Other than Buttercream

[Qui]

What would be the next best option for frosting and decorating a wedding cake besides buttercream. The bride really hates buttercream... I was thinking about using stabilized whipped cream but was afraid that it might be too difficult to use since it sets up quickly.

I've heard of adding whipped cream stabilizer or merigue powder to help stabilize whipped cream, does any of those work? And if so, does it affect the taste, and does it hold up at room temp?

The wedding will be indoor, so it would be rather cool...

Any input will be appreciated!

[Patrick S]

Fondant.

[sanrensho]

What would be the next best option for frosting and decorating a wedding cake besides buttercream. The bride really hates buttercream...

Is it is possible that she's never had real buttercream (Swiss meringue/Italian meringue/French buttercream)? If so, you could have her sample some and tell her it's "frosting." See what her reaction is.

[RuthWells]

What would be the next best option for frosting and decorating a wedding cake besides buttercream. The bride really hates buttercream... I was thinking about using stabilized whipped cream but was afraid that it might be too difficult to use since it sets up quickly.

I've heard of adding whipped cream stabilizer or merigue powder to help stabilize whipped cream, does any of those work? And if so, does it affect the taste, and does it hold up at room temp?

The wedding will be indoor, so it would be rather cool...

Any input will be appreciated!

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Are we talking the American 10x-sugar+butter buttercream, or a French or Italian buttercream? Has the bride tasted a "true" buttercream, one made with a cooked sugar syrup?

I don't think stablized whipped cream would set up too quickly, but hopefully more experienced voices than mine will chime in.

Fondant certainly is popular for wedding cakes, but if you've not worked with it before, I save learning fondant for a less ambitious project.

[Qui]

What would be the next best option for frosting and decorating a wedding cake besides buttercream. The bride really hates buttercream...

Is it is possible that she's never had real buttercream (Swiss meringue/Italian meringue/French buttercream)? If so, you could have her sample some and tell her it's "frosting." See what her reaction is.

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We are refering to the real buttercream (Swiss/Italian/French), which the bride hates... they are a little too heavy to her taste... she wants something light, and no fondant as well...

[pastrymama]

a whipped cream stabilized with gelatin doesn't set up actually, unless there is a lot of gelatin used. It just keeps it from deflating and drooping. I am able to use it for icing, borders and roses etc. I use bronze gelatin sheets, but you could also use gelatin powder. I soften the sheets in cold water while i begin to beat the cream, when the gelatin is soft I drain it, add a small amount of cream and microwave it for 30 seconds just to melt it, if it is steaming after melting I add a little more cold cream. When the cream is beginning to peak I add the gelatin while it is mixing and whip to firm peak. If left at room temperature you can work with it for at least an hour. Or you could use a clear piping jell made with agar agar. Just whip the cream to soft peaks and add some and finish whipping.

[CanadianBakin']

I did cupcakes for a wedding last year and had some samples for her to try before hand. I was going over the options with my husband and he said I really needed to have just a regular icing sugar+butter buttercream as well. Wouldn't you know it, she didn't like real buttercream and opted for the icing sugar variety instead. Perhaps your bride would prefer it as well.

[Qui]

a whipped cream stabilized with gelatin doesn't set up actually, unless there is a lot of gelatin used.  It just keeps it from deflating and drooping.  I am able to use it for icing, borders and roses etc.  I use bronze gelatin sheets, but you could also use gelatin powder.  I soften the sheets in cold water while i begin to beat the cream, when the gelatin is soft I drain it, add a small amount of cream and microwave it for 30 seconds just to melt it, if it is steaming after melting I add a little more cold cream.  When the cream is beginning to peak I add the gelatin while it is mixing and whip to firm peak.  If left at room temperature you can work with it for at least an hour.  Or you could use a clear piping jell made with agar agar.  Just whip the cream to soft peaks and add some and finish whipping.

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Thanks pastrymama!

I use sheet gelatin too and what gelatin/whipped cream ratio do you use?

Do you use granulated or 10x sugar for the whipped cream?

[SweetSide]

A firm white chocolate ganache is also an option....

[RuthWells]

A firm white chocolate ganache is also an option....

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Oh, that's a great idea. You can easily pipe decorations in royal over ganache.

Here's another idea -- what about the trend in wedding cakes to surround the tiers with piroutte cookies, or similar? You'd need a crumb coat of some kind, but perhaps could use much less icing than usual.

[alanamoana]

you can coat the cake in whipped cream and then cover it with a thin layer of marzipan...like a princess cake! of course, that's assuming the bride likes marzipan. this is an option only if she wants a very "finished" looking cake but doesn't want fondant or whatever.

you can always use whipped cream to fill and coat the cake regardless of what you use to cover it with or even if you leave it just whipped cream.

white modeling chocolate is also a good option

also, what about just italian meringue? you can flavor that and it has a great look to it. but it tends to be rather sweet.

