Why not stork for buttercream?

[Brownowlahi]

Hi, I've not been on this site before and was just reading through some of the previous posts. I've noticed you all seem to use real butter rather than stork for buttercream. Can I ask why. Is it just personal preference, or is there another reason? I always use stork and it tastes ok to me. :)

:o

"Harsh first line in your response Bunbaker."

Yes. I apologise for that, and welcome to this forum. I promise not to give you a flaming next time . But I still think that using Stork for buttercream is not on.

For baking it is excellent - We did a blind tasting recently and couldn't taste the difference between a sponge made with butter and one made with Stork. The butter cake was a little more golden brown, and that was the only difference.

Crikey there seems to be a real issue with Stork. I bought some yesterday after asking the question on here if it's OK to use in sponges and a lot of people seemed to think it made them lighter. Now I feel as if I shall be feeding my family made with Satan's tears!

Don't listen to them. Stork makes fabulous sponge cakes. If it is good enough for Mary Berry it is good enough for me.

Yes, but Mary Berry experienced rationing and wars. I bet if she could have used butter, she would have. Butter for me, all the way, in (and on) everything.

Yes, but Mary Berry is well aware that rationing and wars are over and she's hardly hurting for money. What a silly thing to say!

I personally think uncooked Stork is just not nice. Butter for buttercream for sure.

Stork is great for the actual cakes (I use the tub sort), gives light cakes and is the right consistency straight from the fridge. I regularly bake dairy free and use Pure sunflower marge for that, it isn't quit as nice but perfectly acceptable.

I rarely make buttercream (none of us are that keen on it, we prefer glace icing) but if I do I use real butter.

In her new baking book Delia recommends Lurpak Lighter as it is easy to work with but has a higher proportion of butter than other spreadable butters.

I always put a small splodge of Stork in with the huge amount of butter in my buttercream. Makes it much easier to mix/spread and tastes like my childhood

Oh blimey the emotions run high on the old Stork debate ( I was sleeping).

LadyD - GOLD wrapper Stork , we make cakes and cookies with it and pastry ( when I don't cheat and buy the stuff in a roll already made - also dairy-free). Works well in the fact cakes rise, biscuits are great. But tbh I couldn't tell you if there's a slight taste difference as been a while since we baked using butter. Have to remember if cake baking to get it out of the fridge before using to go softer.

We cannot use the Stork marg ( in a tub).
But when I have used sunflower spreads from supermarkets (inc. M&S) I I have found they seem to slightly crisp things up - fairy cakes have a little crispy top.

We do had butter in our household as the rest of us love it and my fav is Jersey Butter.

Sorry OP, my post is called "hi-jacking" . Welcome and you like food there's a lot of other people on here who love it too.

Never have marge in the house butter all the way.

I'm stunned, such cake ingredient snobbery!! I had no idea such a thing existed...

Personally I find cakes and pastry made with butter too heavy, greasy and strongly flavoured, and butter cream is vile regardless of the fat used.

Like others on here I use stork for school baking and for dds dairy free friend. I have made buttercream with stork for the same child's birthday cake. I think it tasted ok, not as good as butter but didn't "come together" in the same way IYSWIM

Can I ask why none of you dairy-free bakers use Trex? I know it sounds old-fashioned but I picked it up when I wasn't very impressed with Pure. It also hasn't got any of the nasties in it. I'm not wildly taken with the taste but rest of family like it and it does give light cakes. And is cheap!

Still hoping DS grow out of the intolerance though

Delia is right and wrong: Lurpak spreadables have slightly more butter than their competitors but all the lighter ones have much less butter than the ordinary spreadables: Lurpak Lighter has 43% butter vs Country Life Spreadable Lighter at 38%; ordinary Lurpak Spreadable is 69% butter.

Lurpak Lightest spreadable has only 27% butter, tastes vile, and costs as much as Lurpak Spreadable despite being mostly cheap oil and costs nearly as much as Lurpak Block Butter. I think it's a swizz.

Never heard of trex what is it?

Can I ask what the issue with Stork is?

I am a very new baker so looking for advice an all things baking and there seems to be a real divide between the 'it's great for making lighter cakes' and the 'I'll never have it in my house' opinions. Is it because it's bad for you (is it?) or is it baking snobbery? I don't have a clue what I'm doing yet so I didn't realise it could invoke such emotion!

This is a genuine question, as I said I'm such a novice and trying to find my own 'baking feet' as it were.

Trex is a white vegetable fat and is often used as a vegetarian replacement for lard. I wouldn't use it in cakes, but I would in pastry.

NEVER HEARD OF TREX???????

trex

trex better website

I love the phrase another poster used "stork is full of mark". A man made product full of nasties.

So it's vege lard then? That be why I've never used it as I haven't had any recipes call for lard. :) what is it like in pastry?

Ir's snobbery I think. I hate the taste of Stork but it's very good for cakes. And as for Delia and her bloody lurpak spreadable, I feel indulgent enough buying it for our toast, I'm buggered if I'm using it in cakes. It would bankrupt me. She has no idea . If I used pat butter for cakes I would have to cut my baking down by 2/3 as it is.

My mum was an amazing baker Gwendoline, she won all sorts of baking competitions when I was a kid and she always used Stork IN her cakes. She was even asked to make a cake for Harold Wilson when he visited Glasgow in the 70's! Unfortunately I have not inherited her natural flair!

Sorry meant Lurpak spreadable not Lighter WRT Delia.

I use Trex for pastry half and half with Stork/Pure, had never thought of using it in cakes.

Thanks for your replies. I picked Trex up by chance really, it had a picture of lots of baked goods on it! Vegetable lard is a good description. Will try gold block stork next.
Thanks