It's the icing on the cake...or is it the frosting? When it comes to finishing and decorating favorite cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and other baked goods, when should you use icing and when should you use frosting—and what's the difference anyway? To add to the confusion, you've probably heard the terms "frosting" and "icing" used interchangeably. In your quest to make the best baked goods, it's important to know the difference between your sweet toppings, so we're here to set the record straight.
You'll be glad to know there is a distinction between the two. In broad terms, frosting is thick and fluffy, and is used to coat the outside (and often the inner layers) of a cake. Icing is thinner and glossier than frosting, and can be used as a glaze or for detailed decorating.
There are many types of frosting, and the naming and differences between them is not always clear. The most popular kinds of frosting are American buttercream frosting, cream cheese frosting, Swiss meringue buttercream frosting, and Italian meringue buttercream frosting.
American Buttercream Frosting
The classic birthday cake frosting, American Buttercream Frosting, is also known as traditional buttercream frosting. It is made with a mixture of fluffy creamed butter, confectioners' sugar, a small amount of liquid (usually milk) and flavoring such as vanilla, coffee, or raspberry.
Cream Cheese Frosting
What would carrot cake be without Cream Cheese Frosting? This easy frosting is made the same way as traditional buttercream, but some of the butter is swapped out for tangy cream cheese.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting begins by warming egg whites and sugar in a double boiler, after which you whip the mixture to shiny peaks, then beat in softened butter. This frosting is silky and stable; perfect for piping and decorating.
This frosting starts with a base of whipped egg whites, to which you add hot sugar syrup and then softened butter until the Italian meringue buttercream frosting is glossy and fluffy, and marshmallow-like. It's well suited for frosting cupcakes and layer cakes.
At its most basic, icing, like our White Icing, can be a simple combination of confectioners' sugar and liquid (cream, milk, citrus juice, or liqueur) mixed to a smooth consistency that's thick enough to coat the surface of a cookie but thin enough to spread into a completely smooth, almost puddle-like layer.
Icings set quickly and stiffen as they dry. They are sometimes used for piping, but more often they are spooned or poured over the cake or cookie, or a cookie is dipped into the icing. The distinction does not apply to royal icing as it is often used for piping to create details.
Royal Icing
Royal icing is the most popular kind of icing for detailed cookie decorating. It contains confectioners' sugar and liquid, with the addition of egg whites or meringue powder, which gives the icing more stability and allows it to dry to a hard, shiny finish. Royal icing can act as an edible glue for assembling gingerbread houses, and can be made thinner or thicker depending on if you're using it for piping detailed decorations or for "flooding"—that is, filling in the surface of the cookie with a smooth, even layer of icing.
You'll be glad to know there is a distinction between the two. In broad terms, frosting is thick and fluffy, and is used to coat the outside (and often the inner layers) of a cake. Icing is thinner and glossier than frosting, and can be used as a glaze or for detailed decorating.
Frosting is the thickest of these confections and is ideal for spreading or piping on cakes, cupcakes and cookies. Icing is a little thinner than frosting and is often poured or piped over coffee cakes, pound cakes, doughnuts and cookies—and it usually hardens when it dries.
The frosting should form a somewhat stiff peak that has a little curl on the end. It's stiff enough to hold up that curl, but soft enough to create that little curl. That little curl is a great visual cue to know that your frosting is just the right consistency.
Most people in the South thought frosting and icing were the same thing, while outside of the South more people thought they were different things. (The darker the blue, the more likely someone from that state was to say that they were different things–black states I didn't get any respondents from.)
If you stick your spatula into the buttercream, your frosting should maintain a stiff peak. If your buttercream is too thick and can't flow through a piping tip, add more milk – about 1 teaspoon at a time – to slightly thin it out.
Icing sugar mixture is blended with cornflour to stop lumps.Pure icing sugar has nothing added, which means it can become lumpy and needs to be sifted. The two are usually interchangeable, except when cake decorating.
Frosting is the thickest of the bunch, thanks to (usually) employing something creamy in the makeup—such as butter, whipping cream, or cream cheese. Icing generally uses cream or egg whites as a thickener, but tends to be more liquid when applied and hardens as it dries.
The sugar should not be at all gritty, or it will plug pastry tips when doing fine piping work. As always, it's best to weigh all ingredients for most accuracy and consistency, and to add the egg whites gradually. The icing should be very stiff coming off the mixer, at what I refer to as my “glue” consistency.
Stiff or Thick Icing: 20-25 seconds to smooth out. Lines will not totally disappear. Medium Thick Icing: 18-19 seconds to mostly smooth over. Medium Icing: 15 seconds to settle mainly flat.
It's hotter'n blue blazes. It's hotter'n a blister bug in a pepper patch. It's so dang hot that I just saw a hound dog chasing a rabbit—and they were both walking.
Some people might say "sugar" the same way people say it in other parts of the country, while others might say it with a drawl or a twang. There are also a variety of different ways to spell sugar in the South, so you might see it spelled as "shugah," "shoogar," or "shugar."
Try thickening it with a bit of heavy whipping cream. You can add up to ¼ cup of heavy cream, depending on how much you need to thicken it. Then whip the frosting until it fluffs up.
Frosting is thicker and will hold it's shape better, therefore it is often used for making roses on cakes and so forth. Icing is thinner. It typically goes on somewhat "wet" but hardens as it dries.
Because frosting holds its shape and is opaque in color, you'll see it often used and called for when you are decorating cakes and cupcakes. Another trait that sets frosting apart from icing is that it is always whipped, and unlike icing, its main ingredient is fat, such as butter or cream.
Yes, it most likely started being called icing or frosting because it resembled the frost or ice on top of something. Most likely it was only white when it was began and so it did resemble it.
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Introduction: My name is Virgilio Hermann JD, I am a fine, gifted, beautiful, encouraging, kind, talented, zealous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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