You don’t have to be a master baker to make fabulously frosted cakes and sweets. Keep reading to learn how a little bit of frosting can turn your homemade or store-bought desserts into edible works of art. You’ll just need a few simple ingredients to make a luscious frosting.
Frosting vs. Icing: What’s the Difference?
Some people tend to use frosting and icing interchangeably, but that’s not necessarily the case. Frosting is the thick, fluffy topping that’s often spread or piped onto cakes (and between layers), cupcakes and cookies. It often uses a fat like butter, cream cheese or whipping cream as a base. Icing mostly consists of powdered sugar and a liquid like lemon juice or milk, drying to a shiny gloss. Much thinner than frosting, icing is commonly used for pouring, glazing or drizzling over items such as bundt cakes, donuts and eclairs.
Sugar Choice Matters: Confectioners’ Sugar vs. Granulated Sugar
While most cake recipes call for granulated sugar in the baking process, most frostings and icings call for confectioners’ sugar. Also called powdered sugar (or known as icing sugar in the U.K.), confectioners’ sugar has a much finer consistency than granulated sugar, allowing it to melt or blend easily for a smooth — rather than grainy — texture.
Substitutes for powdered sugar in baking:
No powdered sugar? As a substitute, you can blend granulated sugar with a small amount of cornstarch in food processor. Once you’ve reached a fine, powdery texture, it’s ready for use.
How to Make Homemade Frosting
The easiest homemade frosting is a basic vanilla buttercream. All it takes is a few basic ingredients and a lot of mixing. The key is to start with all ingredients at room temperature.
Easy Frosting Recipe
Yield: 2–2/3 cups
Perfect for: Cakes, cupcakes and cookies
Frosting Ingredients
¼ cup butter (½ stick), softened
¼ cup shortening
2 tsps vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar, divided
3–4 Tbsps milk
Directions
- Beat ¼ cup butter, ¼ cup shortening and 2 tsps vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until blended. Tip: For an extra-creamy texture, beat for 5–10 minutes.
- Add 1 cup powdered sugar, beating until creamy.
- Add remaining powdered sugar, alternately with milk, beating to spreading consistency.
Different Types of Frosting and Icing
Not sure what to use as a topping for your dessert? Here are various options, all equally delicious:
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Buttercream is the simplest and most common type of frosting. If you had to choose one recipe to learn, this is it!
REESE’S Peanut Butter Frosting
With the addition of REESE’S Creamy Peanut Butter, this recipe is a buttercream for true peanut butter lovers.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Most commonly paired with red velvet or carrot cakes, cream cheese frosting is similar to buttercream, but with the addition of cream cheese.
Marshmallow Frosting
A popular choice with any S’mores baked good, marshmallow frosting adds the ooey-gooey texture of marshmallow.
Whipped Cream Frosting
For a lighter take on frosting or filling, make one using heavy cream, whipping it into a light and airy spreadable consistency.
Swiss Meringue Frosting
An exception to the powdered sugar rule, this type of frosting starts with a base of heated egg whites and granulated sugar for a delicate texture.
Fondant
This pliable, clay-like icing is commonly used for elaborate cake decorations because it can easily be sculpted, rolled and formed into edible artwork.
Glaze
When you just need a thin, simple topping for an already delicious dessert, consider a glaze. Easy to make, easy to apply.
Ganache
The beauty of a ganache is its sheer versatility. Soft ganache is perfect for cake filling or topping, while hard ganache is great as a dip, glaze or truffle filling.
Decorating with Frosting
There are many ways to decorate cakes, cupcakes and cookies with frosting, and this is where you can really let your creative juices flow. Feel free to change up the frosting color and consistency, add piped decorations or even accent your dessert with special toppings.
Coloring Frosting
Sometimes a bit of color can make your frosting all the more festive, especially for special occasions. Colored frosting works best with your favorite vanilla or bright white frosting as a base.
To start, put your desired amount of frosting in a small bowl. For several colors, be sure to have a separate bowl for each color. Add one or two drops of gel food coloring and mix it in with a silicone spatula. Note: Gel food coloring is much more concentrated than liquid, so it will create brighter, bolder colors. If you’re happy with the color brightness at this point, great! If you want it to be brighter, add one or two more drops and repeat.
Making Frosting Fluffier
Frosting should be as fluffy as a yummy cloud — or at least we think so! If you’re making your own frosting, there are a few things that can help with this.
