Homemade Frosting Recipe

We all are familiar with cake frosting, which comes in many different types. While some frostings are meant for some specific cakes only, others can be used as per the discretion of the baker. Frosting can be applied on cakes in various designs, styles and colors, and can also be used along with toppings like nuts. However, the purpose of frosting is not limited to decoration of a cake, but, it also helps seal in the moisture and enhances the flavor and texture of the cake. Let us take a look at some of the homemade frosting recipes, which can be prepared easily.

How to Make Homemade Frosting

As mentioned earlier, there are various types of cake frosting and many of them can be prepared at home. A frosting, which is otherwise known as icing, is a sweet glaze made of sugar, with any of the other ingredients like cream cheese, water, egg whites, etc. While simple icing or frosting can be made easily by mixing the ingredients, some complicated ones have to be cooked, before application. The following are some of the easy homemade frosting recipes for cupcakes, brownies, cakes, cookies, etc.

Simple Butter Cream Frosting
Butter cream frosting is a common and widely used form of frosting. Preparing this frosting is really easy, if you have the required material. In order to prepare this homemade frosting recipe, you need 2 ¼ cups of confectioners' sugar, ⅓ cup butter/margarine, five tablespoons of milk or light cream and vanilla extract. Start with beating the butter in a bowl, till it gets creamy and fluffy. After that, add sugar, vanilla extract, milk/cream and blend well, so that it gets the consistency of frosting (you may also add one or two pinches of salt). If the end product is found to be thick, blend in some more milk or cream. In case it's thin, add some more sugar and mix well. You can alter the measurements of the ingredients as per your requirement, but, it must be done in proportion only. This recipe yields one cup of homemade butter cream frosting. This is only a basic version of butter cream cake frosting, which come in many different types. Butter cream chocolate frosting can be made by adding ½ cup cocoa powder to the sugar, before beating it. You may also add lemon or orange juice to this recipe and come up with citrus frosting. Here, avoid milk or cream.

Basic Chocolate Frosting
Now, you know how to make butter cream frosting and different versions. As mentioned above, you can add chocolate to that recipe and prepare a butter cream chocolate cake frosting. The following homemade frosting recipe can provide you with another method to prepare a chocolate frosting. The ingredients for this recipe are one cup sugar, one square chocolate, ¼ cup shortening (Crisco or any other brand of your choice), ⅓ cup milk, one teaspoon vanilla extract and ½ teaspoon salt. All you have to do is mix the ingredients (except vanilla) thoroughly and then boil the resultant mixture for around one minute. Remove from heat and blend in the vanilla extract. Beat the mixture, till it becomes cool and reaches the consistency of a frosting.

Snow White Frosting
If you need a perfect white frosting for your cake, this homemade frosting recipe can prove to be perfect. In order to make this light and fluffy frosting, you need 1½ cups sugar, ⅓ cup water, ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar, two egg whites and one teaspoon of vanilla extract. You have to cook the ingredients in a double boiler. Fill water in a double boiler, but leave a space of around two inches from the top, so that the boiling water does not touch the top portion of the vessel. Now, mix the ingredients (except vanilla) in the top part of the double boiler and keep aside. Heat the water, till it gets boiled and simmer it. The next step is to place the top part of the double boiler to the lower part, which has boiling water. Now, you have to cook this mixture for around seven minutes, but don't forget to stir it constantly. Once it reaches the consistency of frosting, remove from heat and pour into a large bowl. Blend in the vanilla extract and beat the mixture till it gets cool. By preparing this recipe, you will get around five cups of snow white frosting.

The above said homemade frosting recipes for sugar cookies, cakes and cupcakes can be prepared very easily, without much effort. You can also experiment with different ingredients to create your own frosting recipe. However, before applying the frosting, make sure that your cake is cool. Try to remove the lumps on the surface, so that the frosting can be spread evenly.