Incredibly Fluffy and Easy Wedding Cake Icing with Crisco (2024)

Last Updated on December 21, 2022

Making a snowy white frosting seems impossible, but, with our extremely easy wedding cake icing with Crisco recipe, it has never been easier!

This recipe will take less than 20 minutes regardless of the size batch you want to make. It will give you an extremely affordable Crisco frosting that is as white as chalk, making it easy to decorate your traditional wedding white cake. But, you can also easily adjust the flavor of the frosting (and the color) to anything that you’d like!

What Is Crisco Icing?

Crisco is an American brand that sells all sorts of “non-stick” cooking and baking products. Their most famous product is arguably their range of shortening. They also do produce and sell cooking oils, coconut oils, and cooking spray.

Crisco sells two types of shortening; an all-vegetable shortening or butter-flavored all-vegetable shortening. The difference between these comes down to color and flavor. Naturally, the butter-flavored shortening is more yellow and has a butter flavor, something a lot of bakers prefer.

For this recipe, you can use either one of these products. But, keep in mind that if you are using butter-flavored shortening, you will not be able to make the white frosting. But, it works great for colored frosting made with Crisco.

Pros of using Crisco for wedding cake frostings

While a lot of bakers prefer using real butter instead of shortening, it is very expensive and does not make an affordable option.

Using Crisco, a very high-quality and affordable shortening, you can save some money while not compromising on flavor. It will give you a fantastic consistency and an easily adjustable flavor (almost like working with a clean flavor profile).

And, another big advantage over using butter is that you can create an incredibly snow-white frosting! (It’s actually how professional bakers do it!)

You can use Crisco to make all types of different frostings, even our famously rich chocolate frosting.

What You Will Need To Make Wedding Cake Icing With Crisco?

Ingredients

• 1 cup (6.7 ounces) Crisco all-vegetable shortening, softened
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 teaspoons extract of the flavor of your choice
• 5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• Food coloring, optional

Equipment

• Stand mixer with a whisk attachment
• Small saucepan
• Silicone or rubber spatula

Step By Step Instructions To Make Frosting With Crisco

Step 1: cream the Crisco shortening

Start by placing the Crisco all-vegetable shortening into the bowl of a stand mixer. A stand mixer works best because you can leave the shortening to cream at a high speed for a long time. This will ensure that it creates extra light and fluffy frosting. Use the whisk attachment.

Cream the Crisco shortening at a high speed for roughly 10 minutes. The shortening should be extremely light in color and have a very fluffy texture.

Step 2: make the milk mixture

While the shortening is being creamed in the stand mixer, start making the milk mixture. Gently heat the milk inside of a small saucepan over very low heat. Then, add the salt and the flavoring you are using.

Gently stir the mixture until all of the fine salt has dissolved. Then, remove the milk from the heat and allow it to cool completely before using it.

Step 3: make the Crisco frosting

Once the shortening has been creamed, sift in the icing sugar (powdered or confectionery’s sugar). Start by only adding about 3 cups of icing sugar first. Slowly whisk it in before increasing the speed of the mixer and beating it on high for about 2 minutes. Then, add the remaining icing sugar and again, beat it in slowly before increasing the speed.

Beat the mixture at a high speed for 5 minutes. Make sure to scrape the sides using a silicone or rubber spatula. This will prevent lumps and some shortening from not becoming part of the creamy frosting.

Step 4: Adjust the consistency

After your frosting has been whipped for about 5 minutes, you can now add the milk mixture. Start by only adding half of the milk and giving the frosting a mix. This will allow you to slowly adjust the consistency while you are working.

Continue adding milk until you are happy with the consistency. Then, increase the speed of the mixer and beat the frosting at high speed for 10 minutes.

Step 5: add coloring

Now, wedding cakes are usually made with white frosting. However, today, there are a ton of fun and colorful trends making their rounds. So, if you want to add food coloring, do so after your frosting has been made. This way the color won’t be diluted with other additives (like milk or powdered sugar).