[heleen1]

I almost exclusively use whipped cream to cover my cakes with, as we don't care that mauch for buttercream here. I hardly ever use any gelatin at all to stabilize it, I think it makes it ever so slightly grainy in texture. I just whip the cream with added sugar in a cold mixer bowl until stiff, and then frost the cake with it. I keep it in the firdge as much as possible, especially on a hot day. I find it's not much good for piping anything elaborate. Simple borders work, and that's about it. It's just not very stable/firm whatever you do.

Once the cake is frosted, I leave it in the fridge until serving time, and then, depending on the temperature in the room, it can be out for 1-2 hours without much of a problem. Direct sunlight should be avoided at all cost ;o)

[JeanneCake]

A firm white chocolate ganache is also an option....

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Or chocolate plastique, which handles like fondant in that you roll it out and apply it to the sides of a cake. In a thread on wrinkly sugar figures, chefpeon wrote out her recipe for modeling chocolate and this is her post on it:

You can use anything to color modeling chocolate, because when you add the corn syrup to the chocolate to make it in the first place, the chocolate in essence has already seized, so adding liquid color to it won't make it seize any more. However, the more liquid or gel color you add to it (especially when you want deeper tones), the more slack it gets, so I usually use a combination of gel/powder color to maintain consistency. I get most of my powdered colors from Country Kitchens SweetArt.

My modeling chocolate recipe is as follows, and it's based on using Guittard White Satin Ribbon.

Other brands of white chocolate behave differently, so adjustments may be needed (such as using a little more or less corn syrup).

In micro, melt 6 lbs white chocolate. Stir often! Remember WC burns easily!

When melted and perfectly smooth, heat 2 2/3 cup corn syrup for about a minute in micro.

In a large plastic bowl, add your corn syrup to your melted chocolate and stir rather quickly, making sure you scrape the sides of the bowl often. I use a big rubber spatula. The mixture will seize and clean the sides of the bowl. When completely mixed, press mixture into a flat pan that has been lined with plastic wrap. Fold the plastic wrap up over the top. Put in fridge to set up, then bring out to room temp, break off pieces and knead it smooth. If it's cold out, I put it in the micro for about ten seconds so it doesn't kill my arm off to knead it.

[lorinda]

You could try whipped cream cheese frosting, or mascarpone frosting.

[kaneel]

I almost exclusively use whipped cream to cover my cakes with, as we don't care that mauch for buttercream here. I hardly ever use any gelatin at all to stabilize it, I think it makes it ever so slightly grainy in texture. I just whip the cream with added sugar in a cold mixer bowl until stiff, and then frost the cake with it. I keep it in the firdge as much as possible, especially on a hot day. I find it's not much good for piping anything elaborate. Simple borders work, and that's about it. It's just not very stable/firm whatever you do.

Once the cake is frosted, I leave it in the fridge until serving time, and then, depending on the temperature in the room, it can be out for 1-2 hours without much of a problem. Direct sunlight should be avoided at all cost ;o)

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My family and i love whipped frosting. I sweeten mine with powdered sugar and since some powdered sugar has corn starch in it in stabilizes the whipped cream . I have left my cakes overnight in the fridge without any problems and a good couple of hours outside.

I second the modeling paste although obviously more expensive to make than fondant it also taste much better!!!

Good luck

[jenc]

marscapone frosting is rather light and nice. I tend to mix in whipped cream to soften the consistancy of it, as it can be too stiff. But I'm just a hobby baker, so ymmv.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlunar/152209...57594059724794/ for the recipe and a photo.

I used the light mascarpone for that batch, so it was grainy, (not to mention the coconut - need to experiment with coconut milk...), but I find it quite smooth with regular mascarpone. Just fold in whipped cream to adjust the consistancy.

Edited June 14, 2006 by jenc (log)

[Qui]

marscapone frosting is rather light and nice. I tend to mix in whipped cream to soften the consistancy of it, as it can be too stiff. But I'm just a hobby baker, so ymmv.

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mascrapone frosting sounds like a good idea, I will try it!

[Sugarella]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlunar/152209...57594059724794/ for the recipe and a photo.

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RECIPE

Beat a tub of mascarpone........

By "tub" can I assume you mean 500 mL?

[jenc]

By "tub" can I assume you mean 500 mL?

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Yep!

It's a great base recipe (just take out the coconut), and up next on my experiment list is to attempt citrus and chocolate variations.

[Qui]

A firm white chocolate ganache is also an option....

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how do you make your white chocolate ganache? what cream: white chocolate ratio?

[SweetSide]

A firm white chocolate ganache is also an option....

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how do you make your white chocolate ganache? what cream: white chocolate ratio?

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I've never actually used a firm white ganache as a frosting before. Perhaps someone else can chime in with a good ratio. For dark chocolate, I use 3 parts chocolate to 2 parts cream. White would need a higher ratio of chocolate because it is softer.

I've done a whipped white chocolate ganache that was a 1:1 ratio of cream and white chocolate. Much lighter. But, depending on the color of the cake, you may not get the coverage you want.