- Start with room-temperature butter and/or shortening.
- Try a 1:1 ratio of butter to shortening instead of all butter. Since shortening can withstand higher heat, adding it to the mix will keep the frosting more stable overall.
- Whip the butter and/or shortening for 5–10 minutes before adding the remaining ingredients. This will incorporate lots of air for a lighter consistency.
- Use heavy whipping cream instead of milk as your liquid. Not only does the cream add richness, but it whips up the frosting, too.
Want to fluff up store-bought frosting? Whipping it with a mixer is always the answer. It’ll be fluffier and easier to spread, and it’ll also go further.
Thickening Icing or Frosting
What happens if you follow all the recipe directions, and the frosting still looks too thin? Just add some powdered sugar to thicken the consistency. We recommend only adding 1 tablespoon at a time, so that it doesn’t get too sweet or too thick. Instead of sugar, you could also try adding cornstarch, cocoa powder, peanut butter or cream cheese, depending on the flavor of the frosting.
Smoothing Icing or Frosting
A smooth finish on a cake is like your blank canvas, but it takes a bit of work. For best results, use a cake decorating turntable. Then, follow these steps:
- Freeze your already filled cake layers.
- To get the smoothest possible frosting, beat it on low speed to remove any air bubbles.
- Using a cake spatula, apply a thin layer of frosting to the entire cake. This is called a “crumb coating” because you’ll actually see some cake crumbs in the frosting (which is totally normal!).
- Freeze the cake for at least 30 minutes.
- Apply a thicker (and final) layer of frosting with a cake spatula. With the turntable spinning, use a cake scraper to smooth the top and sides. Be sure to wipe the scraper after each stroke.
- Refrigerate the cake to help set the frosting.
Piping Icing or Frosting
Once you’ve achieved a nice, smooth cake, feel free to dress it up with decorative piping. You can use the same frosting you used to cover the cake, or color the frosting for an extra festive feel.
For piping decorations, you’ll need a piping bag and your choice of piping tips. Quite possibly the most useful tips are the Wilton 1M and Wilton 2D, which are perfect for both cakes and cupcakes. Tip: Before piping anything on your cake, lay out a piece of wax or parchment paper and do some piping practice. Try your hand at rosettes, swirls or anything that strikes your fancy. In case you want to feel better about your piping skills, watch our team pipe frosting onto cupcakes — blindfolded!
Adding Toppings
Toppings can add a bit of extra pizazz and a finishing touch to any frosted dessert. Think of the frosting like glue — frost first, so the toppings will stick. Sprinkles are fun for any occasion but also consider adding toppings that reflect the flavor of the cake. For example, if it’s a S’mores cake, topping it with crushed graham crackers and chopped HERSHEY’S bars would be very fitting and very delicious. For a party, you could even set up a dessert decorating station for everyone to customize their toppings. Here are some other topping ideas:
- Sprinkles
- Chocolate shavings
- Crushed candy
- Miniature marshmallows
- Fruit
- Nuts
Frequently Asked Questions
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Icing sugar is the British term for powdered sugar or confectioners’ sugar. Whatever you call it, this is a very fine, powdery sugar that’s often used for frosting, icing and dusting.
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Yes, powdered sugar and confectioners’ sugar are the same thing. It’s also known as icing sugar in the U.K.
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If you’re trying to thicken your icing, you can add a bit more powdered sugar. Only add about 1 tablespoon at a time, so that it doesn’t get too sweet or too thick. Instead of sugar, you could also try adding cornstarch, cocoa powder, peanut butter or cream cheese.
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Frosting a cake is easier than it might look. It just takes a little time. See Cake Decorating 101 for details or follow these simple steps:
- Freeze cake. Freeze your already filled cake layers.
- Smooth frosting. Beat the frosting on low speed to remove any air bubbles.
- Crumb coat and chill. Apply a thin layer of frosting (or “crumb coating”). Freeze the cake for at least 30 minutes.
- Apply second layer of frosting. After adding this thicker (and final) layer of frosting, use a cake scraper to smooth the top and sides.
- Chill. Refrigerate the cake to help the frosting set.
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You can store buttercream in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer. If the buttercream is in a piping bag, seal it with a clip and then wrap it in plastic wrap. Place it in a freezer bag before storing in the refrigerator or freezer.
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If you’re not using it immediately, you can store icing in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to three months.