Tips And Tricks For Making Crisco Frosting

• If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can also use an electric hand mixer. We don’t recommend creaming your shortening with a hand whisk as it will be very labor-intensive and won’t work nearly as well.
• When it comes to choosing a flavoring ingredient, we recommend choosing between an essence or an extract. If you aren’t sure what the difference is between essences and extracts, you can have a look at this comprehensive article. We prefer using extracts because they have a much more intense and often natural (and accurate) flavor.
• You can choose any essence or extract that will match the flavor of the wedding cake you are making. You can even adjust the amount you add. If you are using an extract for this recipe, start with 2 teaspoons. If you are using an essence, you can use 1 tablespoon (3 teaspoons). You can adjust the intensity of the flavor by either removing some or adding more.
• For this wedding cake icing with Crisco recipe, we have worked out the exact amount of milk that you need to get a fluffy workable frosting. But, you may need to add more or less depending on how you want to use your frosting. If you want to pipe decorations, softer icing may be needed. But, if you need a crumb coating, you can get away with a stiffer frosting.
• We highly recommend adding gel-based food coloring. Liquid or powdered food coloring may adjust the consistency of your Crisco icing too much. You also usually need to add a ton of it to get the intensity in the color you need. Gel food coloring in our opinion just works best.

Servings And Preparation Time

How to Make Buttercream Frosting Without Shortening?

Using shortening such as Crisco is seen as the best option when it comes to making buttercream frosting. However, this recipe using unsalted butter is quick, easy, and just as delicious! The ingredients you’ll need for this recipe are 1/2 cup of unsalted butter, 2 cups of sifted confectioners’ sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, and 2 tablespoons of milk.

1. Now all you need to do is add your butter to a bowl and cream for several minutes; or until it becomes fluffy and light.
2. Once you’ve reached this consistency, slowly add the sugar until completely combined.
3. Now add your vanilla extract and beat for a further minute or so.
4. Finally, pour in the milk and mix for a final few minutes.
5. At this point, you can add a few drops of food coloring, if needed. If not, place buttercream frosting into your piping bag and you’re ready to start using it!

How Much Icing is Needed for a Wedding Cake?

The amount of frosting you’ll need for a wedding cake all depends on what size your wedding cake is and how many layers it has. For example, if we look at a 3-layer cake with layers that are 8″ in size, you’ll need around 5 cups of frosting. The frosting will then be divided this way:

• 3/4 cup of frosting: between each layer
• 1 1/2 cups of frosting: for the top of the cake
• the remainder of frosting: around the sides and edges

It’s important to note that you may want to make slightly extra if you’re looking to make any decorations or do any additional piping.

How Do You Make White Buttercream Without Shortening?

There are a few ways to ensure you make the whitest buttercream possible…and none of these options involve shortening! The first way is to choose the lightest butter possible (yes, butter comes in a range of very differing yellows!). Before you add the powdered sugar to your buttercream, whip your butter.

The more you whip, the paler it will become. Once you’ve added the sugar and combined, add a toothpick amount size of violet food coloring; this helps to neutralize. Finally, add some bright white gel to the mixture and it should be the perfect shade of white you’re looking for!

Where Can I Buy Crisco Shortening?

If you’re from the US, you can buy Crisco almost anywhere! All grocery stores such as Walmart will have Crisco (and usually a wide selection of sizes too!). You can also buy Crisco shortening from online stores too such as Amazon.

How to Make Puff Pastry With Crisco?

While butter is usually the most common way to make puff pastry, you can also use Crisco shortening too. The ingredients you’ll need for this are 1 1/4 cups of cold Crisco shortening, 1/2 cup of cold water, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 2 cups of all-purpose flour.

1. Now all you need to do is grab a bowl and add the all-purpose flour, salt, and around 3/4 of a cup of shortening, and cut into cubes.
2. Either beat with a mixer or place in a food processor until butter is mixed (around 10 seconds in a blender).
3. Now add your remaining butter and pulse again.
4. Add your water and pulse again. Keep pulsing until a dough has formed.
5. At this point, lightly flour a surface and knead your dough around 10 times.
6. Now roll your dough into a thin sheet and fold.
7. Plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours.

It’s worth mentioning that without the use of butter, your pastry won’t be quite as flaky or have that buttery texture.

White Wedding Cake Frosting Made With Crisco

Now, you can make your very own wedding cake frosting as white as snow by simply using Crisco. It will save you a ton of money, create a neutral flavor profile for you to adjust as you’d like, and give you the ability to easily adjust the color without having to hide the yellow of traditional butter.

If you love this recipe, share it with your baking buddies and give it a try at home! Let us know what you think and how you love to use it!

Learn more about the History Of Cake Decorating.

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