No, blech. If you have a stand mixer or even a hand mixer it’s super easy.
LilGooby19
Ignore the stuffy people 🙂 this will do fine.
Imaginary_Audience_5
Fine for a beginner. My mom used this kind of stuff my entire childhood.
_-regina_phalange
For piping maybe, but as the base it doesn’t smooth out very easily
FloofingWithFloofers
I work at JewelOsco, which is owned by Albertsons, so I wonder if their other companies sell buttercream from the bakery dept. We will sell a tub of buttercream we use for our cakes to people who ask! A lot of people will use it for their cakes they make at home and it is a really good consistency.
Actual-Arachnid-5278
What are you planning it use it for? The non whipped version might be better depending on the use case
PretendHistory6904
It will not work for piping. If you try, it will just wilt and spread out.
bonabelle
When you feel ready to try making your own, you’ll be amazed at home-made with just butter, powdered sugar, a hint of salt and a dash of good vanilla extract. In our family, we used to scrape the frosting off if it was shop bought. Homemade is so very good.
Technical_Flamingo51
Trash
andromedaasteriornis
Personally I’ve used it but never have I been able to add color without it curdling
DarthZelda12
Honestly as a beginner this will do just fine. A little tip to make it a bit easier to spread, if you have a hand mixer or kitchen aid go ahead and whip that up for 2-3 minutes. The air added in will make it fluffier without compromising the taste 🙂
PromotionSafe5823
I find that the whipped variety works to cover a cake but not decorate. If you find you want it a little stiffer, simply whip in some powdered sugar to it a little at a time. Good luck on your decorating journey! 💜
lilfreaksh0w
there’s no use in trying! cake decorating is a skill that takes a lot of practice, making batches and batches of buttercream just for practice is tiring (and wasteful)
therumpfshaker
former Publix cake decorator here. You wrote below you’re looking to practice piping, so one easy way is to get some parchment paper, piping bag and tips, and *creamy peanut butter.* Very cheap and then when you’re done just spatula it back into the jar or make some toast.
if you’re wanting to practice icing a cake, making borders, etc. there is a buttercream recipe on the Wilton website that is not complicated and it has instructions to vary the stiffness (you ideally want softer icing to ice the cake itself, medium for borders, and stiffer for doing roses or other intricate flowers and elements).
cream cheese icing is great too and imho tastes best. It’s just ratios of softened unsalted butter, cream cheese (the full fat kind, don’t get diet for this!), confectioner’s sugar, and whatever flavorings you want to add. Adding a bit more sugar makes it stiffer. Again, google for recipes.
Both the Wilton buttercream and cream cheese icings are *easier* to make with a mixer but it’s not necessary (unlike whipped cream based icings/meringues, where it would be exhausting to do by hand). You really just need the basic ingredients, a big bowl, and a spatula.
I’m not going to hate on anyone for using premade icing but the blunt truth is that 1) this does not taste as good as making it yourself, 2) it will not have a good consistency to practice like you want, and 3) it is not very hard to make icing.
Good luck!
WickedHello
It largely depends on what exactly you’re using it for (piping, cake cover, decorations, etc.) but in general canned frosting almost never works as a substitute for buttercream without modification. If you’re looking to use it for writing, you’ll need to add piping gel for best results. Overall cover is fine in general if you’re not too hung up on consistency, but if you’re looking to make decor like borders or flowers or anything like that, you’ll definitely need to thicken it up with confectioner’s sugar and the like.
trucorsair
This also works quite well:
Combine 1 cup of Crisco shortening with 4 cups of powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp salt, and 4-6 tbsp milk.
A staple in Kentucky for cakes
SummerBirdsong
No.
Lemina
It depends on what you’re trying to do. The limitation with most of the store bought frostings is the texture and consistency. They tend to be soft and viscous, so if you’re trying to pipe shapes, it won’t work very well. They’ll sort of be gooey and wilt and flatten out. Piping thin lines and flat dots and shapes is fine, though. But if you’re here on this subreddit, you’re probably envisioning doing fancier things like piping flowers or shell borders. I think trying to use this type of frosting will just be frustrating. You might think the problem is you, when it’s actually the consistency of the frosting
DriftingIntoAbstract
I found it frustrating to work with. I think if you thicken it with powered sugar it helps stiffen it though.
