I don't like buttercream -- what are my options??
by Emily Cobb Henry
(Pittsford, NY)
All right, I'll just come right out and say it: I don't like buttercream frosting. At first, I thought it was just store-made frostings that I didn't particularly enjoy (especially those on cakes coming from supermarkets or local bakeries). The frosting just always tasted so... filmy. Sugar-y. Almost grainy. And just not very flavorful or rich or *good*.
I assumed it was a result of the supermarkets just making yucky frosting. But then, as I've begun baking my own homemade cakes more often, I've discovered that it's not *their* frosting that I dislike so strongly: it's BUTTERCREAM frosting in general. No matter which recipe I try (and I've tried a bunch, including the ones on this site), I wind up with the same film-coating-the-roof-of-my-mouth, cotton-candy-sweet, not-rich frosting.
And it makes me frustrated and sad, because I *love* the rest of the cakes I've been making (the vast majority of which have been made with help from this site!), but the frosting is just BLEH most of the time. (The exceptions to this are when the frosting has flavor to it. Chocolate frostings always taste pretty good to me, and buttercream FILLINGS are yummy to me, too. But plain, vanilla buttercream? Don't like it at all.)
Here's an embarrassing tidbit: frosting that I *do* like? The canned kind. Like, that you buy at the grocery store and has Betty or Duncan or Pillsbury written on it. I absolutely ADORE canned frosting, even the vanilla varieties. And I'd like to find a homemade vanilla recipe that tastes similar... but that can also be used for piping and flower-making and letter writing, etc.
Would it help to substitute butter for all of the shortening in my frosting recipes? Would that make it richer and smoother? Or do I need to try something else entirely?
The tips and information and photos and recipes on this site have been spectacular. Thank you in advance for your help!
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, you should. Adding a flavor like Bavarian Cream or Champagne to any buttercream takes it to a whole new level. They are very concentrated so you only need a few drops.
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