Hello!! Like the title suggests, I am new to cake decorating and could use some advice. I have done a few batches of American buttercream and corrected my technique each time i’ve done it so I am somewhat confident in my ability to make it correctly. However, I just personally feel regardless of the recipe the taste never really stands out to me. I really enjoy Sam’s Club/ Costco cakes and the buttercream they use, and googling this has said they use shortening instead of butter. Another google search has led me to dozens of comments of people not enjoying the taste/ giving complaints about working with shortening, lol. Is shortening really that bad? Should I just stick with mastering it with butter instead?

And another thing I am struggling with is the amount of frosting I use. (I’ve attached a photo of the cupcakes I attempted for thanksgiving I know they’re not perfect but it was an honest attempt! :D ) I used Preppy Kitchens buttercream recipe which calls for 1lb confectionery sugar and 1 cup butter, yet I basically ran out of frosting decorating 11 cupcakes, and this often happens when decorating cakes too. I’ve mainly worked with 3 6inch cakes and am not sure what a good amount of frosting I would need.

Sorry for the super long post… any help would be great!!! :)