Have you ever sold a cake (one that didn't have a consultation, or had this happen AT a consultation) and had the customer contact you saying they disliked your frosting?

I personally like SMBC and am considering it being my only frosting offered, but I know a few people who have tried it and prefer sweeter American buttercream. I have read yelp reviews for a local cupcake shop that only uses IMBC/SMBC and half the reviews say they hate the frosting.

So my question is, have you ever had a customer be put off by your frosting?

NOPE. I use smbc almost 100% now. (i don't know how to make cream cheese smbc so I make American) Some people don't like SMBC because they say it taste too buttery. I use the 1, 2, 2 ratio though so ive never had a problem. Also when I make children cakes I add a little more sugar than other cakes. To me its like silk heaven. Its why I just purchased the Insanity dvd set because Ive gained so much weight lol.

I only bake for family & friends but they have all loved the smbc. Ever since my daughter tasted SMBC, she doesn't want any other frosting. I feel the same way. I may have to use something else for hot summer days or a mixture of amc & smbc.

LOL. Jen (FromScratchSF) has a CCSMBC and I THOUGHT it was going to completely push me over to all SMBC but then I read she doesn't use it for wedding cakes because she advises you to use it in cakes that will be eaten within 24 hours.

I don't use SMBC very much, but I've read posts here on CC where people have received complaints about it. Some people choose to offer both as a choice option.

Fact is, it's not what a lot of people expect on a cake. They are accustomed to American BC. If it's unexpected, some may like it, but others will associate unexpected with dislike.

It can go the other way, too. It can be regional, SES related, etc.

Just can't please everyone all of the time.

Rae

Like any recipe, just because it is SMBC or one of the other European buttercreams, that does not make it a great recipe. I have tasted and also heard of SMBC that tastes like butter.

Not all recipes are created equal. One problem is cheap butter or salted butter. Both will hurt the quality of the product.

If made correctly, IMBC and SMBC will be a blank canvas for a flavor. It will not taste like butter. I just posted earlier tonight the fact that the flavoring will affect the outcome also. Cheap,, and even cheap pure extracts will take away from the flavor.

I know for a fact that when I have a buttercream on a cake or cupcake, the taste is subtle and melds with the cake flavor. It doesn't fight it or taste like butter. If someone likes the ultra sweet Crisco frosting, it doesn't mean that they can't enjoy European buttercreams. It isn't a comparison if done well. It is more a totally different flavor experience. People don't compare, they just enjoy. It's like choosing whipped cream or ice cream with your pumpkin pie.

I offer an ultra sweet buttercream and I personally find it delicious, even though it isn't my first choice. I call it birthday cake flavor. It is a butter/poured fondant base as I will never offer what I call grease frosting. This one definitely does not taste like butter either, and I use a ton in all of my buttercreams. I think if people actually knew what they were eating, they would think twice. That's why bakers try to cover up the grease ingredient by calling it buttercream.

Again, perfecting taste is a learned skill. Don't just settle for a buttercream recipe. Keep experimenting until you find one that works.

You can always use the fresh churned butter from farmer's markets or European butters. They taste more like cream. But you will pay between $6.00 to $$10.00 per pound.

I have to shake my head when people say they hate IMBC or SMBC. It just means it was not a good recipe. You can actually get both to be literally void of taste, ready to accept a great fine ingredient that will make an excellent buttercream.

I do wish that all people were so erudite as to not "compare" a meringue buttercream to an American buttercream--not all of which taste like grease, either--but, alas, they are NOT.

If they see icing on something, they will compare it to the other icings that they've had over their lifetime. They won't be thinking that it's anything else but icing. If they have no experience with a meringue buttercream, they won't necessarily appreciate it's "finer qualities". They may find it not sweet enough for their tastes and they may find it greasy--yes, greasy. No matter how we couch it, butter is fat and fat is greasy, be it vegetable fat or animal fat (butter).

Everyone's tastes are different--not better or worse--just different.

For me, a grapefruit is one of the most bitter, vile foods on the planet. For my DH, a grapefruit is sweet and delightful. Go figure.

We've both had Wendy Kromer's meringue buttercream--I'd imagine that she's got it down pretty pat and makes it correctly or Martha Stewart would have ditched her a long time ago--...........for me, it was OK but lacked flavor (no other complaints), for my DH, it was vile, buttery, greasy, and shouldn't be on a cake. Neither of us was wrong. We just have different tastes.

Make what makes you happy and be prepared to find some of the people happy all of the time and some of the people happy none of the time.

Rae

This post is not meant to offend anyone who uses shortening, but to show the prevoius poster that there is a big difference in butter and shortening. And yes, we can have knowledge of all types of frostings. Most of us do.

If we are comparing "that stuff we cover cakes with", then there is nothing wrong with comparing the different types. And maybe you missed the part about the OP asking about the two.

And I must completely disagree that butter and shortening are both "just grease".

Why don't you ask people what they think is the main ingredient in ABC? Why don't bakers praise the merits of their all-shortening frosting on their websites and in their marketing plan? "We guarantee a full 1/4 cup of raw shortening on every cupcake! Don't be deceived, some of our competitor cut this lovely shortening with butter. Demand all-shortening in your frosting."

My point is that shortening and butter are not equal in most eyes.

I'll bet that the average person thinks that ABC is a mixture of butter, milk, sugar, and vanilla.

Shortening has not one redeeming nutritional value. Butter does add nutrients to our diet.

Bridgette, give Warren Brown's IMBC a try. His recipe is on YouTube. I actually add more sugar to my recipe because my "taste panel" said it needed a bit more sweetness. So I added 1/4 cup more sugar to the meringue and 1/4 more to the syrup. This didn't affect the recipe negatively at all. I only use brand name unsalted butter and I use NM vanilla-about two to three tablespoons for my recipe.

If you are looking for a hybrid-type recipe then you can give the Whipped Cream Buttercream recipe in the most saved recipes section a try. It starts with a meringue using granulated sugar but then you add powdered sugar in at the end. I have used it with all butter and it's great.

annie

Bridgette is referring to fromScratchSf not using cream cheese Swiss meringue buttercream. Not just regular Swiss meringue buttercream.

Thanks Imagenthatnj, I reread the comment! I wont make CCSMBC, its too tempermental, I make it with butter and crisco and powdered sugar, and its my sons favorite.

A

My "taste panel" find my smbc too greasy/buttery, so I'm interested in trying that ratio. Do you just add more sugar or the egg white/sugar mix or add icing sugar at the end? And when you add more sugar for kids cakes same question. I'm excited to try this - it may solve my big frosting problem!

A

Ok, that was hilarious! So, I don't offer anything at all that I don't personally enjoy eating or making. So that means American BC ain't on the menu, for any reason. If anyone has ever had a problem with eating SMBC or ganache, I don't know about it. I'm sure there have been people who aren't fans, and that's ok. But actual complaints? Nope

Most of my customers have no problem with SMBC for their cakes. I do have some that will specific request American buttercream and I have no problem doing it for them (its on one of our daily cupcake flavors so I always have it around, and my recipe uses butter). I just tell everyone that our standard is SMBC. At my wedding tastings, I try to make sure I have some on hand for them to taste as most people in my area haven't had it unless they've ordered a custom cake from one of the other bakeries in town (who actually is temporarily closed at the moment). 

I use fromscratchSF's recipe and haven't had any complaints about it. I did however have a question about it after a bridal shower. Her baby nephew had a bite of the frosting and then had an allergic outbreak so she asked what it contained. Since then, I make sure to tell parents of little ones about the egg whites in case their child hasn't had eggs yet and they might not know about an allergy.