Alternative high-ratio soy-based shortening for Sweetex

[lauren@carolscakes]

I recently purchased a bakery in Pittsburgh, including all the recipes that have been used by the previous owner for nearly 40 years. However this year, I lost four key components that I used in everyday production. I've found alternatives for 3/4. I used sweetex high ratio shortening religiously, it was so wonderful. However with the new FDA regulations on shortenings, they had to alter the original recipe. Complete crap. Both of my suppliers sold me the "New" and "improved" sweetex. It was literally the worst. I lost 6 wedding cakes as it breaks down so quickly with any of my food colorings. I don't know what to do. I just lost another wedding cake this morning and I figured someone out there had to know of something equally as good as SWEETEX! My supplier has recently suggested Alpine for icings, not a fan. Are they any other high-ratio SOY based shortenings out there?!


Thank you for anything you can possibly tell me!

lauren

 

[ChesterV]

Seriously, I've never had a problem with using Crisco. I like the butter flavored Crisco as it adds a buttery back taste to my frostings.

Crisco, along with a bit of meringue powder............I've never had a problem.

I don't go for all that "high volume" over processed stuff. Never have. I keep it all as simple as possible.

Not a fan of soy either, so I can't say whats out on the market. I hate the taste of soy anything.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Stratas Foods manufactures a number of shortenings, four of which are sold under the Sweetex brand and marketed for cake and icing applications:


Sweetex Golden Flex Icing Shortening

Sweetex Golden Flex Cake and Icing Shortening

Sweetex Palm Flex Cake and Icing Shortening

Sweetex Hymo Soy Cake and Icing Shortening


You should call Stratas customer service to discuss the issues you are having with your Icing. It may be the shortening or a combination of shortening, dye, and/or type of sugar (i.e., beet sugar vs cane sugar).


I also recommend you try a real buttercream or at least a butter and shortening blend buttercream. There’s a website called Gretchen’s Bakery that has a number of buttercream recipes. Gretchen owned and operated a bakery

 

[James]

I recently purchased a bakery in Pittsburgh, including all the recipes that have been used by the previous owner for nearly 40 years. However this year, I lost four key components that I used in everyday production. I've found alternatives for 3/4. I used sweetex high ratio shortening religiously, it was so wonderful. However with the new FDA regulations on shortenings, they had to alter the original recipe. Complete crap. Both of my suppliers sold me the "New" and "improved" sweetex. It was literally the worst. I lost 6 wedding cakes as it breaks down so quickly with any of my food colorings. I don't know what to do. I just lost another wedding cake this morning and I figured someone out there had to know of something equally as good as SWEETEX! My supplier has recently suggested Alpine for icings, not a fan. Are they any other high-ratio SOY based shortenings out there?!


Thank you for anything you can possibly tell me!

lauren

Hello Lauren

I am the Pastry Chef at a large wholesale bakery in Fort Lauderdale. And we too just got our first shipment of the “new” sweetex flex shortening. My head mixer made a batch of buttercream yesterday with the same recipe we’ve used for over 25 years and it came out like crap! It breaks down quickly. Today I had him remake it with half the amount of water and finish it with a whip (we’ve always just used a paddle and made a super smooth buttercream) but the shortening didn’t seem to smooth out so we finished it with the whip attachment. That did the trick but even with half the water it’s still way to soft to work with.
I’ll try again on Monday with no water and see what happens. I’m also going to call Stratas Monday and see what’s up. There’s no way I can make buttercream flowers with this crap, I can barely keep the icing from falling off the cake!
So disappointed!
Jim

 

[Dan]

Hello,
I have just been slammed with a large shipment of the Gold Flex Sweetex right before the Holidays and this stuff is horrible. After many, many mixes I have been able to make It smooth but it is very heavy and leaves a horrible slimy feeling on the pallet. Has anyone been able to find a cure?

 

[Laura cake lady]

I am a cake artist in Detroit and have been using the old Sweetex for 20 years. It was perfect and held up beautifully in hot weather. But alas, we've had the rug yanked out from underneath us and now we have to use something else. I've found the Sweetex Golden Flex for ICING to be acceptable. (Not the cake AND icing formula ) I use it for icing only and it is really thick. I've found that warming it up a bit will help make it smooth and will save my mixer from burning out. There are 4 replacement formulas for Sweetex and the one for you depends on what you're using it for. Call Stratus and ask. They are very helpful. My icing will stay on the cake unless you try to cut it straight out of the refrigerator. It has the consistency of butter if it's cold so it will not stick. So let the cake sit at room temp for and hour or two before you try to cut it. Weddings and birthdays and other special occasion cakes that are on display are already sitting at room temp so there is no issue there. I just started using it (January 2018). I don' know what will happen when hot weather comes. I'm in Michigan. Hope this helps.

