A substitute for Crisco in buttercream frosting?

[jade]

Every time I make buttercream frosting I cringe at the amount of Crisco I have to use. Is there anything I can use in place of it that still gives me the same delicious result just not with a billion grams of fat?

Thanks!

 

[rlauzon]

No. That "delicious result" comes from the fat.

 

[TheMetalChef]

Every time I make buttercream frosting I cringe at the amount of Crisco I have to use. Is there anything I can use in place of it that still gives me the same delicious result just not with a billion grams of fat?

Thanks!

Yes, you can do real butter, which has slightly less fat (because it's not pure fat like Crisco) and tastes 100000x better.

There's a reason why they call it buttercream, not Criscocream.

 

[Alix]

Fat is fat. 1 tbsp of butter = 1 tbsp of fat = 1 tbsp of crisco. The difference is the type of fat and the taste. (Veggie fat or animal fat) Butter tastes better, but shortening stands up better.

 

[Constance]

Butter-flavored Crisco is pretty darned good...I always used it for my freezer pie-crust.

 

[jet]

Fat is fat. 1 tbsp of butter = 1 tbsp of fat = 1 tbsp of crisco. The difference is the type of fat and the taste. (Veggie fat or animal fat) Butter tastes better, but shortening stands up better.

Butter has a small percentage of water.

 

[Alix]

Yes it does, unless its been clarified. I stand corrected jet. Do you have the % of water it contains?

 

[rlauzon]

Butter has a small percentage of water.

It also has a high percentage of cholesterol. Plant fat (like Crisco) doesn't.

 

[Andy M.]

In the USA, butter contains about 18% water, 80% fat and 2% milk solids etc. All % are approximate but close.

 

[Andy M.]

It also has a high percentage of cholesterol. Plant fat (like Crisco) doesn't.

True, but Crisco contains trans fats while butter does not.

 

[TheMetalChef]

I'm in agreement with the late Dr. Atkins on this: There is no evidence that eating cholesterol actually raises your internal cholesterol levels.

Trans fatty acids are proven killers, and there is a growing amount of evidence to suggest that hydrogenated plant oils are a leading contributor to all manner of health problems.

 

[Alix]

Oops we seem to have slipped off topic. Sorry we hijacked. The short answer is "no" there is nothing that you can sub in that isn't fat.

 

[TheMetalChef]

Oops we seem to have slipped off topic. Sorry we hijacked. The short answer is "no" there is nothing that you can sub in that isn't fat.

Well, there again, using real butter is less fat than using Crisco, because of the water content of real butter.

 

[jet]

Buttercream will never be health food.

Shortening has 12g fat (3 saturated) per tablespoon, while unsalted butter has 11.5g fat (7.3 saturated), although shortening does have some trans fat.

 

[TheMetalChef]

Buttercream will never be health food.

Exactly.

 

[kitchenelf]

Now that we've got the health issues out of the way let's keep this thread to the OP's question. If anyone wants to start another thread in the proper forum for health issues please feel free. But, it seems the original question has also been answered.

 

[TheMetalChef]

Now that we've got the health issues out of the way let's keep this thread to the OP's question. If anyone wants to start another thread in the proper forum for health issues please feel free. But, it seems the original question has also been answered.

FWIW, the OP's question was specifically about a "healthier" alternative (less fat) than Crisco.

But you are most certainly correct that the original question has been answered in a couple different ways.

 

[kitchenelf]

Great - it's case closed then!

 

[jade]

True, but Crisco contains trans fats while butter does not.

Next time I make buttercream frosting I will definitely try it with butter instead. The trans fats in Crisco are a deal breaker for me. Trans fats are just too bad for you to ignore. I mean, I don't make buttercream frosting often and bad things are definitely good in small doses, but I look forward to trying butter as a substitute.

Thank you for everyones input and information!

 

[Andy M.]

Next time I make buttercream frosting I will definitely try it with butter instead. The trans fats in Crisco are a deal breaker for me. Trans fats are just too bad for you to ignore. I mean, I don't make buttercream frosting often and bad things are definitely good in small doses, but I look forward to trying butter as a substitute.

Thank you for everyones input and information!

Rather than use that recipe substituting butter for the shortening, I'd scrap it and find one that uses butter. There are plenty of them out there.