Making buttercteam with Trex

[Huffpot]

Hi
Was just wondering if anyone could give me any ideas on what quantities to use.

I went to a class a few weeks ago and our teacher recommended using trex, butter extract and vanilla essence along with icing sugar but of course I have no idea of quantities.

Any help appreciated :-)

Sorry but ... ick!

have you ever eaten trex???

did she say WHY she thinks it's better?

i can't imagine why you would use trex and butter extract rather than just using butter

Most US recipes sites use shortening/Crisco in addition to - sometimes instead of - butter to make 'bakery-style frosting'. If you Google for the Wilton Buttercream recipe, or have a look on allrecipes.com or KingArthurFlour.com, you'll get some idea of quantities.

She said because of the consistency when piping and because it is white so better for colouring.

Thanks Wriggletto

Eeeep!

oh ok. I can imagine that would be the case yes.

think i'd rather have it nice tasting personally though!

I wouldn't use Trex with buttercream (sounds disgusting tbh), but I do put a really tiny bit in with fondant / ready roll icing so that it shapes more easily (also dip the fondant in a bit of boiled water).

Maybe buttercream isn't the right description though in terms of trex? Am new to making 'em pretty :-)

Yuk

Eww please buy some Proper Butter! And you can still use colouring with butter if colouring can stain your fingers it will colour the butter. Its called BUTTERcream for a reason. And I use stork for my sponges

Food colourings work fine if you make buttercream with butter - I always use butter. I use trex for pastry, so class it with lard, not butter. I wouldn't follow your cooking teacher's advice - it sounds vile, I'm afraid.

Trexcream eeeew.

If you beat the buttercream for several minutes after adding the icing sugar it will go lighter in colour due to all the air beaten into it. Trex as a substitute for butter sounds absolutely vile BTW.

Oh yeah the butter should go lighter the same when you make cakes and cream the butter and sugar first. Duh Homar simpson moment then Bunbaker

I also recently attended a class where the teacher used Trex instead of butter.

It tasted absolutely GORGEOUS!! So don't knock it until you've tried it! It came out pure white and I preferred the taste to normal buttercream.

The recipe I was given at the end of the class was as follows:

100g Trex, 1tsp of Clear Vanilla Extract, 1/2 tsp of clear glycerine, 2-3tsp of water, 250g of sifted icing sugar, 1 1/2 tsp of merriwhite.

It also means that when you colour it, you don't get that hint of cream that changes Red to a slight orangey colour etc.

The only downside I found was that although it is much lighter and fluffier, it didn't pipe as well as buttercream. I found that it didn't give neat edges on Rose Swirls like buttercream does...

This isn't a Buttercream it is a Frosting. I use 1 cup of Trex and 5 cups of icing sugar plus 2 tblsp of condensed milk to stop it 'frosting' quite so quicky. Make sure that the Trex is at room temperature before you start, to get smooth edges when you pipe it. And unlike Buttercream, this Frosting can be overwhipped in my experience and will give a separated appearance if this happens. So once it is smooth stop beating it.

It might sound grim but Trex is just a solid vegetable fat. It's dairy free and suitable for vegetarians. Which is handy if you make cakes for vegetarians or people who have other dietary requirements.

I have used it when making a gluten and dairy free cake.

It tasted fine.

No idea on the quantities sorry. Only made it once.

I made vegan cupcakes recently from the Ms Cupcake book, and her frosting is half trex, half dairy free marg and it tasted lovely and piped really well.

I know blatherskite used it (ski slope cake which had to be white) and she said it was good, but ideally needed flavouring.

I have to admit, I find the idea yukky, but I know ow that is illogical - it's just fat.

I used it recently, just kept tasting it until id added enough icing sugar and added a little vanilla.

It really doesn't taste bad, but I just used it on the outside of my (r2d2) cale to make it white, with buttercream inside.

If I needed white buttercream / frosting I wouldn't hesitate to use it again!

Lurpak is the best butter to use for buttercream. Also, when beating your buttercream beat it for longer than you think. The more its beaten the whiter in colour it will be. Then you can colour it.

Trex is amazing in buttercream and you actually swap all the butter for trex.

The reason for trex is because it helps turns your buttercream white instead of using any whitener for those who might.

It also improves the buttercreams silky finish and helps stabilise the buttercream. Great if you need it to hold up at a function throughout a day in the warm.

If just adding to your buttercream and not using it completely the amount depends on the butter. 1kg of icing sugar and 500g of butter is usually 3-4tsp of trex.

You cannot taste it and the buttercream is amazing.