What alternatives are there to sugar fondant and buttercream for wedding cake frosting?
February 28, 2009 by Unique Wedding Ideas
Filed under More Wedding Answers
Can you answer joey’s question about Weddings?:
I’m interested in a wedding cake that tastes good, not one that looks pretty. I never understood the concept of making food look nice but taste terrible. Sugar fondant, in my opinion, tastes and smells like caulking and buttercream is always too sweet and has a nauseatingly grainy texture. Are there any other alternatives to these two for the icing on a wedding cake? I’m having my wedding indoors in early spring so melting isn’t a problem.
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I’m interested in a wedding cake that tastes good, not one that looks pretty. I never understood the concept of making food look nice but taste terrible. Sugar fondant, in my opinion, tastes and smells like caulking and buttercream is always too sweet and has a nauseatingly grainy texture. Are there any other alternatives to these two for the icing on a wedding cake? I’m having my wedding indoors in early spring so melting isn’t a problem.
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Weddings Feedback: Fondant is just for pretty, that’s for sure. If the buttercream you had was grainy, you were lied to or the person making it was a dolt. Icing and confectioners sugar based frostings are grainy and proper buttercream should have the texture of slightly thin cream cheese.
Weddings Feedback: Cream cheese icing is a good one. Your caterer or whoever is making your cake will be able to give you more options. Your right about the fondant…stuff tastes awful and people pay an outrageous price for it too.
Weddings Feedback: Decorator Frosting:
2/3 cup shortening (Crisco is best)
Sift 4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2-3 Tblsp. milk
Beat above till smooth. Cover with a damp cloth until ready to use. You can spread this on cake, and dip your knife in hot water to smooth out, as well as make flowers or other accents. This is very tasty. Hope this helps.
Weddings Feedback: if the fondant and buttercream taste like crap, then the person making them isn’t very good.
buttercream should not be grainy and fondant shouldn’t taste like caulk.
find a better baker.
Weddings Feedback: whip-cream!!
Weddings Feedback: My fondant doesn’t taste like caulking and my butter cream isn’t grainy
You need to find a better baker.
As for the sweetness try an Italian Meringue Butter cream, it is smoother than an American Butter Cream ( probably the what you’ve tasted) and less sweet,or a cooked whipped icing.
Also cheesecake as wedding cake has become popular in the last few years, and everyone loves cheesecake!
Good luck in finding your perfect cake.
Weddings Feedback: you can make fruit glaze out of strawberries and raspberries. it’s not exactly frosting….but it will look nice and taste good. if you’ve had butter cream that was too sweet and grainy, make it with honey instead of granulated sugar.
congratulations on your wedding!
Weddings Feedback: There’s whipped cream icing. Or you could try a chocolate genache (not sure if you can do that with white chocolate?)
You could taste marshmallow fondant to see if you like that better. I like it way better. I agree that traditional fondant tastes awful.
If you do like Marshmallow fondant, you could taste-test different bakeries’ buttercream for one that you like. My buttercream is sweet, but not grainy.
Weddings Feedback: The best frosting you will find that tastes great and looks great is not gonna come from a crisco can and tons of sugar. Egg white frosting is not popular in this time or in the US but it is the most natural and truly traditional cake frosting there is. It’s not too sweet so that you do not get tired of eating it after a few seconds. My friends tasted it for the first time 6 months ago and they absolutely LOVED it. True cake gurus will know how to make and use this frosting on a wedding cake. It’s not easy to use unless you are a good decorator but it will look wonderful on a wedding cake. (My mom made her wedding cake with this frosting.) I will tell you this: it will come off easily if the humidity levels are too high. Other than that this is the most natural and tasty frosting you will find out there.