, it won't crust. Using a crusting recipe allows for you to use certain methods to smooth it, also. Non-crusting might not let you decorate well, either. Depending on which. I hear IMBC and SMBC don't do well w/ piping, but I haven't tried myself yet. I, myself, am not a big fan of the Wilton BC. There are others that are really good on this site. One of them is the Buttercream Dream. You can find it in the recipes. This tastes REALLY good, crusts, and you can pipe w/ it. 1/2 butter 1/2 crisco recipe. A good way to find out is just to try for yourself, and see what YOU prefer. Good luck and HTH.
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