Mike - from Hixson, TN
The change to trans fat free shortening has perplexed many cake decorators! For some people, the icing is too stiff, and has been falling off the cake. For others, like you, the icing is too soft and won’t crust or hold its form. When making icing using trans fat free vegetable shortening, try adding a teaspoon Meringue Powder per 1 cup icing to make the icing stiff enough to hold its form and also crust. For those of you with the icing too stiff, add a tablespoon or so of light corn syrup, water or milk.