Karas Cakery Blog

The one thing that I remember most about ordering my birthday cakes at Farm Fresh when I was little was the emphasis my mom put on “buttercream frosting.” What she really meant was “don’t use that whipped crap!” (Pardon my french). If you’ve ever ordered a cake from your local grocery store bakery, you know what I mean. It’s their standard frosting – it is light, sweet, and leaves a funny taste in your mouth – almost that of fake sugar. And when confetti sprinkles are added to it, they turn wet and melty and leave their respective color stains in the frosting. My most educated guess is that the main ingredient is whipped cream of some sort – but I’ve tried adding whipped cream to my buttercream and it doesn’t work. The weight of the buttercream causes the air in the whipped cream to escape and you have a soupy looking mess.

Well wonder no more – according to All Experts.com, Bakery Whipped Icing is whipped cream with a powdered stablizer. So that’s where the funky aftertaste comes from! The leading brand for this whipped stuff is Rich’s – here is a list of their products. What do they have in common? They are all NON-DAIRY.

My frosting/icing ingredients are as follows: butter, egg whites, milk, sugar, etc. In other words – they contain dairy. I can’t imagine a frosting without butter or egg whites or milk. Why would you want a dessert with fake frosting that’s made of chemical non-pronounable ingredients? Beats me. Make your own icing! Or do as my mom did, request buttercream. It may not be made from scratch, but I can guarantee it has at least one dairy ingredient!

photo from farmfresh.com