to expect my buttercream not to curdle

[farewellfigure]

I'm trying to cut costs by using marj instead of ridiculously expensive butter, but the icing just turns to a wet curdled mess and looks utterly gross and unusable. My sister says she has never made butter icing with butter and always uses marj. Why won't it work? I've tried the soft stuff, and also the hard baking fat stuff, but both failed. Yuck. Any advice?

farewell - yes I think the hot water might be the problem. Try milk cold from the fridge instead.

I use any marg, stork or shops own and it's always as good as 'bought' buttercream.
It doesn't have to be butter at all.

It does have to be butter, otherwise its not buttercream.It's margerine-cream, which is disgusting beyond words. If you can't afford butter for buttercream, use icing sugar instead. Anyone who doesn't think marg-cream is vile has no tastebuds.

A lot of misinformation on this thread:

1. Buttercream should be made from butter. The clue is in the name - unless you are dairy intolerant
2. Adding water to margarine will make it curdle
3. If you use an electric mixer and beat the buttercream for 5 minutes the extra air beaten into it will make it appear almost white
4. Margarine isn't significantly cheaper than butter if you shop carefully - I always use value butter and just buy whatever is cheapest

I have just checked butter and margarine prices. 250g of the cheapest butter is 99p, 250g of block Stork is 69p. For the amount you would need to ice 12 fairy buns (I'm not talking about those over-iced confections known as cupcakes with far too much icing BTW) or a 7" sandwich cake you would make a saving of approximately 10 - 15p. Is the sacrifice in taste worth 10 - 15p?

"I use any marg, stork or shops own and it's always as good as 'bought' buttercream. It doesn't have to be butter at all."

Bought buttercream is vile because it hasn't been near a cow.

Totally agree bunbaker

Butter isn't hugely more expensive than margarine if you buy value butter. Cake topping made with margarine is desperately disappointing.

It doesn't taste lovely if you use stork. Stork is revolting, and I'd be surreptiously be spitting your cake into a napkin. Sorry. I'm sure I'd tell you it was lovely though!

Water won't mix with marg, so will curdle. I also wouldn't be suprised if using hot caused problems as the marg could well seperate as it melts.

If it had to be marg, I would either just use marg and icing sugar, or use a little bit of cold milk to loosen it if you must.

As far as buying butter goes, I just stock up with whatever is on offer and freeze it. I don't even use marg for sandwiches, can't stand the taste. :(

I always used stork in a tub as that's what I grew up using. Cut up stork and put in with appropriate amount of icing sugar and vanilla and mix until creamed with a hand blender - mines a £5 job from Tesco. Tasted just fine and never had a problem with it curdling, just followed the quantities on the back of the icing sugar pack.

It's only recently I've converted to butter as I can get it cheap enough in places like heron foods and I'm using it straight away. Otherwise it sits in the fridge forever and a day.

"and I'd be surreptiously be spitting your cake into a napkin"

. I ended up nearly doing that at a school Christmas fair. I had taken a big bite of a beautifully decorated fairy cake and was horrified to find a mouth full of sweetened margarine

Sorry, but I am a purist.

As for shortbread not containing butter - don't even go there.

I make margecream because have dairy intolerant child and DH
I use slightly higher ratio of sugar to fat, so its not too soft/runny - and my technique....use a potato masher

how do all you who use electric mixer avoid the clouds of choking icing sugar that go everywhere?

My food mixer has a lid to prevent this. If I were you I would start mixing slowly by hand, adding the icing sugar slowly and when it is all incorporated you can use the mixer to get the light fluffiness effect.

I also have a spatter guard. Ignore the customer review as I thought it was brilliant. The reviewer must have been rather inept.

I very rarely eat cakes outside of the home because I have found many people seem to think margarine is a butter substitute.

I think some people are brought up with margarine and so to them it is normal, but it is vile if you know what you should be tasting.

I look at butter prices every time I go to the shops and buy when I see a good deal. I never pay more than a pound per 250g. My freezer currently has a pile of packs of Lurpak as a few weeks ago Tesco had 2 packs for £2.

Butter is not significantly more expensive than margarine and it is vastly superior in taste.

Don't knock trex until you've tried it...

I have attended a cake course with an award winning cake maker/decorator who uses trex in her buttercream. It tastes really lovely and is better for you than using butter. Plus you can colour it easier because it is white and also adding flavour for it is easier because you don't get the buttery taste.

Having said all that, I still use butter because I am not fussed about buttercream anyway and tend to eat my cakes before I decorate them...

thanks for replying bunbaker

OK I'm going to try marj without adding any water. Wish me luck. I'm making up to 3 kilos of it a week which is why it's working out so expensive (various cake making commitments!). 2 kilos of butter = £8 whereas a 2 kilos of marj = £2! I will make a little bit to try first though and if it tastes gross I'll have to go back to butter. Can't have people spitting into napkins. Yuck!

I might try trex as well! Oh the horror!

Wow, I can't believe how cheap butter is in the UK...!

It is usually around $5 (c £2.50) for 500g here, sometime $6 (£3)-$7 (£3.50).

I beat my butter (sometimes with a bit of creamcheese added, depending on the cake) until it is soft and pale, and then gradually add the icing suar. Milk - if needed at all - to loosen. It is definitely all in the beating.

Just no to margarine. For the difference in price, it has to be butter. And think of us in the Colonies, paying way over your odds for butter - hopefully that will make you feel a bit better.

Phantom - you can also drape a tea-towel over the mixer to contain the clouds of icing sugar

yeah, we do the draping tea towel - following The Major Cloud Of Icing Sugar Incident

2 kilos of margarine for £2! What kind of marge is it?

Baking marj from Sainsburys. There's a similar one in Tescos and Asda as well but not quite so cheap. They are fine in baking... victoria sponges etc. Mary Berry uses marj in sponges. You get better rise! I'd never use it in brownies or flapjacks though. Yuck.