19 Comments
No, blech. If you have a stand mixer or even a hand mixer it’s super easy.
Ignore the stuffy people 🙂 this will do fine.
Fine for a beginner. My mom used this kind of stuff my entire childhood.
For piping maybe, but as the base it doesn’t smooth out very easily
I work at JewelOsco, which is owned by Albertsons, so I wonder if their other companies sell buttercream from the bakery dept. We will sell a tub of buttercream we use for our cakes to people who ask! A lot of people will use it for their cakes they make at home and it is a really good consistency.
What are you planning it use it for? The non whipped version might be better depending on the use case
It will not work for piping. If you try, it will just wilt and spread out.
When you feel ready to try making your own, you’ll be amazed at home-made with just butter, powdered sugar, a hint of salt and a dash of good vanilla extract. In our family, we used to scrape the frosting off if it was shop bought. Homemade is so very good.
Trash
Personally I’ve used it but never have I been able to add color without it curdling
Honestly as a beginner this will do just fine. A little tip to make it a bit easier to spread, if you have a hand mixer or kitchen aid go ahead and whip that up for 2-3 minutes. The air added in will make it fluffier without compromising the taste 🙂
I find that the whipped variety works to cover a cake but not decorate. If you find you want it a little stiffer, simply whip in some powdered sugar to it a little at a time. Good luck on your decorating journey! 💜
there’s no use in trying! cake decorating is a skill that takes a lot of practice, making batches and batches of buttercream just for practice is tiring (and wasteful)
former Publix cake decorator here. You wrote below you’re looking to practice piping, so one easy way is to get some parchment paper, piping bag and tips, and *creamy peanut butter.* Very cheap and then when you’re done just spatula it back into the jar or make some toast.
if you’re wanting to practice icing a cake, making borders, etc. there is a buttercream recipe on the Wilton website that is not complicated and it has instructions to vary the stiffness (you ideally want softer icing to ice the cake itself, medium for borders, and stiffer for doing roses or other intricate flowers and elements).
cream cheese icing is great too and imho tastes best. It’s just ratios of softened unsalted butter, cream cheese (the full fat kind, don’t get diet for this!), confectioner’s sugar, and whatever flavorings you want to add. Adding a bit more sugar makes it stiffer. Again, google for recipes.
Both the Wilton buttercream and cream cheese icings are *easier* to make with a mixer but it’s not necessary (unlike whipped cream based icings/meringues, where it would be exhausting to do by hand). You really just need the basic ingredients, a big bowl, and a spatula.
I’m not going to hate on anyone for using premade icing but the blunt truth is that 1) this does not taste as good as making it yourself, 2) it will not have a good consistency to practice like you want, and 3) it is not very hard to make icing.
Good luck!
It largely depends on what exactly you’re using it for (piping, cake cover, decorations, etc.) but in general canned frosting almost never works as a substitute for buttercream without modification. If you’re looking to use it for writing, you’ll need to add piping gel for best results. Overall cover is fine in general if you’re not too hung up on consistency, but if you’re looking to make decor like borders or flowers or anything like that, you’ll definitely need to thicken it up with confectioner’s sugar and the like.
This also works quite well:
Combine 1 cup of Crisco shortening with 4 cups of powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp salt, and 4-6 tbsp milk.
A staple in Kentucky for cakes
No.
It depends on what you’re trying to do. The limitation with most of the store bought frostings is the texture and consistency. They tend to be soft and viscous, so if you’re trying to pipe shapes, it won’t work very well. They’ll sort of be gooey and wilt and flatten out. Piping thin lines and flat dots and shapes is fine, though. But if you’re here on this subreddit, you’re probably envisioning doing fancier things like piping flowers or shell borders. I think trying to use this type of frosting will just be frustrating. You might think the problem is you, when it’s actually the consistency of the frosting
I found it frustrating to work with. I think if you thicken it with powered sugar it helps stiffen it though.