 

[Laura cake lady]

 

[Hlorri]

I am a cake artist in Detroit and have been using the old Sweetex for 20 years. It was perfect and held up beautifully in hot weather. But alas, we've had the rug yanked out from underneath us and now we have to use something else. I've found the Sweetex Golden Flex for ICING to be acceptable. (Not the cake AND icing formula ) I use it for icing only and it is really thick. I've found that warming it up a bit will help make it smooth and will save my mixer from burning out. There are 4 replacement formulas for Sweetex and the one for you depends on what you're using it for. Call Stratus and ask. They are very helpful. My icing will stay on the cake unless you try to cut it straight out of the refrigerator. It has the consistency of butter if it's cold so it will not stick. So let the cake sit at room temp for and hour or two before you try to cut it. Weddings and birthdays and other special occasion cakes that are on display are already sitting at room temp so there is no issue there. I just started using it (January 2018). I don' know what will happen when hot weather comes. I'm in Michigan. Hope this helps.

Hi Laura...curious as to how the golden flex is holding up in the heat?

 

[Laura cake lady]

Hi Laura...curious as to how the golden flex is holding up in the heat?

It held up. The frosting was very, very soft but it didn't slide off the cake, whether it was under fondant or alone on a cake it held up. I should probably note that all cakes are refrigerated overnight before they are delivered. I noticed that if the cake was cut while it was still cold from the fridge the frosting would fall off the slices of cake as they were being placed on plates. The frosting is very hard/firm when it's refrigerated.
Also please note....there are TWO formulas for the Golden Flex. One is for cake AND icing. The other is strictly for icing. I use the formula for icing only.
I hope this helps.

 

[annettehala]

I just used up my old box of Sweetex and was surprised to see something new when looking at ordering. Is the consensus that the new Golden Flex for Icing is the closest to the old Sweetex?

 

[Laura cake lady]

It depends on what you're using it for. If you're using it for cake and frosting then yes, the Golden Flex is the one to order but there are two formulas. One is for cake AND icing. One is for ICING. Both are Golden Flex. I hope this helps. I posted a pic in the above thread.

 

[naper girl]

Which of the two Sweetex's is super white. I'm making frosting and want it to be as white as possible.

 

[8amendez]

Seriously, I've never had a problem with using Crisco. I like the butter flavored Crisco as it adds a buttery back taste to my frostings.

Crisco, along with a bit of meringue powder............I've never had a problem.

I don't go for all that "high volume" over processed stuff. Never have. I keep it all as simple as possible.

Not a fan of soy either, so I can't say whats out on the market. I hate the taste of soy anything.

Crisco is soy based.

 

[Mona]

I’m sorry to hear about your trouble with Sweetex. You might want to try Spectrum's High-Ratio Shortening or Crisco Professional High-Ratio Shortening as alternatives. Both are known for their stability and could work well in your recipes. Blending different shortenings might also help you get the results you’re looking for. I hope this helps!

 

[Allaboutcakesandladies]

Hello Lauren

I am the Pastry Chef at a large wholesale bakery in Fort Lauderdale. And we too just got our first shipment of the “new” sweetex flex shortening. My head mixer made a batch of buttercream yesterday with the same recipe we’ve used for over 25 years and it came out like crap! It breaks down quickly. Today I had him remake it with half the amount of water and finish it with a whip (we’ve always just used a paddle and made a super smooth buttercream) but the shortening didn’t seem to smooth out so we finished it with the whip attachment. That did the trick but even with half the water it’s still way to soft to work with.
I’ll try again on Monday with no water and see what happens. I’m also going to call Stratas Monday and see what’s up. There’s no way I can make buttercream flowers with this crap, I can barely keep the icing from falling off the cake!
So disappointed!
Jim

I use meringue powder with less water to stabilize and evaporated milk to improve fluff. It's working very well. I use a mock Swiss meringue buttercream recipe and it has held up very well, even in sunny California garden events.

 

[Allaboutcakesandladies]

Which of the two Sweetex's is super white. I'm making frosting and want it to be as white as possible.

I use the one in the light box, blue writing, "for icing," not blue box for "cakes and icing."
I was unable to get SWEETEX in quantities I needed so I began making my own with sunflower lecithin, and adding meringue powder. So far, so good on standard cakes. I'll need to do a 3 tier stacked constructin and see how it does on my patio in Calu heat. I use a mock Swiss meringue recipe and it's been wonderful, so far!